脫了

脫了

1. (Northern Wu) Used to indicate the occurrence of an action that results in a loss, vanishment or a negative outcome.

   腦子壞脫了／脑子坏脱了 [Shanghainese]  ―  [nɔ²² t͡sz̩⁴⁴ ɦɯa̱²² tʰəʔ⁵⁵ ləʔ²¹] [IPA]  ―  Brain's busted

   太陽撥雲遮脫了。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
   太阳拨云遮脱了。 [Shanghainese, simp.]

   [tʰa̱³³ ɦiã⁴⁴ pəʔ⁴⁴  ɦʏɲ²³ t͡so⁵⁵ tʰəʔ³³ ləʔ²¹] [IPA]

   The sun was hidden by the clouds.

2. (Northern Wu) Used to indicate that the consumption or disposition of a certain number of objects has been completed.
3. (Northern Wu) Used to indicate that the completion of a due task has been achieved.

The terms 脫了, 脫, and 了 (and/or variations of which) all indicate the perfective aspect in a number of Northern Wu languages, though they do differ in use. The vocabulary and grammar used will be based on Shanghainese, though it can be appropriated to others.

• 脫／脱 most basically connotes the vanishing or, harm to, or disadvantage to something resulting from an action. Compare the following:

• 死脫／死脱 [Shanghainese]  ―  [ɕi³³ tʰəʔ⁴⁴] [IPA]  ―  to die, (one is dead and vanished)
• 瘦脫／瘦脱 [Shanghainese]  ―  [sɜ³³ tʰəʔ⁴⁴] [IPA]  ―  to lose weight (one's weight is decreased)
• 壞脫／坏脱 [Shanghainese]  ―  [ɦɯa̱²² tʰəʔ⁴⁴] [IPA]  ―  to spoil; to break (the object was harmed having become spoilt or unusable)

From there, it was broadened to generally refer to the completedness, vanishing, or disposal of a thing or task, e.g.:

• 搿物事摜脫！ [Shanghainese, trad.]
  搿物事掼脱！ [Shanghainese, simp.]

  [ɡ̊əʔ¹² məʔ¹¹ z̥z̩²³ ɡ̊ɯe̞²² tʰəʔ⁴⁴] [IPA]

  Throw that thing away!

• 功課做脫／功课做脱 [Shanghainese]  ―  [kʊŋ⁵⁵ kʰv̩ʷ²¹ t͡sv̩ʷ³³ tʰəʔ⁴⁴] [IPA]  ―  Get homework finished

• 了 has two basic uses, one of which is as a modal particle and the other is as an aspect particle.

• As a modal particle, 了 mostly appears at the end of a sentence, which is used to mark the occurrence or "happening" of an event. Compare the following two instances of dinner completion:

• 夜飯吃好了。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
  夜饭吃好了。 [Shanghainese, simp.]

  [ɦia̱²² v̥e̞⁴⁴ t͡ɕʰi̯ɪʔ³³ hɔ⁵⁵ ləʔ²¹] [IPA]

  [The speaker has] finished dinner.

Where it is not that the speaker is going to finish eating the dinner some other time. The completion of dinner has already happened and is true.

• 吃好夜飯看電視。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
  吃好夜饭看电视。 [Shanghainese, simp.]

  [t͡ɕʰi̯ɪʔ³³ hɔ⁴⁴ ɦia̱²² v̥e̞⁴⁴ kʰø⁴⁴  d̥i²² z̥z̩⁴⁴] [IPA]

  After eating dinner, watch the television. (non-temporal)

Where the completion of dinner is not necessarily complete. It may be that watching the television is ought to be done afterwards, or that the speaker is announcing this as a routine.

• As an aspect particle, 了 marks the action's completion. For example:

• 吃了交關物事 [Shanghainese, trad.]
  吃了交关物事 [Shanghainese, simp.]

  [t͡ɕʰi̯ɪʔ³³ ləʔ⁴⁴ t͡ɕiɔ⁵⁵ kɯe̞²¹ məʔ¹¹ z̥z̩²³] [IPA]

  Ate a lot of things

Traditionally, this sense would use the term 仔, though it is somewhat old-fashioned noawadays in Shanghainese.

• Most uses of 脫了／脱了 is used like a merge between 脫 and 了 as a modal particle. It informs the speaker that the verb is completed but is new information.

• 手機落脫了。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
  手机落脱了。 [Shanghainese, simp.]

  [sɜ³³ t͡ɕi⁴⁴ lʊʔ¹¹ tʰəʔ²² ləʔ²³] [IPA]

  My phone is gone.

• One important distinction between the two is that 脫 can be used in moods whereby the action referred to by the verb has not yet taken place (such as in imperatives and subjunctives), as opposed to 了. For instance:

• 衣裳汏脫伊再去汏浴。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
  衣裳汏脱伊再去汏浴。 [Shanghainese, simp.]

  [i⁵⁵ z̥ɑ̃²¹ d̥a̱²² tʰəʔ⁵⁵ ɦi²¹ t͡se̞⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi³³  d̥a̱²² ɦi̯ʊʔ⁴⁴] [IPA]

  Get the clothes washed before taking a shower.

is correct, whilst

• 衣裳汏了伊再去汏浴。 [Shanghainese, trad. and simp.]

is not.

• 脫 can also be used in non-temporal contexts:

• 手機末手機落脫，鑰匙末鑰匙勿帶，儂哪能介馬虎個啦？ [Shanghainese, trad.]
  手机末手机落脱，钥匙末钥匙勿带，侬哪能介马虎个啦？ [Shanghainese, simp.]

  [sɜ³³ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ məʔ²¹ sɜ³³ t͡ɕi⁴⁴ lʊʔ¹¹ tʰəʔ²³ ɦia̱ʔ¹¹ z̥z̩²² məʔ²³ ɦia̱ʔ¹¹ sz̩²³ v̥əʔ¹¹ ta̱²³ nʊŋ²³ na̱²² nəɲ⁴⁴ ka̱⁵³ ʔma̱⁵⁵ hv̩ʷ³³ ɦəʔ²¹ la̱] [IPA]

  Your phone you lose, your keys you don't have, how can you be this careless?

With 脫 here the speaker establishes the current state of the phone "having been lost", without presenting this as a change of state as 脫了 would.

• The speaker's positivity to the result can also be noticed. For instance:

• 媽媽，我今朝去外婆屋裏吃了交關好物事！ [Shanghainese, trad.]
  妈妈，我今朝去外婆屋里吃了交关好物事！ [Shanghainese, simp.]

  [ʔma̱⁵⁵ ʔma̱²¹ ŋv̩ʷ²³ t͡ɕɪɲ⁵⁵ t͡sɔ³³ t͡ɕʰi³³  ŋa̱²² b̥v̩ʷ⁴⁴ ʊʔ³³ li⁴⁴ t͡ɕʰi̯ɪʔ³³ ləʔ⁴⁴ t͡ɕiɔ⁵⁵ kɯe̞²¹ hɔ³³ məʔ⁵⁵ z̥z̩²¹] [IPA]

  Mum, I ate so much good stuff at grandma's house today! (Neutrally reporting having eaten)

• 今朝一隻小鬼又來了，吃脫交關物事。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
  今朝一只小鬼又来了，吃脱交关物事。 [Shanghainese, simp.]

  [t͡ɕɪɲ⁵⁵ t͡sɔ²¹ i̯ɪʔ³³ t͡sa̱ʔ⁴⁴ ɕiɔ³³ t͡ɕy⁴⁴ ɦiɜ²³ le̞²² ləʔ⁴⁴ t͡ɕʰi̯ɪʔ³³ tʰəʔ⁴⁴ t͡ɕiɔ⁵⁵ kɯe̞²¹ məʔ¹¹ z̥z̩²³] [IPA]

  The kid's come again today and ate a lot of things. (The speaker insinuates having "lost" something with 脫, without presenting this as a newly occurred state - the things had already been eaten for a while)

• 物事儕撥伊吃脫了。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
  物事侪拨伊吃脱了。 [Shanghainese, simp.]

  [məʔ¹¹ z̥z̩²³ z̥e̞²³ pəʔ³³ ɦi⁴⁴ t͡ɕʰi̯ɪʔ³³ tʰəʔ⁵⁵ ləʔ²¹] [IPA]

  He's eaten everything. (The things have been "lost" to the eating, and is newly lost compared to before when the food was not eaten.)

• 脫／脱, 了