就…而言grammar point · tier 2 · with respect to 就…而言 (restrict a claim to one named respect)
Frames one named respect or aspect, then states a fact that holds only within that respect, leaving other respects untouched.
字源 FORM what the parts do
Two brackets fence off one respect, and the claim inside holds only there. 就 opens it: a tall hall (京) on high ground and 尤, the one that stands out — go right up to this one matter and settle on it. 而言 closes it: 而, the chin-and-beard graph hired out as a clause-joint, hangs the next words on; 言 is a mouth with the breath rising in straight strokes, the spoken word. So far as the speaking of this one matter goes. The respect being weighed sits between them.
故事 STORY a scene to remember it by
A fence drops around one square of ground and nothing else. What gets said stands true inside the fence; step over the line and the claim no longer covers you.
字源記憶法
框 · Frame
就 [respect/aspect] 而言，[claim true within that respect]
觸 · Trigger
You want to limit a statement to one aspect — economics, health, grammar — and signal it need not hold beyond that aspect.
序 · The move
1Name the single respect you are fencing the claim into, and seat it after 就.Is the slot an aspect or domain of a matter (經濟發展, 健康), not a party who holds the view? A party wants 對…來說.
2Close the bracket with 而言 and a pause, then state the fact that holds in that respect.Would the fact still be defensible if the respect changed? If it is meant as an all-round verdict, the fence is the wrong tool.
3Read it back from the picture.Does it confine the claim to inside the fence (success: true of this respect, silent on others), rather than read off how the thing looks to a person (failure)?
例 · Examples
1就經濟發展economic development而言，今年的平均薪資average wage比去年成長to grow, to rise百分之三。
With respect to economic development, this year's average wage grew three percent over last year.
就…而言 fences the claim into one respect of the matter (就經濟而言 = as far as the economy goes). 對…來說 seats the claim on a party and reports how things weigh from where they stand (對我來說 = from where I stand). Respect-of-a-matter against standpoint-of-a-party.
就…而言 fences off a respect and limits the claim to it (就健康而言 = in the matter of health). 以/從…來看 seats a measuring axis and reads off how the thing rates along it (以健康來看 = judging by health). Bound-the-respect against sight-the-rating.
關於 names the topic a whole piece of discourse is about (關於這件事 = on the subject of this matter). 就…而言 narrows a single statement to one respect and leaves the others standing (就這件事而言 = as far as this one matter goes). Topic-of-a-text against respect-of-one-claim.
✗ 對經濟發展而言，薪資成長三 → ✓ 就經濟發展而言，薪資成長百分之三 (an aspect of the matter is fenced with 就…而言; 對…來說 belongs to a party's standpoint)
✗ 就經濟發展來說，… → ✓ 就經濟發展而言，… (就 closes with 而言; 來說 belongs to the standpoint frame 對…來說)
✗ 就經濟發展而言得很好 → ✓ 就經濟發展而言，情況很好 (而言 closes the frame and is followed by a clause, not a degree complement)
English 'as for X' and 'for X' run together. 就…而言 is only the with-respect-to sense ('as far as the economy is concerned'); the for-a-person sense ('for me, …') wants 對…來說, and the about-a-text sense ('regarding X') wants 關於.