一般而言grammar point · tier 2 · framing adverbial 一般而言 (generally speaking, in general — formal register)
Sentence-initial framing adverbial of formal or written register: marks what follows as the broad general case, holding for most instances and leaving room for exceptions.
字源 FORM what the parts do
般 is the boat-turning graph borrowed for kind and manner, so 一般 reads of one kind — ordinary, across the board. 而 is the whiskers graph borrowed whole as the joining word, on loan and spelling no sound here. 言 is a mouth with the breath rising above in straight strokes: plain speech, words said out. 而言 lexicalizes as a written-register speaking-frame, setting the angle the words come from in formal prose where 來說 sets it in talk. The phrase opens the sentence and fixes the across-the-board angle before the claim arrives.
故事 STORY a scene to remember it by
A spread of separate cases is gathered and pressed into one flat sheet; a single plain line is read off the whole sheet, the few that do not lie flat left unpressed at the edge.
字源記憶法
框 · Frame
一般而言，[claim that holds for most cases]（但 [exception]）
觸 · Trigger
In writing or formal speech you are about to state something true of most cases and want to flag it as the broad rule, not a law without exceptions.
序 · The move
1Put 一般而言 at the front, before the subject of the claim.Is the register formal or written? In casual talk 一般來說 sits better.
2State the claim that holds for most instances.Does the claim cover the typical case, leaving odd ones unspoken? If you mean it always holds without exception, 一般而言 is the wrong frame.
3If an exception matters, open a following clause with 但 / 然而.The exception comes after the general claim, never inside the 一般而言 clause.
例 · Examples
1一般而言generally speaking, in general — framing the claim as the broad case (formal)，薪水越高，越容易吸引to attract, draw in到人才talent, capable people。
Generally speaking, the higher the salary, the easier it is to attract talent.
Register, same job. 一般而言 carries 而言, the written-register speaking-frame, and sits in formal prose and speeches; 一般來說 carries 來說 and sits in everyday talk. Both flag the broad case with exceptions allowed. Formal/written -> 一般而言; conversational -> 一般來說.
How firm the claim is. 一般而言 marks the broad case with exceptions allowed (as a rule); 一定 marks something that holds without exception (definitely, for sure). Most-of-the-time -> 一般而言; no-exceptions -> 一定.
What the frame introduces. 一般而言 introduces the general rule that covers the cases; 例如 introduces one instance to illustrate it. The rule -> 一般而言; an example of it -> 例如.
✗ 一般而言，昨天他遲到了。 → ✓ 他昨天遲到了。(a single past event takes no generalizing frame; 一般而言 governs broad claims, not one occasion)
✗ 一般而言，水一定往低處流。 → ✓ 水一定往低處流。(a law with no exceptions takes 一定, not the exception-allowing 一般而言)
✗ 薪水越高越容易吸引人才，一般而言。 → ✓ 一般而言，薪水越高越容易吸引人才。(the frame leads the claim; it does not trail behind it)
English lets 'generally speaking' float to the end of a sentence ('Higher pay attracts talent, generally speaking'). In Chinese 一般而言 leads the clause; learners strand it at the end where it does not sit.