英語動結式的三分法及其類型學意義

Abstract

通過對英語動結式的問卷調查研究，本文對把動結式歸為三類的分法提供了統計方面的證據。這三類分別是次語類化的弱動結式、次語類化的強動結式和非次語類化的強動結式。本文指出，以英語為母語的成年人之所以對這三類動結式的接受度表現出差異，原因在於使役成分、結果成分及結果成分所表述的對象這三種成分的整合難易程度。這一分析也可以用來解釋有關動結式的兩個蘊含共性。此外，本文還考察了憑藉動結式的三分法來對語言進行更為細緻分類的可能性。文章指出，這一細分法的一個重要發現是，有的語言，如日語，雖然有次語類化的弱動結式和次語類化的強動結式，但沒有非次語類化的強動結式。

Through a questionnaire study of English resultatives, this paper provides statistical evidence for a three-way distinction of the resultative construction, namely subcategorized weak resultatives, subcategorized strong resultatives, and unsubcategorized strong resultatives. It argues that the degree of difficulty in native speakers’ accepting these three types of resultatives can be accounted for by the amount of effort involved in integrating the causing predicate, the result component, and the entity being predicated of by the result component. This explanation can also be extended to account for two implicational universals about the resultative construction. In addition, the paper also investigates the possibility of proposing a fine-grained typology of languages on the basis of this three-way distinction, and points out that the finding of Japanese as a language that does not allow unsubcategorized resultatives but allows subcategorized weak and subcategorized strong resultatives is one significant result of this fine-grained typology.