中文表向下動詞的語法及語意分析
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2022
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本文藉由分析平衡語料庫4.0語料,研究中文表向下移動的近義動詞。根據中央研究院的詞頻表,本文選擇「落」、「掉」、「跌」、「倒」、「摔」、「降」六個動詞為研究主題。研究目的在於區分六個動詞在語法、語意及表述向下移動的特徵。在分析中,根據動詞的非賓格/非作格用法,將它們的句構分三大類:[客體/施事 動詞 補語]、[客體/施事 動詞 (____)]及[(____) 動詞 客體],當中客體/施事是動詞的核心論元。補語又可進一步區分為六類;介詞+處所名詞、趨向動詞+處所名詞、下、複合趨向補語、數量補語及結果補語。[客體/施事 動詞 (____)]中,動詞可單獨存在或接處所名詞或副詞。[(____) 動詞 客體]出現在存現句、領屬句、無主語結構及致使結構。客體/施事的語意特徵,如具體或抽象、人類或非人類,以及重複共現的並置詞也納入分析以決定六個動詞表述的動作類型。本文採用Talmy (2000a)的概念結構系統及Lakoff& Johnson (1980)的概念隱喻兩項認知理論作為理論架構。一方面將Talmy (2000a)系統內的分類精簡為10項以分析六個動詞表下移動作的特徵,這10項分類為:(1) 關注焦點、(2) 分別性、(3) 延伸度、(4) 情態、(5) 視角位置、(6) 視角距離、(7) 視角方向、(8) 關注階段、(9) 關注層次及(10) 驅動力。第一項說明移動事件強調的成分,第二至第八項與動作特徵相關,最後兩項說明移動主體與動作起因的特徵。另一方面採用Lakoff & Johnson (1980)的概念隱喻中方位隱喻與實體隱喻來解釋六個動詞的隱喻用法。
研究發現[客體 動詞 介詞/趨向動詞 處所名詞]是六個動詞主要的句構。在此句構中,六個動詞在表具體下移動作時呈現差異。「落」表示自然動作、「掉」描繪與人類相關的突發動作、「跌」描述導致嚴重後果的人類動作、「倒」表達直立物體從垂直方向往水平方向下移的動作、「摔」表達與人類相關的猛烈動作、「降」則是代表能以刻度衡量的動作。此外,「倒」在視角距離與其他動詞有所區分,而「降」在強調動作階段與其他動詞有所不同。根據六個動詞呈現的特徵,本文提出關注焦點、有界性、情態、視角距離、關注階段、主體類型與使動性為區分它們的主要類別。此外,「落」、「跌」、「降」表延伸義的語料數遠大於呈現基本義的個數,而延伸義與基本義之間的關係以方位隱喻與實體隱喻解釋。本文進一步提出此兩項隱喻不足以解釋「落」的延伸用法,而必須藉助其他隱喻類型,如事件隱喻,來補足說明。另外,六個動詞在書面語與口語語料的使用也被比較,發現「落」、「跌」、「降」傾向用於書面語,而「掉」、「摔」、「倒」傾向在口語中使用。六個動詞的句構類型亦隨著書面語/口語而變化。本研究藉由比較六個動詞的句法、語意及在不同語境中的使用,分析它們的細微差異,藉此理解它們表達的下移動作在我們的認知中有何不同,又如何反映在語言使用上。
This dissertation undertakes a study of near-synonymous verbs of downward motion in Mandarin Chinese by conducting the analysis of the data of Sinica Corpus 4.0. Based on the word list of Academia Sinica, six verbs, including luò, diào, dié, dǎo, shuāi, and jiàng are selected in the present study. The present study aims to tease out the difference between the verbs in terms of syntactic behavior, semantic meaning, and the construal of downward motion. In the analysis, three syntactic types of the six verbs according to their unaccusative/unergative uses are identified: [Theme/Agent V complement], [Theme/Agent V (___)], and [(____) V Theme], in which Theme/Agent is the core argument of the verbs. The complements can be further divided into six subtypes: co-verb + Loc-NP (Cov Loc-NP), directional verb + Loc-NP (Dir Loc-NP), xià ‘descend’, directional compound (Dircompound), Quantity, and Result. In [Theme/Agent V (____)], the verb can occur as a lone verb ([Theme V Ø]) or be followed by a Loc-NP or an AdvP. [(____) V Theme] is found in existential/possessive/subject-less/causative constructions. The semantic properties of Theme/Agent, e.g., concrete or abstract, human or non-human, and the recurring collocates of the verbs are also investigated to determine the type of the motion the six verbs encode.This study provides a cognitive account based on Talmy’s (2000a) Conceptual Structuring System and Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) Conceptual Metaphor. On one hand, the categories in Talmy (2000a) are utilized and condensed into 10 to specify the features of the motion, including (1) focus of attention, (2) dividedness, (3) degree of extension, (4) manner, (5) perspectival location, (6) perspectival distance, (7) direction of viewing, (8) window of attention, (9) level of attention, and (10) force-dynamics. The first category concerns the highlighted components of a motion event, the second to the eighth categories give information about the features of the motion, and the last two categories characterize the referent in motion and the cause of the motion. On the other hand, two subtypes of metaphors in Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) theory, including orientational and ontological metaphors, are adopted to explain the metaphorical use of the verbs.The findings show that [Theme V Cov/Dir Loc-NP] are the prevalent syntactic patterns of the six verbs. In the syntactic patterns, the six verbs show difference in their characterization of physical motion. Luò denotes natural motion, diào depicts abrupt human-related movement, dié describes human motion followed by a disastrous consequence, dǎo refers to motion of an upright entity from a vertical to a horizontal axis, shuāi expresses violent human-related motion, and jiàng represents a scalar motion. Moreover, dǎo is distinguished from the other five near-synonyms in the feature of perspectival distance, while jiàng is distinctive in windowed processes of motion. Based on their distinctive features, this dissertation proposes focus of attention, boundedness, manner, perspectival distance, process of motion, Agonist, and causativity as the attributes that distinguish the nuanced difference between the six verbs. Moreover, the occurrences of luò, dié, and jiàng with extended meanings predominate, and the relation between their extended meanings and their literal meanings are accounted for by orientational and ontological metaphors. The present study further suggests that orientational metaphors are not adequate in explaining the extended meanings of luò and that other types of metaphors, e.g., the even structure metaphor, are required for the explanation. Furthermore, the use of the six verbs in written/spoken texts is also compared, and the exploration suggests luò, dié, and jiàng are associated with literary readings while diào, shuāi, and dǎo are used in colloquial readings. The selection of the syntactic structures of these verbs also varies according to the written/spoken registers.The investigation of the six verbs of downward motion in terms of syntactic behavior, semantic meanings, and use in contexts unveils their nuanced difference and contributes to an understanding of how downward motion is conceptualized in our mind and characterized in language.
This dissertation undertakes a study of near-synonymous verbs of downward motion in Mandarin Chinese by conducting the analysis of the data of Sinica Corpus 4.0. Based on the word list of Academia Sinica, six verbs, including luò, diào, dié, dǎo, shuāi, and jiàng are selected in the present study. The present study aims to tease out the difference between the verbs in terms of syntactic behavior, semantic meaning, and the construal of downward motion. In the analysis, three syntactic types of the six verbs according to their unaccusative/unergative uses are identified: [Theme/Agent V complement], [Theme/Agent V (___)], and [(____) V Theme], in which Theme/Agent is the core argument of the verbs. The complements can be further divided into six subtypes: co-verb + Loc-NP (Cov Loc-NP), directional verb + Loc-NP (Dir Loc-NP), xià ‘descend’, directional compound (Dircompound), Quantity, and Result. In [Theme/Agent V (____)], the verb can occur as a lone verb ([Theme V Ø]) or be followed by a Loc-NP or an AdvP. [(____) V Theme] is found in existential/possessive/subject-less/causative constructions. The semantic properties of Theme/Agent, e.g., concrete or abstract, human or non-human, and the recurring collocates of the verbs are also investigated to determine the type of the motion the six verbs encode.This study provides a cognitive account based on Talmy’s (2000a) Conceptual Structuring System and Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) Conceptual Metaphor. On one hand, the categories in Talmy (2000a) are utilized and condensed into 10 to specify the features of the motion, including (1) focus of attention, (2) dividedness, (3) degree of extension, (4) manner, (5) perspectival location, (6) perspectival distance, (7) direction of viewing, (8) window of attention, (9) level of attention, and (10) force-dynamics. The first category concerns the highlighted components of a motion event, the second to the eighth categories give information about the features of the motion, and the last two categories characterize the referent in motion and the cause of the motion. On the other hand, two subtypes of metaphors in Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) theory, including orientational and ontological metaphors, are adopted to explain the metaphorical use of the verbs.The findings show that [Theme V Cov/Dir Loc-NP] are the prevalent syntactic patterns of the six verbs. In the syntactic patterns, the six verbs show difference in their characterization of physical motion. Luò denotes natural motion, diào depicts abrupt human-related movement, dié describes human motion followed by a disastrous consequence, dǎo refers to motion of an upright entity from a vertical to a horizontal axis, shuāi expresses violent human-related motion, and jiàng represents a scalar motion. Moreover, dǎo is distinguished from the other five near-synonyms in the feature of perspectival distance, while jiàng is distinctive in windowed processes of motion. Based on their distinctive features, this dissertation proposes focus of attention, boundedness, manner, perspectival distance, process of motion, Agonist, and causativity as the attributes that distinguish the nuanced difference between the six verbs. Moreover, the occurrences of luò, dié, and jiàng with extended meanings predominate, and the relation between their extended meanings and their literal meanings are accounted for by orientational and ontological metaphors. The present study further suggests that orientational metaphors are not adequate in explaining the extended meanings of luò and that other types of metaphors, e.g., the even structure metaphor, are required for the explanation. Furthermore, the use of the six verbs in written/spoken texts is also compared, and the exploration suggests luò, dié, and jiàng are associated with literary readings while diào, shuāi, and dǎo are used in colloquial readings. The selection of the syntactic structures of these verbs also varies according to the written/spoken registers.The investigation of the six verbs of downward motion in terms of syntactic behavior, semantic meanings, and use in contexts unveils their nuanced difference and contributes to an understanding of how downward motion is conceptualized in our mind and characterized in language.
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Keywords
近義詞, 移動動詞, 非賓格動詞, 概念結構系統, 概念隱喻, near-synonyms, motion verbs, unaccusative verbs, Conceptual Structuring System, Conceptual Metaphor