From a Motion Verb to an Aspect Marker

Abstract

過一直以來被視為多義詞 (polysemy), 其語意表徵包括動詞、名詞、結果補語、及經驗貌標記等。本文試圖以過的中心語意 (core meaning) 為基礎, 輔以形象圖式 (image schema)、隱喻延伸 (metaphorical extension)、及縱剖 (profile)等, 來分析過的數個語意間如何轉換和相互連接。 文中並將特別討論V-得/不-過來/過去 (如: 轉不過來, 說得過去) 的語意結構, 對過來/過去的選用提出一合理的解釋。 此外, 也將針對過的語法化 (grammaticalization) 現象進行探討。

This paper aims to explore the various senses that guo possesses and discuss the motivations responsible for its semantic and syntactic diversity. Starting as a motion verb, guo has extended its use to a noun, a verb complement, part of a complex postverb as in guolai and guoqu, and a well-known EXPERIENTIAL marker. However, most of the previous studies on this lexeme focused mainly on its function as an aspect maker; little has been investigated about its core meaning and the relatedness among its various usages. In this paper, with an emphasis on the cognitive-linguistic processes involved, an image schema capturing the semantic basis of the path-related senses of guo will be proposed, and this will serve as the conceptual ground for its non-path-related uses, which will also be discussed. It will be demonstrated that extensions of its core meaning are made possible via metaphorical transfers from the SPATIAL to TEMPORAL, CONCRETE to ABSTRACT, and OBJECTIVE to SUBJECTIVE domains. Besides, with different profiles specified, guo can act either as a verb, meaning ‘to pass over/across’, or a noun, denoting ‘a mistake’. Most important of all, I claim that in the V-guo(lai/qu) compounds with no path-related senses, those verb compounds behave like polarity items with restricted distributions, evidenced by their compatibility with negation, questions, and the hai construction, which implies a marginal sense. Furthermore, it will be shown that the choice of lai or qu is systematically rather than randomly determined. Lastly, possible grammaticalization paths concerning the word guo will be offered.