漢語多義詞「死」認知語義研究

Abstract

本研究針對漢語多義詞「死」進行區辨性的義項分析，並探究其語義發展機制，進一步提出其在華語教學上的應用可能性。「死」不僅屬於基本生命範疇的重要詞彙，亦展現其多義性與語法化的特徵，因而有必要從理論與教學兩個層面進系統化分析。本研究根據Evans (2005) 所提出的義項界定三準則，透過語料蒐集與分析，檢視「死」於單純詞與複合詞中的語義分布、搭配詞特徵及句法功能。同時結合認知語言學的觀點，探討「死」的語義延伸方式及各義項間的關聯，並繪製語義網絡圖，以呈現其原型義項與邊緣義項的互動關係。研究結果顯示，「死」共具有11個獨立且具區辨性的義項，其中「失去生命義」在語料中的分布比例超過八成，為最典型的原型義項，並構成其他義項延伸的核心來源。另一方面，「失去作用義」、「程度達極值義」、「不可改變義」、「堅決義」與「情感義」在語義分布與句法功能上表現穩定，可界定為詞義層面的獨立義項；而「不可活動義」、「不通達義」、「放棄義」、「不顧一切義」與「不靈活義」則雖在單純詞語料中輪廓不夠鮮明，但透過複合詞搭配仍能展現其獨特語義，因而可歸納為語素層面的義項。綜合而言，「死」的語義網絡呈現出核心—邊緣的分層結構，並體現語義延伸的多樣性與系統性。本研究的貢獻主要體現在三個層面。首先，驗證了Evans (2005) 義項界定準則於漢語多義詞研究中的適用性，證實其能有效辨識並確立「死」的獨立義項。其次，透過「死」的語義網絡建構，本研究呈現了原型義項與延伸義項之間的系統性關聯，進一步說明多義詞語義擴展的機制。最後，在華語教學層面，本研究提出多義詞教學的具體應用模式，期望能協助華語教師幫助學習者更清楚掌握詞義差異，並靈活運用於真實語境之中。This study conducts a distinctive sense analysis of the Chinese polysemous word “sǐ”, investigates its semantic development mechanisms, and further explores its pedagogical implications in Chinese language teaching. As “sǐ” not only belongs to the fundamental lexical category of life and death but also exhibits features of polysemy and grammaticalization, it is necessary to undertake a systematic analysis from both theoretical and pedagogical perspectives.Drawing on Evans’ (2005) three criteria for sense differentiation, this study collected and analyzed corpus data to examine the semantic distribution, collocational features, and syntactic functions of “Sǐ” in both simplex and compound forms. Incorporating the framework of cognitive linguistics, the study also explores the processes of semantic extension and the relationships among its senses, and constructs a semantic network diagram to illustrate the interaction between the prototypical and peripheral senses.The findings reveal that “sǐ” encompasses eleven distinct and differentiable senses. Among them, the sense of “loss of life” accounts for more than 80% of occurrences in the corpus, representing the prototypical sense and serving as the core source for the extension of other senses. In contrast, the senses of “loss of function,” “extreme degree,” “unchangeable,” “resolute,” and “emotional” demonstrate stable patterns in semantic distribution and syntactic function, thus qualifying as independent word-level senses. Meanwhile, senses such as “immobility,” “inaccessible,” “abandonment,” “desperation,” and “inflexibility,” though less salient in simplex data, exhibit distinctive semantic properties through compound collocations, and may therefore be classified as morpheme-level senses. Overall, the semantic network of “sǐ” reveals a core–periphery hierarchical structure, embodying both the diversity and systematicity of semantic extension.The contributions of this study are threefold. First, it verifies the applicability of Evans’ (2005) criteria for sense differentiation in the study of Chinese polysemy, confirming their effectiveness in identifying and establishing independent senses of “sǐ” Second, through the construction of the semantic network, it presents the systematic relationships between prototypical and extended senses, further elucidating the mechanisms of semantic expansion in polysemy. Finally, at the pedagogical level, this study proposes a concrete instructional model for teaching polysemous words, aiming to support Chinese language teachers in helping learners better distinguish subtle semantic differences and apply them flexibly in authentic contexts.