論漢語「個」字在「V 個 XP」 結構之句法表現及語意解釋

Abstract

本篇論文主要探討中文「個」字在「V個XP」結構的特殊用法，例如「吃個飯」、「吃個過癮」。首先，根據數量詞是否可以加入來判斷，該結構的「個」不能加入前置的數量詞，可視為與個體量詞的「個」不同，如果該假設成立，那麼「個」到底是什麼？「個」的出現對句子貢獻什麼語意？

本文中「個」字的句法分析，主要奠基於Doetjes (1997)對量詞 (Quantification)的研究。「個」從表示確定量的量詞(classifier)轉為表示不定量的程度量詞(degree quantifier)，「個」可分析為一個帶有量詞結構(classifier construction)的程度量詞。此外，「個」是程度量詞的中心語(head)，選擇帶有名詞特性(nominal)的詞語，例如名詞及形容詞。

從語意的觀點而言，根據Kennedy&McNally (2005) 對程度(degree)及範圍(scale)的定義，形容詞有其範圍。再根據Doetjes (1997)的定義，名詞也可視為有範圍。「個」指的就是這範圍的最小值(minimal part)，因此才會有微小不重要(trivial)的語意出現。

總歸而言，本文主張中文「個」具有一致的句法表現及語意解釋，句法上是程度量詞，語意上是指賓語範圍的最小值。

This thesis studies the special usage of ge in the V ge XP construction, such as chi ge fan ‘have a meal’ and chi ge gouyin ‘eat to one’s heart’s content,’ and with particular focus on the interpretation of ge. Initially, since ge does not allow the preceding numerals, it is argued that ge is different from the generalized classifier ge, which individuates a single unit of nouns for counting. In other words, ge in the V ge XP does not function like an individual classifier. If such an account is correct, then what is ge? What kind of meaning does ge contribute to the V ge XP construction? In this thesis, the assumption regarding the syntactic representation of ge is based on Doetjes’ (1997) analysis of quantification and selection. I propose that ge is a degree quantifier (i.e., DQ), due to the facts that, like a DQ, ge gradually changes from a classifier denoting a specific quantity, or a unit, to a degree quantifier denoting an uncertainty quantity. Furthermore, I propose that ge is a head, selecting phrases composed of categories with [+N] feature, such as nouns and adjectives. From the semantic point of view, based on the research of Kennedy and McNally (2005), adjectives have scales and degrees. According to Doetjes’ (1997) definition, nouns also have scales. I then propose that each XP has its scale and ge indicates the minimal part on the scale of the XP, such as the degree scale of adjectives or the quantity scale of nouns. Thus, a trivial reading is derived. This study concludes that ge is a degree quantifier selecting nominal arguments syntactically, and ge denotes the minimal part of arguments in the scale of degree or quantity semantically. The contribution of this study is to provide a unified syntactic and semantic analysis of ge in the V ge XP construction.