标题: | 汉语平比句式的句法语意研究 The Syntax and Semantics of Chinese Equatives |
作者: | 陈奕勋 Chen, Yi-Hsun 刘辰生 Liu, Cheng-Sheng 外国语文学系外国文学与语言学硕士班 |
关键字: | 平比句;一样;不一样;比较句;程度形容词;equatives;yiyang;buyiyang;same;different;comparatives;gradable adjectives |
公开日期: | 2009 |
摘要: | 本篇论文主要探讨中文的”一样”和”不一样”的句法语意特质,并进一步探讨三种比较句(由这两个词汇所核心构成(headed))的句法语意特性。这三种比较句分别为程度平比句(scalar (un-)equatives)、像似比较句(similarity comparatives)及相同比较句(identity comparatives)。首先,我们提供了许多证据,例如句法删略(ellipsis)、问句助词的语意范域(scope of question particle)及结构歧义性(structural ambiguity)等,证明中文的”(不)一样”在句法分布上的确可以担任程度副词和形容词(谓语)。再来,我们提出中文的”跟”以及”和”在比较句中做为介绍比较标准的比较标记(comparative marker)时,其词性为介系词。关于程度比较句,我们提出此类比较句是由程度副词的”(不)一样”所核心构成。程度副词的”(不)一样”在语意上会引介出程度序列关系(ordering relation),从这个角度来说,程度副词的”(不)一样”在中文程度比较句中所担任的句法及语意工作跟more在英文的程度比较句中所担任的非常相似,除了词汇本身所引介的程度序列关系不同。另外,我们提出中文的”(不)一样”和英文中的same及different相同,均呈现了词汇歧义性(lexical ambiguity),英文的部份请参考Alrenga (2007)。进一步说,”(不)一样”在中文同时具有”像似语意(similarity reading)”以及”相同”语意(identity reading)。我们针对”(不)一样”的歧义性,进行句法和语意上的研究。一方面,我们提出像似形容词”一样”可以带一个控制结构的补语子句,然而像似形容词”不一样”却不行。我们进一步提出,如果把”一样”所带的补语子句看作是像似比较句中的衡量词组(measure phrase),这个句法不对称则可以归因于”一样”和”不一样”引介的区间性质(interval nature)不同,而非单纯词汇表现的任意性(idiosyncrasy of lexicons)。另一方面,我们提出中文的像似比较句及相同比较句分别由”(不)一样”的两种词项所核心构成。进一步说,我们认为”(不)一样”不仅是这两种比较句在语法语意上的核心成分,同时表现也像程度谓语一样,决定了一个在相关量级(scale)上正向或负向的区间。这样的分析也帮助我们见到了—―—那些具有比较语意的程度形容词(comparative-like gradable adjectives)更深一层的本质。 This thesis explores both syntax and semantics of yiyang ’same’, buyiyang ‘different’ and three types of comparative constructions (i.e. scalar (un-)equatives, similarity comparatives and identity comparatives) headed by them in Mandarin. In the first place, we present several pieces of evidence (e.g. ellipsis, the scope of question particle and structural ambiguity) for a necessary distinction between two different uses of yiyang and buyiyang, namely, degree adverbs and adjectival predicates. Secondly, we argue that the comparative marker gen/ he, which introduces the comparative standard, is prepositional in these three types of comparatives. This in turn suggests an adjunction analysis for the structural configuration of comparatives (e.g. Liu 1996, Kennedy 1999, Lin 2009). Regarding scalar (un-)equatives, we propose that they are both syntactically and semantically headed by degree adverbs yiyang and buyiyang. Seen in this way, yiyang and buyiyang resemble the English degree morpheme more in two respects. First, all of them are the head of comparatives. Second, all of them are degree morphemes introducing an ordering relation between individuals with respect to possessing some gradable property. Turning to similarity comparatives, we first propose that yiyang and buyiyang, resembling their counterparts same and different in English, are lexically ambiguous between similarity and identity readings in Mandarin. Regarding the syntax of similarity predicates, we propose that yiyang (but not buyiyang) syntactically combines with a clause which is complement in nature, since the extraction of elements from it does not render island effects (i.e. CED effects in the sense of Huang 1982). Further, this complement clause functionally serves as a further specification of the dimension of similarity. For another, by relating dimensions of similarity to degrees of similarity, we propose that the complement clause can be considered as measure phrases in similarity comparatives. Seen in this light, dubbed with Alrenga’s (2007) insight that comparative adjectives such as different and like determine positive and negative intervals of a scale (i.e. similarity), we suggest that the syntactic asymmetry between yiyang and buyiyang can not be attributed to the idiosyncrasy of lexicons; rather, it is better considered as a reflex of the deeper syntax-semantics of measure phrases and the interval nature of buyiyang. Concerning the semantics of similarity predicates, we argue against Alrenga ’s (2007) treatment of similarity same and different as a pair of total/partial adjectives; rather, we suggest that the two pairs of adjectives same/ different and yiyang/ buyiyang be better considered as the adjectives with totally closed scale (e.g. full/ empty, open/ closed), rather than the adjectives with partially closed scale (e.g. dry/ wet, straight/ bent) (see Rotstein & Winter 2004, Kennedy & McNally 2005). Finally, we present a syntax-semantics analysis of similarity yiyang/ buyiyang and similarity comparatives in Mandarin. In particular, we propose that similarity comparatives are both syntactically and semantically headed by similarity predicates yiyang and buyiyang. As for identity comparatives, we point out two potential problems for Alrenga’s (2007) semantic analysis of identity same and different. The first problem is an empirical one, concerning the combination of same and proportion modifiers such as almost and completely. The second one is theoretical in nature, concerning the postulation of an abstract measure phrase. Given these considerations, I propose a syntax-semantics analysis of identity yiyang/ buyiyang and identity comparatives in Mandarin. Specifically, following Alrenga’s conception that individual identity itself constitutes as the dimension of comparison in identity comparatives, I propose that identity predicates yiyang and buyiyang not only syntactically and semantically head identity comparatives, but also determine positive and negative intervals of a scale (i.e. cardinality). Importantly, our analysis requires yiyang to return a positive interval on the relevant scale, and this move leaves room for how proportion adverbs semantically contribute to identity comparatives. Obviously, our analysis thus fares better than Alrenga’s with respect to the empirical problem. However, with respect to the theoretical problem, our analysis suffers the same pain as Alrenga’s does, since both analyses have to postulate an abstract measure phrase and the truth value of a comparative sentence relies on the combination of such degree morphemes. Last but not the least, our analysis of similarity and identity comparatives sheds light on the nature of those comparative-like gradable adjectives such as yiyang and buyiyang. More specifically, yiyang and buyiyang not only serve as the head of comparatives (i.e. similarity and identity), but also resemble gradable adjectives in determining an interval on the relevant scale (i.e. similarity and cardinality). |
URI: | http://140.113.39.130/cdrfb3/record/nctu/#GT079645521 http://hdl.handle.net/11536/43176 |
显示于类别: | Thesis |
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