中文移動動詞之首選詞序探討

Abstract

本研究以Liu et al.(2012)所提出之中文移動事件概念基模(Proto-Motion Event Schema in Mandarin)為本，探討中文移動動詞中的同素逆序詞組，探討詞序互換的構詞機制與其所代表的語意功能分工。如下例所示，「退回」與「回退」是兩個可相互交換詞序的動詞詞組，其語意表現也有所不同。例子(1a)表現典型的空間移動事件；然而例子(1b)則表現出非空間的抽象性移動關係。 (1)a. 垃圾車只好退回。 b. 時間如流水，永遠都不會回退。

中文移動動詞的詞序組合一直以來都是漢語語言學中的重要議題，基於中文句式允許數個動詞排列的特性，Chen and Guo (2009)提出中文移動動詞的八種可能的組合關係，另一方面Lin (2011)則提出了中文移動事件階層結構(Motion Morpheme Hierachy)並藉以指出中文移動動詞詞組內部的順序性。本研究以中研院現代漢語平衡語料庫(Sinica Corpus)為本，搭配中文移動事件概念基模(Liu et al. 2012)，界定中文移動動詞詞組中所涵蓋的語意內涵，並藉由不同的詞彙化模式(lexicalization patterns)指出互換詞組的兩種序列順序結構，並藉由語料庫的觀察，發現移動動詞兩種順序體現在指涉空間移動與非空間性移動的搭配關係，論證中文詞序的詞彙組合事實上展現出兩種移動事件語意使用的分工關係。 本研究著眼於中文移動動詞序列結構中的詞序互換結構，本研究的完成能幫助補足中文移動動詞詞序的研究，從語法的基礎上看出中文動詞詞組的語意表現，並且從詞組所指涉的不同移動事件語意，找出詞序的構詞結構與移動事件語意分工的關聯性。

The paper adopts the Proto-Motion Event Schema in Mandarin by Liu et al. (2012) to investigate the semantic-to-morphological distinction between the alternating pair of Mandarin motion sequences such as tuì-huí 退回 ‘recede-return’ vs. huí-tuì 回退 ‘return-recede’, as both are found in the corpus: (1)a. 垃圾車只好退回。 lèsèchē zhǐhăo tuì-huí trash.truck reluctant recede-return ‘A trash truck has no choice but to recede.’ b. 時間如流水，永遠都不會回退。 shíjiān rú liúshuǐ yǒngyuǎn dōu búhuì huí-tuì time as flowing.water forever all never return-recede ‘Time doesn’t flow back as water never does.’

As illustrated above, tuì-huí 退回 in (1a) denotes a spatial movement while huí-tuì 回退 in (1b) is used for temporal predication. The spatial vs. non-spatial distinction is further confirmed by a corpus-based investigation that shows that morphological sequencing of motion verbs is correlated with semantic properties that are essential in defining motion events. Earlier studies on motion sequences suggested that motion is multifaceted and sequential in nation. Chen and Guo (2009) have exhausted eight possible combinations of Mandarin motion verbs. Lin (2011) applied scale structure to account for motion sequences and proposed a fixed order for motion morphemes based on the Motion Morpheme Hierarchy. Liu et al. (2012a) further specifies the core semantic components in defining and describing a motion event and proposed a Proto-Motion Event Schema to explain the morphological, semantic and syntactic behavior of motion verbs. The Schema displays a default sequence linearizing the crucial components of motion: The left-to-right sequence specified in the Schema provides a sequential order for combining motion verbs, each of which lexically encodes a certain range of the components. In tuì-huí 退回, the morphological sequence follows the default order of the Schema, as V1 tuì 退 encoding Route and Direction is followed by a wider-ranged V2 huí 回 encoding Route, Direction, and Endpoint. The semantic portion of V2 outranges that of V1 toward the right. As for the reverse sequence huí-tuì 回退, the semantic range of V1 huí 回 would override that of V2 in a recessive way, clearly not abiding the default order. A close look into corpus data confirmed the semantic-to-morphological correlation underlying the alternative sequential mechanism of Mandarin motion sequences. We claim that motion sequences following the default order, such as tuì-huí 退回, tend to predicate a spatial motion while the reversed order, such as huí-tuì 回退, tend to be used predominantly for non-spatial events. The present paper aims to account for the compositional constraints of motion sequences with observed semantic-to-morphological correlations. We attempt to postulate a morphological version of lexical diffusion that modifies the morphological sequence in order to differentiate semantic and discourse functions.