Research On The VP-formed Plant Codes

Human beings consciously or unconsciously base the nomenclature on the characteristics of the world,succinctly revealing its unique features.Among them,plant codes of nomenclature manifest themselves in rich implications.To make a detailed research into VP-formed plant codes will play an important role in academic area and everyday life.VP-formed plant codes may function as nouns to refer to plant name,and they can also be used as verb phrases in discourse.Thus,different from normal plant codes,VP-formed plant codes reveal the distinguishing features which are of considerable research value.This thesis consists of four chapters(namely four parts).In the first chapter,we will explore the grammar structure in VP-formed plant codes.In this study,we found that the syntactic feature of VP-formed plant codes is distinctive,including predicate-object structure,verb-adverbial attributive structure,subject-predicate structure,predicate-complement structure,conjunction-predicate structure,subjective-object structure and joint verb structure,in which the ones composed of predicate-object structure occupy the greatest number.In chapter two,we will discuss the constitutions and features of VP-formed plant codes.The first step is to put forward and analyze the five constituent methods of those names,namely meter suppression,transferred referent,combined variation,metaphor and austerity.The next step is to analyze the four major features in the composition of the names,which can be concluded as three-syllables-based,clear statements,strong reasoning and colloquial characteristics.In chapter three,the study will go further into the motivations for naming and semantic constitutions in VP-formed plant codes.First of all,we will analyze the naming motivations of those names from their features,functions,culture backgrounds and entirety representations,and the main point is that most of the VP-formed plant codes are aliases,with four types of semantic functions which are applied in depicting dynamic images of plants,stating the functions and effects of those plants,prompting the time cycle of their growth and mortality and utilizing the feedback of other principal parts to transfer to the plants.Next,we will analyze the semantic constitutions of those plant names with two categories,in which the sum of words is either equal or unequal to the whole word meaning.Among the two categories,most situation of “the sum of words is equal to the whole word meaning” with referring to the agent occurs in the VP-formed plant codes.In chapter four,we will investigate the cognition of plant names in native and non-native speakers of Chinese through questionnaires and interviews.As the analysis reveals that VP-formed plant codes do not occupy the dominant position in plant names,and it is not easy for native speakers of Chinese to recognize and accept.However,their high-degree recognition,strong expressive ability and deep semantic cognitions account for their persistence in nomenclature.To non-native speakers of Chinese,the special structural features of VP-formed plant codes tend to be ignored,while plant names based on color,shape and odor are easy for them to remember.Thus,in teaching of Chinese as a foreign language,senior-level learners of Chinese are recommendable as teaching object.During the teaching process,attention should be attached to the differences between VP-formed plant codes and VP phrase structure as well as internal semantic structure.In brief,the thesis analyzes VP-formed plant codes from grammatical,semantic and cognitive perspectives.Accounting for only a small proportion of plant names,this category occupies a very important part in the human cognitive world.Thus,this thesis offers theoretical and practical significance to the understanding of Chinese people’s cognitive methods and their characteristics.