A Cognitive Semantic Study Of The Chinese "Wan(?)+Object" Formal Unit

The research on Chinese verb+object structure has received widespread attention due to the diversity and complexity of semantic relationship between verb and its object.Many linguists began with the classification of objects from different aspects so as to construct the meaning of the verb+object structure respectively.Wan(?)is a frequently used verb in Chinese.Although the previous studies have notice various objects of verb wan(?),most of them focus on its syntactic properties and cultural implications.Therefore,little in-depth research is involved in the field of the generation of different objects and the meaning construction of “wan(?)+object” structure until now.Therefore,this thesis takes Chinese “wan(?)+object” structure as the research objects.Based on formal unit concept frame theory,this thesis will view the Chinese verb wan(?)as an action event frame and with the help of cognitive operation theories,the thesis mainly attempts to solve three problems:(1)How are elements classified in play action event frame?(2)How are Chinese “wan(?)” +thing concept generated? How are the meaning of this kind of “wan(?)” formal units constructed?(3)How are Chinese “wan(?)” +event concept generated? How arethe meaning of this kind of “wan(?)” formal units constructed?Based on formal unit concept frame theory and human experience of the action play,this thesis stimulates the action event frame of play and the major findings are as follows:(1)Through the analysis of more than 300 related linguistic data and based on the action event frame of play,“wan(?)+object” formal units can be categorized from two different standards,namely the formal structure and the concept content of object.(2)Based on the concept content,objects in wan(?)formal units can be divided into thing concepts and event concepts.Thing concepts can be further divided into concrete thing concept and abstract concept.The meaning construction of these sorts of formal units are mainly by way of conceptual metonymy and direct statement.In some cases,cultural background plays a vital role in shaping the meaning of wan(?)formal units.(3)Event concepts provide more detailed information for the verb wan(?).Verbs representing event concepts can be further divided into transitive verb and intransitive verb.The meaning construction of both sorts are mainly by way of conceptual metonymy but differs in some degree.Beside,in rare cases conceptual metaphotonymy is of great importance in constructing the meaning of some “wan(?)”+ event concept.For the purpose of achieving language economy,some elements in“wan(?)+object” formal units are profiled while others hided.Only with the aid of theories of cognitive operation associated with certain context can the author explain what kind of elements can obtain profiling,which is helpful when concerning the meaning construction of the corresponding “wan(?)+ object” formal unit.