Number Category And Its Decategorization In Chinese

This paper has analyzed the static and dynamic of Chinese number category deeply, which bases on these theories of Semantic grammar, Categorization, Decategorization, Lexicalization and Grammaticalization. The static research mainly focuses on establishing of the system in Chinese number category, and exploring the typical forms of expression in it. The dynamic research mainly focuses on studying the dynamic changes of Chinese number category. This paper insists on the new perspective which is the combination of static and dynamic, but also strives to achieve the combinations of form and meaning, description and explanation, diachronic and synchronic.The main contents and innovations of this paper can be summarized as follows:1. The Chapter 3 has deepened the understanding of dynamic on category, and improved the decategorization theory. This chapter has discussed the dynamic of category in theory, from these angles:"the content of category's dynamics", "the relationship between decategorization and dynamic", "the performance of decategorization", "the relationship between decategorization, lexicalization and grammaticalization". It has also focused on the performances of decategorization from these levels:syntax, semantics, pragmatics and so on.2. In the Chapter 4, we have researched the Chinese number category comprehensively and systematically. This chapter has cleared the relationship between the categories of number, quantity, degree, and analyzed the nature and characteristics of number. It has generalized the expressions of the Chinese number category from the syntax and other levels. It also has classified the number from the different cognitive perspectives, and further explored the ways of number's inquiring.3. In the Chapter 5, we have analyzed the special forms of expression in Chinese number category, which is number's range. The main contents of Chapter 5:it has analyzed and generalized the types of the number range and its expressions in the vocabulary or syntax; it has studied the usage of the markers of number range; it has also made a series of discussions on the features and functions of number range.4. The Chapter 6,7 and 8 have based on the decategorization theory, and respectively analyzed the dynamic in number, quantity and the phrases of number which are typical members of number category, from syntax, semantics and discourse function.5. The Chapter 9 and 10 are the typical cases of Chinese number category. These chapters has respectively studied the decategorization of number"半",quantity"般"and the phrase"一般",and analyzed the track and reasons of evolution from number"半"to adverb"半",and analyzed how to the phrase"一般"evolve in to the adjective or particle"一般".At the same time, it has pointed out the other decategorization of quantity"般".