A Contrastive Study Of English And Chinese Restricted Combinations In Phrase Structures

Based on the principles of general linguistics, the dissertation studies restricted combinations in phrase structures from the perspectives of structural form, semantic relationship and discourse function. The study attempts to explore the internal formal features, semantic relationship and coherence function of restricted combinations as well as their emergence mechanism from such binary linguistic principles as synthesis and analysis, syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations, langue and parole, universals and peculiairities, synchronic and diachronic research, holistic and atomic approaches, arbitrariness and motivation.As in other forms of combination at the phrasal level, restricted combinations in phrase structures follow Adjective-Noun, Verb-Object, Verb-Complement and Parallel–structure patterns. Our research findings show that Verb-Object and Adjective-Noun structures account for the highest proportion in restricted combinations. Although their internal structural relationships are characterized by dominance and modification, their semantic relationship is complicated by their illogical combinations that go against the s-select in selection restriction. Even though there is no superficial disagreement in the semantic relations between individual participants involved in the phrase, there is a"semantic mismatch"between the meaning of the lexical items and the collective meaning of the whole phrase(Francis & Michaelis,2003;Newmeyer,2007)As a result, the phrasal meaning is different from the atomic literal meanings of individual words that constitute the phrase.The meaning gap between the overall structural meaning and the atomic lexical meaning can be attributed to principles governing language use such as, relevance, proximity, economy, motivation and convention as well as the historical evolution of the language.Restricted combinations play an important role in communication through their ideational, expressive and coherence functions. The gap between their surface meanings and underlying real meanings, or between their phrasal meanings and componential meanings allows restricted combinations to be interpreted differently and justifies seemingly incoherent expressions. Thus the covert meaning, in certain contexts, could be brought into prominence to generate humor, irony, jocosity and other rhetorical effects.A contrastive analysis of restricted combinations in Chinese and English shows both similarities and differences. In spite of similar types of restricted combinations, the two languages differ enormously from each other when it comes to individual cases, as a result of divergent historical and cultural backgrounds. The pervasive differences and occasional coincidences at individual-case level testify to the Principles and Parameters in syntactic theory formulated by Noam Chomsky.The research has both theoretical and practical values, as it well explains the holistic approach to restricted combinations, offers reference to studies in syntax, semantics and lexicology. Language teaching, translation and dictionary compilation witness its practical values. In language teaching, foreign language teaching in particular, both teachers and learners should pay attention to the meaning of individual words as well as larger units. Similarly, it is advisable for the translator to go beyond words in seeking equivalence. The implication for dictionary compilation is that restricted combinations should be included wherever applicable to better support language learning as a reference book.