The Study Of The Double-Reduplicated-Four-Word Form AABB In Chinese

By using the theory of Construction Grammar and that of grammaticalization, both found in Functional and Cognitive Linguistics, this dissertation explores the factors and constraints that shape the double-reduplicated four-word form (AABB) in Chinese. The main questions that the dissertation seeks to answer are as follows:Why do different AABB expressions share the same form while they have different syntactic properties? What is the nature of the continuum between them?How are the AABB expressions formed? What is their internal syntactical structure?What historical changes has the AABB form experienced?What semantic attributes should the constituents of a verbal AABB expression carry?What semantic and cognitive factors influence the order of an AABB expression?The continuum of the AABB form can be found in two places: one is in the relationship between the verbal AABB and the adjective AABB, and the other is within the adjective AABB itself. The verbal AABB carries the attributes of both the verb and the adjective. This is because of the family resemblance and it is a mirror of its historical changes. There is a synchronic continuum in this kind of AABB: the joint use of AABB the integration of AABB the double reduplicated form of AABB.A continuum can also be found within the adjective AABB itself. It is widely perceived that the AABB1 (expressions formed with double-syllable adjectives) and AABB2 (expressions formed with one-syllable adjectives) are two different types of grammatical forms. Our research proves that there was only one form throughout the development of AABB, and that semantically, from synchronic points of view, both AABB1 and AABB2 convey an"increase in intensity"and both have the same syntactic functions and prosodic structure. Therefore, these two adjective AABB forms can be regarded as the outcome of different developmental phases of a linguistic form.In modern Chinese, AABB expressions are formed in two ways: AA+BB AABB and AB AABB. But historically, AA+BB was the only way in which this kind of expressions was formed. However, regardless how they are formed, their internal syntactic structure is always AA+BB. As a symbolic linguistic form, the fundamental force that drives the formation of AABB expressions is the iconicity of motivation, including iconicity of reduplication, iconicity of symmetry and iconicity of alternation. From the perspective of the Chinese language development, the forming of the AABB expression coincides with the trend of dissyllable in Chinese. Its uniform pattern and rhythmic sound has given the form a unique and aesthetical appeal, which is the reason why the AABB form has such a long history and such a widespread use in modern Chinese.Semantic factors play a decisive role in the development of a linguistic form. Verbal AABB expressions are semantically constrained by their constituents. The conditions under which a verbal AABB expression is formed and its future direction can be better understood by comparing the corpora of the past and the present and by finding the semantic attributes of A, B, or AB (i.e., the words that can enter into the verbal AABB form). This dissertation confirms that to be able to enter into the verbal AABB form, the following must be true: A and B must belong to the same semantic field; their meaning must be similar or contrary; they must have divisible semantic centers; and they must have a high degree of concreteness.The sequence of AA and BB is another constraint that influences the formation of AABB. Some AABBs have a fixed sequence with AA before BB; others have flexible sequences. Among the factors that determine the order of AA and BB, the following are quite important: the syntactic sequence of AB, the semantic strength of AA and BB, the semantic salience of AA and BB, human cognitive behaviors, and the culture of the human society.