The Study Of Degree Category And Its Expressions In Modern Chinese

Degree quantity is a kind of quantity category, as well a grammatical-semantic category. As a quantity category, it expresses quantity of the external character. As a grammatical-semantic category, on the one hand it conveys the semantic degree quantity through grammatical form; on the other hand, it can restrict the grammatical function of the grammatical form to some extent. Degree quantity has a number of features such as graduation, objectivity and subjectivity, certainty and vagueness, dynamic and static, fixedness and continuity, one-dimension and two-dimension and so on. Meanwhile, the denotation of degree quantity is mainly reflected in the aspect of semantics, syntax and pragmatics. And if observed from the Prototype theory, the prototype category among the denotation of degree quantity is vague, fixed, static and bounded quantity.The connotation of the degree adverb can be defined as the grammatical marker showing degree quantity, which is characteristic of fixed distribution, functional adhesion, and semantic ambiguity. It can be used as adverbial to modify adjectives, verbs and their phrases, nouns, and as post-positioned complement. Whether used as adverbial or complement, degree adverbs highlight the level of degree of the elements which it modifys, thus expressing their degree quantity. In the freedom of collocation, degree adverbs which express high magnitude is freer than the one expresses low magnitude. From the diachronic perspective, the syntactic function of the degree adverb is gradually expanding. Meanwhile, there are the relationship of mutual selection between the degree adverb and the element it modifys, that is to say, on the one hand, one degree adverb require elements it decorates should be suitable in the semantics, on the other hand, decorated elements is selective to degree adverbs in the semantics. Phrases which are consisted of the degree adverb and the modified element can act as predicate, attributive, complement, and adverbial, but not as subject and object usually.Reduplication form of the adjective is also one of the grammatical forms expressing degree quantity. Observed from the type of morphology, the reduplication of the adjective comprises configuration and word-formation, and seen from the form of structure, it can be divided into complete, half-complete and incomplete reduplication forms. There are a large amount of quantitative features in reduplication forms of the adjective. It is an entity possessing dominance and fuzziness, fixedness and continuity, subjectivity and modality. At the same time, it mainly represents large number from the point of the specific quantity, which reflects the principle of iconicity. Vague, fixed, subjective and large number are all prototype degree quantities expressed by reduplication forms of adjective. In view of its syntactic function, it can act as predicate, attributive, complement and adverbial, but can not be used as subject and object. Degree quantity of reduplication forms of the adjective have some variability which is mainly produced by the syntactic position changes and the impact of subjectivity.In short, the category of degree quantity is a grammatical-semantic category. Essentially, it is a semantic category. Once this semantic category formed, it will have a deep influence on the grammatical function of the related grammatical form, which can be seen from that degree adverb phrases and reduplication forms of the adjective can not be freely act as subject and object, and generally can not be denied. This is the concrete manifestation that degree quantity acted as a semantic category has restriction to grammatical behavior.