Font Size: a A A

On The Construction Of Derogatory Idioms In Modern Chinese

Posted on:2011-10-12Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:J M ZhengFull Text:PDF
GTID:1115360305962665Subject:Chinese Philology
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
In modern spoken Chinese, there are many types of derogatory constructions of idioms whose emotional meanings, however, are not simply the result of adding up the different componential elements but of their pragmatic idiomaticalization. Hence, the present paper will provide a comparatively more systematic and comprehensive analysis of the derogatory structures of idioms based on both the theories of Construction Grammar and Semantic Grammar. The main contents are as follows:1. Construction is a unit of storage based on its usage. As for the idioms stronger in unpredictability, the system will be constructed on the basis of meanings. The presnet paper is an attempt to construct a system based on the derogatory meanings of construction.2. Personal emotion is a continuum, with different emotions produced as a result of the different degrees of expectations from the subjects. Those higher than the subjective expection are called complimentary emotions, and those lower than that are termed as derogatory emotions. The former are expressed by means of complimentary construction while the later by means of derogatory ones. What is more, all the constructions are very often linked with particular speech acts.3. Derogatory construction (DC) of idioms is virtually of the idiomatical forms of derogatory constructions. DC has the following features:(a) spoken; (b) the derogatory meaning being the pragmatical meaning of the idiomaticalization; (c) having varying degrees of unpredictability within the internal construction; (d) sharing a rather vague nature of a common heritage.4. The constructions of nagetive, scolding and rebutting comments are very important functional categories within DC. Being the different forms of expression dominated by DC, all of the three categories are not utterly separated from one another, but interconnected as well as interrelated since they all share something unexpected and undesired.5. From the perspective of the discourse analysis, we have found in our quantitative analysis that:(1) the construction and the context is of a reciprocal choice. The Idioms of derogatory construction are liable to be detected in spoken forms, and the three different functions within its scope also reveal totally different relationship with the styles of both conversation and narration. Relatively speaking, the spoken style is subject to the construction of verbal forms. (2) the structures of semantic discourse will contribute to the formation of derogatory meanings. If a structure type often appear in derogatory discourses, it is difficult for it to generate a complimentary meaning out of its derogatory meaning.6. Derogatory meaning of emotions has more or less subtle relationship with several external structures and features:the simplified construction under the principles of "economy" and"politeness"; introductory construction; question markers; restructured construction and the second person pronoun, etc.7. Those derogatory meanings that can not be derived from their componential parts are the result of joint functioning of internal/external contexts and type and token frequency. In addition, in the constructions of anti-conventional idioms, derogatory construction has far more cases than its counterpart --- the complimentary ones --- in number.
Keywords/Search Tags:construction, idiom, emotional meaning, derogatoriness
PDF Full Text Request
Related items