A Study On The Semantic System Of The Spatial Dimensional Adjectives In Modern Chinese

Space consists of the spaces occupied by objects and the spatial relation between objects. The parameters of describing the spaces occupied by objects are the spatial size and shape, reflected by the spatial dimensional words and the spatial shape words in the language. The parameters of describing the spatial relation between objects are the spatial orientation and distance, mainly reflected by the spatial oriental words. The spatial dimensional words are made up of the spatial dimensional nouns, the spatial dimensional adjectives and the spatial dimensional quantifier. The spatial dimensional adjectives, which are consist of the 7 pairs of basic spatial dimensional adjectives and some non-basic ones, is used to describe the dimensional characteristics of the objects. All spatial dimensional adjectives are got together to form a closed lexical system. In this system, the spatial dimensional adjectives have the spatial sense and the metaphorical sense which are related each other, and every spatial dimensional adjective is connected by their senses, which build up a small lexical semantic system.A present, there are two main deficiencies in the study of the spatial dimensional adjectives. One is about the study area. All studies are generally confined to the metaphorical senses of the spatial dimensional adjectives, but not reach to the spatial senses of them. Even if there is related study about the spatial sense, which is described in brief, those studies have not discovered the essential characteristics of the spatial senses. At the same time, being lack of comprehensive and in-depth analysis on the spatial sense, the spatial dimensional adjectives is studied not enough on the metaphorical senses. Scholars only have listed and summarized the target domain involved by metaphorical senses and not studied specific evolution processes and mechanisms of them. Another is the study object. The previous study object is almost the basic dimensional adjectives and some non-basic dimensional adjectives are abandoned away from the study. In summary, currently the spatial dimensional adjectives are lack of systemic and in-depth study in the Chinese academia.For the study deficiencies of the spatial dimensional adjectives in Modern Chinese, this dissertation will get comprehensive and in-depth study on the spatial senses, metaphorical senses and its evolution mechanism and processes of the 7 pairs of basic spatial dimensional adjectives, synset and synset system which are made up of all the basic and non-basic spatial dimensional adjectives, taking the 7 pairs of basic spatial dimensional adjectives and some non-basic ones as the study objects. Specific contents are as follows:Firstly, this dissertation has got a thorough and detailed account and analysis of the spatial and metaphorical sense of the 7 pairs of basic spatial dimension adjectives in Modern Chinese:"gao/di/ai, kuan/zhai, shen/qian, chang/duan, hou/bao, cu/xi, da/xiao " from the perspective of cognitive linguistics. Focus has been placed on their spatial sense. Because the dimensional features denoted by the dimensional adjectives must be reflected through the objects denoted by the modified nouns, so this dissertation has not only analyzed the semantic features of the adjective itself, but also study the semantic features of the nouns modified by the adjectives. Through the thorough and detailed study on the spatial sense of the 7 pairs of dimensional adjectives, the results indicate that each pair of dimensional adjective has different semantic features in orientation, direction, shape, dimension size, observer-angle, function and so on, and even there is some differences between adjectives forming pairs. The senses and usages of these dimensional adjectives have depended on the daily experience got by people’s interaction with the surrounding world, and the way we conceptualize the objects around us. The "human-centered" principle is required to be followed to explain the spatial sense of the dimensional adjectives, which is reflected by two ways in the sense of the dimensional adjectives, namely, "the observer" and "the function of objects", especially, the function of objects(services for people) has played an important role in the semantic analysis of the spatial dimensional adjectives.Secondly, on the basis of a comprehensive study on the spatial sense, this dissertation has analyzed in-depth the metaphorical sense, its evolution mechanisms and specific processes. The spatial sense denoted by dimensional adjectives idealizes into the image schema, and the image schema maps to other abstract concepts, then the metaphorical sense in different cognitive domains has been generated. Through the in-depth analysis of the generated process of the metaphorical sense, the results indicate that the metaphorical senses of the dimensional adjectives are produced by mapping of the related one or two semantic features in the spatial sense to the target domain, not all semantic features.Thirdly, under the guidance of the "synset-allolexeme" theory, this dissertation has studied synset and synset system in the lexical system of the spatial dimensional adjective from the perspective of the language information processing. There are two types of words, that is, the basic words and non-basic words. The 7 pairs of basic dimensional adjectives all are the basic words. Taking these basic words as the core, the non-basic dimensional adjectives with same or similar sense are put together to form many synsets. The non-basic dimensional adjectives with the sense same or similar to the sense of the basic words are the allolexeme to the basic word. The spatial dimensional adjective lexical system is the synset system which is made up of many sysets consist of the basic and non-basic words. In this lexical system, every words in the synset has been connected by taking the basic words and allolexeme as the "node", and taking their semantic relations as the "connected line", and every synset has been connected by the related and antonymic relation, and then, all spatial dimensional adjectives have been hook together to form a criss-cross semantic network. The computer can call up a few related node, the connected line and the sub-network which activates all information in order to get recognition of all the spatial dimensional adjectives, when processing every information point in semantic network.Through the above study, this dissertation reveals the semantic features of the the spatial sense of the spatial dimensional adjectives, and explores the evolution mechanisms and specific processes of the metaphorical sense of them, and build up the semantic network which shows the semantic relation between spatial dimensional adjectives in order to show the whole picture of semantic meaning of the spatial dimensional adjectives in Modern Chinese.