A Study Of Chinese Modal Verb Yao: A Grounding Perspective

As one of the most frequently used modal verb in Chinese,Yao has always been the focus of attention of researchers.A lot of research has been done to categorize Yao's grammatical property,classify its meaning,find out the structural nature of “Yao VP” and the semantic contribution of Yao to the subsequent verb.So far,however,little attention has been paid to the cognitive process in the meaning construction process of sentences containing modal verb Yao.What are the grammatical properties of the modal verb Yao? How to define the structural nature of “Yao VP”? What is the semantic contribution of Yao to VP in the “Yao VP”structure? There is no unified account to these issues.By taking Yao as a grounding element,we have re-examined and analyzed the features and functions of Yao in the theoretical framework of cognitive grammar.On this basis,exploration of the grounding function of Yao and cognitive mechanism of the meaning construction process of sentences containing Yao has been made.The aim of the present study is to discover the grounding function of Yao in the grounded construction “Yao VP” by taking Yao as a grounding element from the perspective of cognitive grammar.This study consists of eight chapters.Chapter one serves as the introduction part.The second chapter is the literature review.The third chapter lays the theoretical foundation and constructs the theoretical framework for the present study.The fourth chapter redefines and classifies modal verb Yao in terms of grounding theory.The fifth chapter explores the syntactic and semantic features of Yao.The sixth chapter discusses the grounding functions of Yao and the cognitive mechanism of semantic construction of sentences containing Yao.The seventh chapter conducts a contrastive analysis of grounding function of Chinese modal verb Yao and the English modal verb will.The eighth chapter is the conclusion.Chapter One is an introduction in which the motive,the purpose,methods,theoretical perspective,corpus and composition of the present study is stated.Chapter Two is the literature review,which includes an overview of the previous research on the Chinese modal verb Yao and comments upon it.On this basis,three research questions of the present study are raised: firstly,what are the semantic features of the Chinese modal verb Yao? Secondly,what are the semantic restrictions imposed on NP and VP by Yao in “NP Yao VP” construction? Thirdly,what is the cognitive mechanism that underlying the meaning construction process of “Yao VP” construction?Chapter Three introduces the theoretical perspective,namely,grounding theory in cognitive linguistic,and establishes a cognitive analytical framework for the conceptualization of “Yao VP” construction.In the framework of grounding theory in cognitive linguistics,Yao is interpreted as a grounding element and “Yao VP” a grounded construction in which the verb VP is grounded by Yao that inputs into the process profiled by the sentence a kind of modal force,which helps the conceptualizer to locate the process in the realm of irreality.Yao as a dependent element profiles a schematic landmark process which is elaborated by VP whose semantic profile corresponds to the semantic profile of Yao.The integration of Yao and VP forms the composite structure “Yao VP”.The whole structure profiles an intentional process with Yao serving as the profile determinant.Chapter Four redefines and classifies Yao from the grounding perspective.The diachronic survey of the semantic evolution of Yao and the synchronic observation of its concurrent meanings prove that the core meaning of Yao is intention,namely,somebody has the intention to do something.By examining the realization of modal meanings of Yao in actual sentences,we categorize Yao into dynamic Yao,deontic Yao and epistemic Yao.From the perspective of grounding theory,different Yao signifies different modal force towards the realization of the process designated by VP.Chapter Five examines the syntactic and semantic features of Yao which behaves as dynamic modality,deontic modality and epistemic modality respectively on the basis of the established corpus.By categorizing Yao into dynamic,deontic and epistemic modals and VP into verbs denoting activity,accomplishment and state,we classify the construction “NP Yao VP” into nine groups,which includes NP+Yao(Dy)+VP(Act),NP+Yao(Dy)+VP(Acc),NP+Yao(Dy)+VP(S),NP+Yao(De)+VP(Act),NP+Yao(De)+VP(Acc),NP+Yao(De)+VP(S),NP+Yao(E)+VP(Act),NP+Yao(E)+VP(Acc),NP+Yao(E)+VP(S).When Yao behaves as a dynamic modal,the constructional meaning of “NP Yao VP” is that NP has the intention to perform the action denoted by VP;When Yao behaves as a deontic modal,the constructional meaning of “NP Yao VP” is that NP has the obligation to perform the action denoted by VP;when Yao behaves as an epistemic modal,the constructional meaning of “NP Yao VP” is that NP have the possibility to perform the action denoted by VP.All of these constructional meanings are characterized by force-dynamics,futureness,uncertainty and mental speculation.Chapter Six explored the different meaning construction processes of “NP Yao VP” construction when Yao behaves as a dynamic modal,a deontic modal and an epistemic modal respectively.The corpus data shows that when Yao behaves as a dynamic and deontic modal,in “NP Yao NP” construction,in most cases,NP is animate being and VP is activity verb.When Yao behaves as an epistemic modal,in “NP Yao NP” construction,the amount of animate beings and inanimate beings serving as the subject NP and the amount of verbs denoting activity,achievement and state are distributed evenly.As a grounding element,Yao performs both epistemic and temporal grounding functions.The epistemic grounding function of Yao is as follows: firstly,dynamic and deontic Yao inputs into the process profiled by the sentence volitional force and obligative force which compels conceptualizer to conceptualize VP as future processes with stronger agentivity.Epistemic Yao inputs into the process profiled by the sentence mentally speculative force which compels conceptualizer to conceptualize VP as future processes with weaker agentivity.Secondly,with the grounding of epistemic Yao,semantic profile of VP is conceptualized as processes with varying degrees of possibility to become real.In terms of temporal grounding,by using Yao,conceptualizers establish speaking time as the temporal reference and the process designated by VP is profiled as past,present and future occurrence.Chapter Seven conducts a contrastive analysis of Chinese modal verb Yao and its English counterpart will.It has been found that the analytical model of grounding functions of Yao is also applicable to the analysis of English modal will and the grounding function of will and Yao share a lot of similarities yet there remain differences.The similarities are as follows: firstly,both Yao and will can input into the process profiled by the sentence volitional force,obligative force and assumptive force.Directed by volitional force and obligative force carried by dynamic and deontic modal Yao and will,the semantic profile of VP is conceptualized as processes with stronger agentivity.In contrast,directed by assumptive force carried by epistemic modal Yao and will,the semantic profile of VP is conceptualized as processes with weaker agentivity.Secondly,both epistemic Yao and will can direct conceptualizer into conceptualizing the semantic profile of VP as processes with varying degrees of possibility to become real.The differences between will and Yao are as follows: firstly,in terms of temporal grounding function,epistemic will perform the same temporal grounding as epistemic Yao.Epistemic will can help the conceptualizer conceptualize semantic profiles of sentences as past,current and future occurrences,while verbs grounded by dynamic will can only be conceptualized as future processes.Secondly,in English,grounding of VP by will is obligatory while in Chinese grounding of VP by Yao is optional and non-obligatory.This is mainly due to the different status of Yao and will in terms of grammaticalization.Thirdly,Yao can cooccur with other modal grounding elements in a sentence while will cannot.Chapter Eight is the conclusion of the dissertation in which the main findings of the research is summarized and future research orientation pointed out.First,the core meaning of Yao is volition and from the perspective of grounding theory in cognitive linguistics,Yao as a modal grounding element inputs into the process profiled by the sentence volitional force,obligative force and assumptive force,etc..Prompted by these forces,the process profiled by the sentence evolves into irreal possible process.Second,“Yao VP” is a grounded construction with the semantic profile “having the intention to carry out the process designated by VP”.In this construction,Yao functions as profile determinant and profiles a schematic landmark which is elaborated by the atemporal process profiled by VP.The whole construction profiles a volitional process.Third,different modal Yao imposes different restrictions on NP and VP.This is determined by the correspondence between the semantic profile of NP,VP and Yao.Only when the semantic profiles of NP and VP correspond to the trajector and landmark of Yao can NP and VP be integrated to form “NP Yao VP” structure.Fourth,prompted by volitional force and obligative force carried by dynamic and deontic Yao,the process profiled by VP is conceptualized as future processes with stronger agentivity.In contrast,grounded by epistemic Yao,the process profiled by VP is conceptualized as future processes with weaker agentivity.In addition,with the grounding of epistemic Yao,semantic profile of VP is conceptualized as processes with varying degrees of possibility to become real.This is mainly due to the different cognitive effort made by the conceptualizer.The theoretical significances of this study are as follows: First,the study applies cognitive grounding theory in the study of Chinese modal verb Yao by focusing on the role of Yao as a grounding element which plays important roles in the meaning construction process of “Yao VP” structure.The exploration into cognitive mechanism of sentences containing modal verb Yao contributes to the deepening of our understanding of modal verb Yao as well as Chinese modals in general.Language facts from Chinese have also made complements and amendments to grounding theory.In Chinese,grounding element is not the prerequisite in the formation of clause.Apart from highly grammaticalized elements,lexical means can also function as grounding element.Second,exploration of Chinese modal verb Yao from the perspective of cognitive grounding theory helps to enrich the study of Chinese modal verbs in two main ways.First,a common understanding is reached as to the structural nature of “modal VP” construction.Second,a unified yet meticulous analytical model is established to account for the meaning of modal verb Yao and meaning construction process of “Yao VP”.Third,study of modal verb Yao from the perspective of grounding theory in cognitive grammar provides a new perspective to the study of modality in modern Chinese.The practical significances of the present study are as follows: firstly,exploration of modal verb Yao and the meaning construction process of “Yao VP” structure from the perspective of grounding theory provides guidance to the teaching of modal verbs in teaching Chinese as a foreign language.Secondly,a new perspective is offered to the study of Chinese modal verbs.Thirdly,application of grounding theory in the study of modal verb is of certain value to the promotion of the completion of Chinese grammar.There are still limitations to the current study: First,the description of the corpus is to be further refined.Second,the data coverage needs expanding.