A Cognitive Study Of Legal Words And Expressions In Chinese

Legal words and expressions are symbolic units representing legal entities and legal events.As an important part of ontological research of legal language,the study of legal words and expressions provides an access to characteristics and rules of legal language.Taking structural or functional theoretical perspectives,most of the previous studies have explored the semantic and functional features of legal words and expressions.There are relatively few cognitive studies,let alone a systematic cognitive exploration of the conceptual structure and meaning construction of legal words and expressions.Criminal laws are crucial components of Chinese legal system.It can adjust most comprehensive social relations,thus it is the backup law of other branches of law.Criminal legal words and expressions can provide an access to a complex knowledge network of legal and social life,displaying the process of various kinds of legal activity based on right(or power)-duty relations.Thus,they are important research content of legal words and expressions.Based on the theory of frame semantics,conceptual metonymy theory and conceptual metaphor theory,this study,focusing on criminal laws,has made a cognitive study of legal words and expressions in Chinese(hereafter abbreviated as LWEC).Qualitative study is the major research method,supplemented by quantitative study.In addition,both descriptive and interpretative methods are employed.Based on previous studies,this dissertation mainly deals with: the formal and semantic features of LWEC;the conceptual structure of LWEC;the processes and mechanisms of meaning construction of LWEC.Through qualitative analysis and quantitative statistics,the dissertation first discusses the formal and semantic features of LWEC.The study shows:Firstly,multiple-Chinese-character pattern is the major character combination type of LWEC,and two-Chinese-character pattern is second in number.The conceptualizers of the former pattern are legal professionals.They are more semantically entrenched,which complies with the nature of law as act regulations.The conceptualizers of the latter pattern are legal professionals and commonalty.Ways of their meaning construction are varied,which is more accessible to commonalty.Word formation types of LWEC cover compounding and abbreviation.Attribute-head pattern is the major structural type of compounding LWEC.The statistical analysis of type frequency of its morphological form shows that among the three patterns,that is,V+N,N+N and A+N,the first pattern outnumbers the rest.In this pattern,“V” part describes act events in legal contexts.And it is taken as a reference point,designating legal entities represented by “N” part,which is a reflection of cognitive focus on act events.The statistical analysis of token frequency of central “N” part shows that Chinese word zui(crime)outnumbers others.Formed with zui as root,these words and expressions actually represent jeopardizing acts regulated by law,which particularly reflects the nature of criminal laws.Secondly,semantic features of LWEC includes: semantic entrenchment,semantic assemblage and semantic nature of act event.Semantic entrenchment shows that semantic structure of LWEC is usage-based and relatively stable in certain time and space context.Common cognitive results of different subjects are required by legal practice,making semantic entrenchment a practical need.The working of cause-effect relation in law also contributes to semantic entrenchment.Semantic assemblage is resulted from the cognitive construal of legal entities and events from the same perspective or dimension.It is also the reflection of conceptualization of their complexity and correlations.Act events in legal contexts are key features of the semantic structure of LWEC.LWEC evoke different act event frames and their elements,providing an access to legal conceptual knowledge structure.Based on the analysis of formal and semantic features of LWEC,this dissertation,guided by embodied philosophy and usage-based linguistic view,proposes a classification of LWEC into four types: that is,“investigation”,“action”,“trial” and “enforcement”.Then the dissertation,employing the theory of frame semantics,explores the conceptual structure of LWEC.It finds that LWEC display a coherent and unified conceptual hierarchy and complex conceptual frame structure.The basic domain of the conceptual structure of LWEC is TIME AND SPACE,extending to three abstract domains: SOCIETY,LEGAL ACTIVITY and CRIMINAL LEGAL ACTIVITY.CRIMINAL LEGAL ACTIVITY domain is further extended to four frames: INVESTIGATION,ACTION,TRIAL and ENFORCEMENT.“Act” is the common attribute linking these cognitive domains and conceptual frames.The structure analysis of the four conceptual frames reveals that the agent of these frames is JUDICIAL AUTHORITY or its representatives.The patient is CRIMIANAL CASE or JEOPARDIZING ACT,SUSPCET and PUNISHMENT.The act attributes include such values as TIME,PLACE,METHOD,CAUSE,EFFECT,etc,profiled or backgrounded in different contexts.Agents and acts display intentional relation.Acts exert direct or indirect force upon patients.These are structural invariants of the conceptual frames.Some values are mutually restrictive,a reflection of value constraints.Sharing the attribute of “criminal legal act”,the four conceptual frames are connected by time sequence of act occurrence,reflecting the conceptualization of criminal legal act events and their interrelationships.At last,under the guidance of conceptual metonymy theory and conceptual metaphor theory,the dissertation explores the processes and mechanisms of meaning construction of LWEC.In the meantime,the cognitive foundations and affecting factors of their meaning construction are discussed.The study shows:Firstly,based on embodied cognition and social cognition,meaning construction of LWEC is a process of categorization and conceptualization of legal entities and legal events.It is also a process of cognitive construal of LWEC's meaning,reflecting the working of cognitive mechanisms of conceptual metonymy,conceptual metaphor,profiling and perspective construal.In this process,the semantic nature of act event is profiled and right(or power)-duty relations between different subjects of legal activities are strengthened.Secondly,the analysis of meaning construction of “investigation”,“action”,“trial” and “enforcement” type of CLW reveals that:“Investigation” type of LWEC mainly represents CRIMINAL CASE or JEOPARDIZING ACT and INVESTIGATION ACT.Based on relevant act event frames,these LWEC profile AGENT,PURPOSE,METHOD,PLACE,etc.Conceptual metonymy and conceptual metaphor are also shown,including CATEGORY FOR CATEGORY MEMBER,EFFECT OF ACT FOR CAUSE,EVENT FOR SUB-EVENT,as well as CRIMINAL CASES ARE ENTITIES.The meaning construction of “action” type of LWEC is perspective construal.People construe legal action from the perspective of plaintiff or defendant,profiling agent or patient,and process or state of legal acts.The “trial” type of LWEC mainly represents three concepts: CRIMINAL ACT,CRIMIANL AGENT,and CONSEQUENCE OF CRIMINAL ACT.Meaning construction of the first type is a process of profiling construal,focusing on the agent,method or area of legal acts.The second type shows double metonymy: ASPECTS OF ACT FOR ACT,and ACT FOR AGENT.Meaning construction of the last type is a process of scalar adjustment from the perspectives of time and personal appendages.The “enforcement” type covers words and expressions representing “ENFORCEMENT METHOD” and “ENFORCEMENT PLACE”.Meaning construal of the former is metonymy operation of ACT FOR PATIENT/PLACE,CATEGORY FOR CATEGORY ATTRIBUTE as well as orientational metaphor operation of HAVING CONTROL IS UP,BEING SUBJECT TO CONTROL IS DOWN.The latter reflects different perspective construal of the same legal entities by legal professionals and commonalty.Thirdly,the affecting factors of meaning construction of LWEC include: cognitive model in legal culture;context in legal text;different cognitive patterns of subjects of legal activity.Under the influence of the former two factors,semantic category of LWEC is expanded or narrowed,and the legal relations between different subjects are profiled.The cognition of legal professionals and commonalty focuses on cause-effect relation with different degree of complexity.Legal professionals' cognition is based on facts and procedure-oriented,while commonalty's cognition is only dependent on facts.These differences in cognition pattern contribute to different meaning construction of LWEC.