Study On The Speculative Adverbs Of "V Bu C" In Mandarin Chinese

The lexical devices of speculative meaning are immensely rich in Mandarin Chinese,with diversified categories and multifarious members.Speculative adverbs alone encompass a wide range of subcategories,including inevitable,certain,probable,similar,and estimated adverbs.Many adverbs distributed widely in spoken and written Mandarin Chinese that are grammaticalized from predicate complement structures,share the common structural of “V bu C”,have speculative meanings,and are employed as adverbs.The three most important ones are: the category of“gao”(gao/nong/nao bu hao),the category of “shuo”(shuo bu ding/zhun/hao)and the category of “bao”(bao bu ding/zhun/zhu/qi),which are frequently uniformly translated as “ke neng” or “ye xu” in dictionaries.However,in the using of these words,they have different discourse functions due to differences in deep semantics.Given the facts above,this dissertation aggregates these words with common features in morphology,semantics and functions into a category.On the basis of previous studies,combining the analytical perspectives of functional linguistics with interactional linguistics,it describes and analyzes the common characteristics and personality differences of the three categories of “V bu C” starting from the synchronic level in depth and systematically.It traces the different stages of semantic and functional evolution of typical members of “V bu C”,and then summarizes the common mechanisms and motivations in their three paths.Attempting to explore the typical semantic features and advantageous pragmatic functions of “V bu C” that distinguishes it from other speculative adverbs.The dissertation consists of seven chapters:Chapter One is the introduction.It mainly introduces the origins and significance of the research topic,clarifies the study subjects and ideas.Secondly it summarizes and integrates the relevant research reviews,considers and evaluates the advantages and limitations existing in research literature.Finally it clarifies the theoretical basis,research methods and corpus sources of the dissertation.XChapter Two discusses the property,the categories and the characteristics of “V bu C”.Firstly,“V bu C” is defined as the evaluative adverb clearly,and then it is divided into three classifications according to the the verb morpheme which are the category of “gao”(gao/nong/nao bu hao),the category of “shuo”(shuo bu ding/zhun/hao)and the category of “bao”(bao bu ding/zhun/zhu/qi).Secondly,at the syntactic level,it mainly summarizes the syntactic distribution,co-occurrence components as well as the tense-aspect characteristics of “V bu C”.The syntactic distribution of “V bu C” is flexible,which can be located at the beginning of a sentence,in the middle of a sentence,at the end of a sentence,or formed into a single sentence.“V bu C” can occur with evaluative adverbs including reality adverbs,speculative adverbs,adversative adverbs,and intensifiers,besides interrogative pronouns,modal particles,auxiliary verbs and conjunctions.“V bu C” can be used to speculate on past tense for events that have already happened,on present tense for the ongoing events,on future tense for events that haven’t happened,and on indefinite tense for the constant events.Thirdly,through the quantitative analysis of the distribution regularities of “V bu C”,it generalizes that “V bu C” appears most often in declarative sentences,sometimes in exclamatory sentences to express a strong tone,and less so in interrogative sentences asking and seeking for approval.Fourthly,at the semantic level,according to the frequency of use based on negative,positive,and neutral conclusions,it is assumed that “V bu C” tends to speculate on negative events,while the expression of its subjective attitude towards the proposition as a whole shows a trend of generalization.Chapter Three analyses the semantics and functions of “gao/nong/nao bu hao”.Firstly,it definitizes the basic meanings of epistemic modality such as [+subjectivity],[+possibility],[-affirmation],[-reality],[-narrative] and so on.Then,based on the co-occurrence regularities of “gao/nong/nao bu hao” with modal particles,modality adverbs and other sentence elements,it makes a detailed analysis and elaboration on the credibility,the heteromorphism and the critical magnitude of situational attributes.Finally,it concluded that “gao/nong/nao bu hao” in the discourse can be used as affirming the ideas of coincidence,balancing the magnitude of information,facilitating the speaker’s intention,highlighting dominant informational position,as well as textual cohesion based on the semantic characteristics.Chapter Four analyses the semantics and functions of “shuo bu ding/zhun/hao”.First of all,in terms of semantic features,according to the syntactic co-occurrence components of “shuo bu ding/zhun/hao” and its coexistence of propositional affirmative and negative forms,the reliability level is judged to be low reliability between “possible” and “probably”.In terms of the state and magnitude of affairs,“shuo bu ding/zhun/hao” shows the unmarked polymorphic characteristic and non-polar characteristic.Secondly,at the pragmatic level,“shuo bu ding/zhun/hao”can be used to correct deviations or fill in the gaps between both sides of the communication,in order to expand the listener’s informational source.Derived from the low reliability,“shuo bu ding/zhun/hao” are endowed with the function to weaken illocutionary force through concessions to the truth value of propositions,thereby reducing the responsibility of the speaker’s utterance.From the standpoint of the speaker,the weakening of the force aims to seek for the listener’s approval,so it also has the function of introductory negotiation,which can be used to comfort,persuade or visualize with examples.Syntactic flexibility makes it possible to function as a connecting component within sentences,clauses and discourse.Chapter Five is the analysis of the semantics and functions of “bao bu ding/zhun/zhu/qi”.On the semantic analysis,firstly,the semantic framework of “bao bu ding/zhun/zhu/qi” is summarized as: evidence + bao bu ding/zhun/zhu/qi +conclusion.And then the semantic characteristics of “bao bu ding/zhun/zhu/qi” on reliability and verifiability are generalized to “probability” and “predictability”.At the pragmatic level,it demonstrates that “bao bu ding/zhun/zhu/qi” have the functions of conventionalizing the source of evidence which can active or recall the implicit or explicit evidence,the function of guiding listener to trust speculations in accordance with the conventionality,the function as diminishing responsibility of discourse by virtue of the probability of fulfillment in the real or empirical world,the connection function of components,clauses and sentences with semantic relations.Further more,given previous studies have suggested that “bao bu ding/zhun/zhu/qi” has the meaning of “nan mian”,it distinguishes the differences between “bao bu ding/zhun/zhu/qi” and “nan mian”,which is [+probability] versus [+rank next to necessity] at the reliability level,and the [±positive] and [-positive] differences in terms of volition.After that the functional differences of lessening responsibility versus the exemption from responsibility between them in the discourse is also expounded.Chapter Six explores the grammaticalization of “V bu C”.The adverbs of “V bu C” have undergone the grammaticalization from predicate-complement structures to adverbs,from behavioral meaning to cognitive meaning,from objective statement to subjective evaluation.Consequently there must be common mechanisms and motivations to promote the evolution of “gao/nong/nao bu hao”,“shuo bu ding/zhun/hao” and “bao bu ding/zhun/zhu/qi” to realize the changes of semantics and functions.Firstly it selects “nong bu hao”“shuo bu ding” and “bao bu ding/zhu” as typical members to investigate their grammaticalizational paths.Secondly,it explores how it works about the mechanisms of “re-analysis” and “extension” on the semantics and functional evolution of “V bu C” from the perspective of the whole.Finally,the semantic origins of “V bu C” are carried out from the pragmatic factors of metaphor and pragmatic reasoning,and it explores the reasons for the formation of the semantic characteristics of the three categories of adverbs.In addition,the reason why other “V bu C” structures such as “zuo(de)bu hao”“lun bu ding” and “bao bu de” in modern times mandarin Chinese fail to achieve grmmaticalization is also clarified from the semantic scope of verbs and complement components,so as to analyze the essentials of “V bu C” more comprehensively and accurately.Chapter Seven is the conclusion.It generalizes and reviews the contents and conclusions of the research briefly,and summarizes the innovation and deficiencies of the dissertation.