A Cognitive Study Of Left Dislocation Construction In English And Chinese

Left Dislocation Construction is a cross-linguistic phenomenon, which has been mainly investigated under the framework of generative linguistics. This thesis introduces some cognitive theories, namely, grammaticalization, subjectification and Reference-point Model, to examine the production mechanisms and motivations of LDC. Furthermore, a comparison between English LDC and Chinese LDC is made, which illuminates us to discover the interdependent relationship of language and cognition.In this thesis, the profile of LDC can be described from the following three dimensions. First, it refers to a structure in which a non-vocative noun phrase is dislocated to the initial place of a clause and leaves a pronoun or another noun phrase in the original place. Second, the dislocated element possesses a coreferential relation with the pronoun left in the original place. Third, LDC is an independent construction, for it carries its own constructional meaning.Language opens a window to probe human cognition, which casts light on the nature of human mind. First of all, by illustrating the characteristics of English LDC and Chinese LDC, we discover that Chinese LDC has independent theme markers to mark its REF (Referent). Besides, its syntactic form and coreferential relationship enjoy more freedom than those of English LDC. Secondly, the research of LDC from the facets of grammaticalization, subjectification and Reference-point Model confirms to the manifestation that language is the interactive result of human cognition and the real world. In a word, language is not autonomous. Finally, through the comparative study between English LDC and Chinese LDC, we come to the conclusion that the grammaticalization of English and Chinese LDC goes to almost opposite ways; their subjectification possesses more similarities than differences; their cognitive construal is processed nearly in the same way.The thesis is composed of six chapters. Chapter one begins with a general introduction of LDC. Then the objectives, significance, and methodology of the present study are stated. Chapter two gives a brief review of the historic studies on English and Chinese LDC. Chapter three ushers the theoretical foundations that will be adopted in the later research, concentrating on demonstrating the theories of grammaticalization, subjectification and Reference-point Model. Then these theories are applied to elaborate the production mechanisms and motivations of English LDC in chapter four and those of Chinese LDC in chapter five. A comparison between English and Chinese LDC is unfolded in chapter five. Chapter six summarizes the major findings of the present study, states its implications, and closes with suggestions for further research.