A Study On Multifunctionality Of English Nouns-Based On Decategorization Theory

Multifunctionality refers to the different syntactic and pragmatic roles or the dynamics a linguistic entity displays on the lexical and syntactic levels. Decategorization as a mechanism producing it reflects the creativity of language use and human thinking. The general principle of the organization of knowledge offers a new perspective on the "abnormal" linguistic data in theory construction and is significant in language teaching and learning.This thesis aims to make an analysis of the multifunctionality of English nouns by applying decategorization theory. To be more specific, the purpose of this thesis is to give some insights into the analysis of English nouns from the perspective of decategorization in cognitive linguistics. What is more, it may give some helpful hints to English learners and researchers for a better understanding of cognitive mechanism of English language in the analysis of word uses, which has been crossing the boundary of word categories and beyond the range of interpretations from semantic and functional perspectives as well.This thesis points out that decategorization is indebted to prototype effects. If categories have clear boundaries and members in a category enjoy equal status, the unstable and intermediate state of the members will not appear. Decategorization will be impossible. Decategorization is motivated by tension between ever-developing cognitive activities and finite linguistic means, maximization of economy or "simplicity" of form on one hand, and maximization of informativeness on the other hand and the demand of creativity. It is achieved through metaphor and metonymy.By researching the different performance of the multifunctionality of English nouns, we conclude that decategorization can not only explain how functional shift happens but also how it is displayed at morpho-syntactic level both from synchronic and diachronic view.The key points of the thesis can be divided into two parts. The first part is the functional shift of English nouns at semantic level. In this part, we mainly discussed three types of functional shift:adjectivalization, adverbalization, incorporation into verbs. We analyze the functional shift by choosing some common compound types as representatives, which proves that the functional shift is related to the original categorial status of the noun and the context in which the noun occurs. The second part following is to discuss the functional shift at syntactic level. We mainly focus on the functional shift of English nouns in some syntactic structures, such as tautology, noun as predicate, and noun as adverbial. On one hand, they lose some of the distributional features syntactically which display as the followings:they cannot be modified by quantifier and demonstrative pronouns. Moreover, their premodification will be restricted rigidly. Apart from acting as subject and object, nouns can also act as attributives, adverbials and predicates. On the other hand, nouns cannot refer to the specific entities, and they lose referential function. They transfer to express more abstract and more general meaning from referring to the specific entities. Nouns'referential function switches to declarative function.