A Cognitive Analysis Of Quasi-classifiers Collocating With Abstract Nouns Both In Chinese And English

Recently, with the development of human physical and spiritual life, more and more classifiers collocating with abstract nouns have come into existence both in Chinese and English. Through observation, we discover that the measurement function of such classifiers weakens, and that to measure entities is no longer the main function of such classifiers, while it is their rhetorical function of expressing form, state, emotion, color, etc, that strengthens. We regard this kind of classifiers as quasi-classifiers. And very few researches at home and abroad have ever touched upon the study of them in terms of cognitive linguistic theory. Grounded on relevant image schema and mapping theories, this thesis is concerned with the discussion of the semantic, structural features and their forming mechanisms of quasi-classifier structures both in Chinese and English. It is believed that this study can enrich the image schema theory and the mapping theory, and further the development of the researches on classifiers and the comparative studies between Chinese and English.This thesis consists of seven chapters. Chapter One is a general introduction to the research background, significance, methodology and the organization of the thesis. Meanwhile, our working hypothesis is also put forward in this chapter. The previous studies of Chinese and English classifiers and quasi-classifiers are reviewed in Chapter Two, and in Chapter Three the relevant theories of image schema and mapping are introduced and discussed, and then our point of view is briefly put forth. Chapter Four is concerned with a classification of quasi-classifiers both in Chinese and English. With Chapter Four as a basis, Chapter Five places emphasis on the analysis of the forming mechanisms of the semantics and structures of quasi-classifiers both in Chinese and English in terms of the image schema theory and the mapping theory. Chapter Six is the synthetic analysis of the quasi-classifier structures both in Chinese and English. Finally, in Chapter Seven, we offer a summary and some concluding remarks, ending with suggestions for further research directions.Grounded on the above discussion and analysis, this thesis comes to the following conclusions. Firstly, it is hypothesized that Chinese and English quasi-classifiers are the marginal members within the category of classifiers in the light of the prototype theory. They are a continuum of variants from nouns or verbs to prototypical classifiers. And the quasi-classifiers can be classified into four categories in terms of the semantic taxonomy both in Chinese and English: unit quasi- classifiers, arrangement quasi-classifiers, standardized measure quasi-classifiers and container quasi-classifiers. In spite of the quantitative differences in the types of quasi-classifiers used, Chinese and English do not differ much qualitatively in their use of quasi-classifiers. Secondly, the matching relations between quasi-classifiers and abstract nouns in the quasi-classifier structures, or the mapping relations between two images involved, actually reflect the cognitive understanding of the relevant categories represented by the abstract nouns. In this case, quasi-classifiers indicate the perspectives from which the addresser looks at things. Thirdly, in classifier languages (Chinese as an example) and non-classifier languages (English as an example) as well, the quasi-classifier structures (here it means quasi-classifiers collocating with abstract nouns) share the common forming mechanisms—metaphorical mechanism, metonymic mechanism, metaphtonymic mechanism and analogical extension mechanism. Besides, it is found that the same category of quasi-classifiers both in Chinese and English often has the common cognitive mechanisms—unit quasi-classifiers, arrangement quasi-classifiers, standardized measure quasi-classifiers often employ the metaphorical mechanisms, and container quasi-classifiers use the metonymic mechanisms in most cases, but sometimes adopt the metaphtonymic mechanisms. Furthermore, analogical extension operating along the"paradigmatic"axis advances the use frequency of a quasi-classifier and also plays an important role for the formation of quasi-classifier structures on the basis of metaphorical, metonymic, metaphtonymic mechanisms.Finally, it is demonstrated that in different forming mechanisms, the cognitive rules are different. Metaphor involves things from two different conceptual domains. Based on a similarity relation, the interdomain prominence in the metaphorical mechanism is a subjective prominence in that the potential similarity becomes prominent by way of differences between the two domains involved, which just results from the subjective judgment made by the cognitive subject. Metonymy often refers to things within one single domain. Grounded on a contiguity relation, the intradomain prominence in the metonymic mechanism is an objective prominence, and we actually think of, or conceptualize, the contiguous conceptual domain via the prominent conceptual domain, i.e. the objective attribute of a thing. Metaphtonymy is better regarded as a sequential mapping among three conceptual domains. Based on a linkage relation, the prominence in the metaphtonymic mechanism is not only the interaction of the interdomain and intradomain, which we call mixed-domain prominence, but also the interplay between the subjective prominence and the objective one. On the basis of the three mechanisms, analogical extension stems from human's cognition of analogy.