The Constraining Factors Of Noun Decategorization

On the basis of the accomplished work on decategorization and noun decategorization made by many researchers, the thesis makes a further and careful survey and analysis of the noun decategorization. The aim of the thesis is to give an explanation of the noun decategorization and to find out the various factors which constrain the noun decategorization from all aspects through elaborate description, analysis and study of the noun decategorization.The key points of the thesis can be divided into two parts. The first part is to describe and explain the classification of noun decategorization. In this part, the class of noun decategorization will be examined respectively from the lexical and syntactic aspect. Firstly, from the lexical perspective, we analyze the noun decategorization by choosing three most common compound types as representatives. They are "N+N", "V+N", "N+V". Secondly, from the perspective of syntax, we examine the noun decategorization in the following syntactic structures: "bi(比) N hai(还) N","V N1 wei(为) N2", "N +le(了)' "adverb + noun", "reduplication of noun", "noun as adverbial", "noun as predicate" and "noun as temporary quantifier". In the process of noun decategorization in these structures, these nouns lose their categorial features. On the one hand, they lose some of the distributional features syntactically which display as the followings: when categorized, nouns cannot be modified by quantifier and demonstrative pronoun. Moreover, their premodification will be restricted rigidly. On the other hand, during the process of decategorization or after the decategorization, noun 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. The functional and categorial shift is the final result of decategorization. From the perspective of semantics, nouns' referential function switches to declarative function. Syntactically, apart from acting as subject and object, nouns can also act as attributive, adverbial and predicate. The second part following is to discuss all kinds of factors which constrain the noun decategorization. They are syntactic mechanism, pragmatic factor, epistemic mechanism and semantic factor. This part mainly dwells on how these four factors constrain andinfluence the process of noun decategorization. The four factors do not work separately. The noun decategorization in the lexical and syntactic structures we discussed in the thesis is the combined efforts of the above four factors.