A Study For "Vzhe" Prepositions Which Indicate The Concept Of Space Or Direction

This paper focuses its research on "Vzhe(着)" prepositions which indicate the concept of space or direction from the diachronic and synchronic views respectively.The paper consists of four parts excluding the introduction and the conclusion at the end.In the introduction, we list out 27 "Vzhe(着)" prepositions that exist in modern Chinese, and point out that this paper will concentrate its study on those "Vzhe(着)" prepositions that indicate space or direction. We also explain the objective and significance of this research and then continue to review and evaluate related researches in this field. Related theories, research methods and data resources used in this research are also presented in this part.Chapter one deals with the origin of "zhe(着)", its properties and its historical development. We analyze the different properties between "zhe(着)" that follows a verb and in a preposition, and explains their differences in denoting time concept, holding that "zhe(着)" as temporal auxiliary in the former conditions are relatively independent showing absolute and relative time, while "zhe(着)" as a bond morpheme in the latter can only express relative time at a phrasal level. We also manage to explain the coexistence of "Vzhe(着)" preposition and "V+zhe(着)" structures in one sentence.In chapter two we track down the development of "Vzhe(着)" prepositions that indicate a special concept and venture to make a conclusion that "Vzhe(着)" prepositions derive from "V+zhe(着)"structures and "P+zhe(着)"structures, and that the appearance of "Vzhe(着)" prepositions is a result of the influence of lexicalization and grammaticalizaion. We explore the causes of "Vzhe(着)" prepositions from the point of disyllablization, semantic characteristics, syntax features and so on.In chapter three, we divide "Vzhe(着)" prepositions in modern Chinese into three categories, compare the similarities and differences among them on a synchronic level and from a cognitive point of view, and propose a reasonable teaching sequence in the process of vocabulary teaching.Chapter four probes into the differences between "monosyllabic prepositions" and "disyllable prepositions", and explains the causes. We analyze the differences between disyllabic "Vzhe(着)" prepositions and their corresponding monosyllables, pointing out that some disyllablic "Vzhe(着)" are almost semantically identical with their corresponding monosyllabic prepositions, while others are notably different from...