A Construction Grammar Approach To The Ditransitive Construction

Previous studies on the ditransitive construction mainly fall into three main domains, i.e., the structural approach, the transformational approach and the cognitive approach, with each having its inadequacies. Based on the Construction Grammar of Goldberg and top-down and bottom-up methodology, this thesis conducts a study on the ditransitive construction.According to the results of study from the perspective of Construction Grammar, the prototypical sense of the ditransitive construction is volitional giving or transfer, and it builds a hierarchy with its expanded senses via metaphorical and metonymical mechanisms. The distransitve construction is a gestalt, which constraints its components and also absorbs meanings from them. Previous studies from this aspect emphasize the interaction between the verbs and the construction and classify the ditransitive verbs according to different criteria.This thesis argues that the meaning of a construction is its cognitive meaning, created in the mind and reflecting our experience, rather than a pragmatic one, while it decides its pragmatic potential. Depending on the constructional representation, we construes the constructional model of the ditransitive construction. It is assumed that the relationship between form and meaning is symbolic.It also exhibits the interaction between the arguments and the construction that theconstruction inherently decides the selection of the arguments, whose felicitousness influences the meaningfulness and acceptance of certain ditransitive expressions. Prototypical agent and recipient are animate, while the inanimate can also be fused in the slot. The patient can be categorized into substance, information and event, with substance being its prototypical semantic properties. Thanks to the metaphorical and metonymical mechanisms, the semantic properties of the arguments are extended. Partially decided by the construction and the ditransitive verb, there exist six main relations among the arguments, such as model of successful transfer of substance, potential transfer of substance, transfer of information, transfer of force or effect, FORGIVE model and ENVY model. According to the manners causing transfer, the thesis categorizes the ditransitive verbs into two: spatial domain and mental domain...