The Multi-dimensional Study On Verb Reduplication In Contemporary Chinese

This thesis tries to explore the Chinese verb reduplication in terms of syntax, semantics and pragmatics with Mandarin, dialect and ancient Chinese as its framework.About the Mandarin part, a subcategory of an appropriate verb is chosen as the outline in the semantic analysis of the verb reduplication. Then the central meaning in semantic category of the verb reduplication is described and analyzed by examining the typical verbs with strong reduplication ability in each kind and their corresponding illustrative sentences. Finally, a chain of the extended meanings is constructed and brought into a system based on the core significance. In the syntax analysis, we discussed the syntactic function of the verb reduplication and the features of the syntactic combination. In the pragmatic analysis, we pointed out that the use of the verb reduplication is limited by the pragmatic factors and its context and then analyzed the limitation of the verb reduplication in such sentence types as declarative sentences, interrogative sentences and imperative sentences in a dynamic way. In the end, we expounded the use of the verb reduplication as the topic and the statement.In the dialect part, the paper described and compared the verb reduplication in some different dialects and the languages of Chinese minor nationalities and made further efforts to reveal the characteristics of the verb reduplication in Chinese synchronically by contrasting it with that in Mandarin. Generally, the verb reduplication in Mandarin only refers to the type of "VV" (including monosyllable "AA" and double-syllable "ABAB"), while in Chinese dialects the indefinite bound is accepted because there is no unified comprehension to the norm of the verb reduplication. Then by analyzing the diverse forms of the verb reduplication in the dialects, the paper summed up the types of the verb reduplication in Chinese, and inquired into the general features of the different types of the verb reduplication based on the means of the reduplication as well as the individual differences in different dialect systems.In the diachronic part, the paper first explored the time and the contributing factors of the appearance of the verb reduplication. A few "AA" which could be called the verb reduplication (most in the verses) can be found in the Han, Wei and the Six Dynasties and since the Tang and Song dynasties, the verb reduplication in contemporary Chinese began to be gradually developed and formed. Two factors can explain why the verb reduplication came into being: one is that the measure word are limited when the verb reduplication are used in quantity; the other is that the appearance of atonic provided the conditions for the further development and evolvement of the verb reduplication. Then the paper inspected the forms and the functional characteristics of the verb reduplication in different styles of different times.The thesis strived for examining carefully the verb reduplication from a new point of view by applying many linguistic theories and methods on the base of the new language facts, and simultaneously by combining form with meaning, static research with dynamic one, and synchronic research with diachronic one, the structure with the function, description with explanation. The rich expressional functions of the verb reduplication manifests multiplicity and flexibility of Chinese, so the research on the verb reduplication has the vital significance for comprehensively and accurately understanding the essential rules of Chinese, promoting the applied linguistics such as the language teaching (including teaching Chinese as a foreign language) and information processing for Chinese.