An Analysis Of The Modern Chinese GEI Constructions-the CG-Based Approach

The study of the GEI constructions("给字句") is one of the hottest topics that deserve methodological research in Chinese grammar.Controversies about the GEI constructions in the previous studies lie in the delimitation of the word class and the sense of the word GEI(e.g., Zhu Dexi 1979; Qi Huyang 1995), and in the relations between various GEI constructions such as the causative GEI construction, the disposal GEI construction and the passive GEI construction(e.g., Jiang Shaoyu 2002; Yang Xiao 2003).In view of the deficiency and inadequacy of the previous research, this thesis reexamines the Chinese GEI constructions in the Construction Grammar(CG) framework with the attempt to explore the constructional meanings of the eight GEI constructions and the relations between various kinds of GEI constructions by a speculative method: Based on the analysis of the actual language data from the Lancaster Corpus of Mandarin Chinese, a hypothesis will be put forward, and then further illustrated in the framework of Construction Grammar. The Chinese GEI constructions can surely be considered as independent constructions with a pairing of form-meaning/usage correspondence, which is characterized by the superordinate constructional meaning:'SUBJECT CAUSES OBJECT_GEI+N TO RECEIVE SOMETHING'. The semantic structure of conceptual experience allows new interpretation, which is represented by an irregular syntactic structure. As time goes on, the irregular new syntactic structure is regularized and the other general properties of the conceptual experience appear again. These properties give new regularized function to the semantic structure of the construction and lead to the change of syntactic structure. The seven marked GEI constructions are extended from the unmarked GEI construction via the mechanisms of metaphor and metonymy. Metaphor functions mostly on the syntactic extension of the unmarked GEI construction, while metonymy mainly functions on the semantic level.The advantages of the CG-based approach lie in three aspects. Firstly, controversies about the delimitation of the word class of GEI are avoided because the GEI constructions can be understood via independent constructional meanings without consideration of the word class of GEI. Secondly, some particular GEI constructions such as the disposal GEI construction and the passive GEI construction which are excluded from the previous studies can also be explained by the CG approach. Thirdly, the cognitive basis on which the GEI constructions are understood is demonstrated via the CG approach.The thesis is divided into five chapters.Chapter 1 is a general introduction to the thesis, including the origin, necessity and significance of the study, research objectives, research method and the organization of the thesis.In Chapter 2, a review of literature at home and abroad on the Chinese GEI construction will be presented, delimiting its definition and classification, and then some other problems that are well worth re-discussing from a new perspective will be pointed out.Chapter 3 goes on to introduce the general CG framework and focuses on a few CG mechanisms to be adopted to the analysis of the Chinese GEI constructions, such as the definition of a construction, and principles of CG, including construction holistic principle, prototype category principle and construction extension principle.The following chapter is the most important part. Chapter 4 involves the specific analysis of the Chinese GEI constructions based on the CG approach, focusing on the semantic, syntactic as well as the pragmatic reanalysis of the GEI constructions and on the relations between various GEI constructions. In this chapter, it is argued that the unmarked GEI construction[Na+GEI+Nr+Np] is the prototypical GEI construction, and develops into the other seven GEI constructions via metaphorical and metonymic mechanisms as well as a usage-based model.The last chapter, Chapter 5, concludes the thesis, points out the implications and limitations of the study and makes suggestions for further research.