A Comparative Study On "X Dian" And "X Xie"

The present paper intends to make a comparative study on "X dian" and "X xie" under regulations of sentence.It is based on Prof.Xing Fuyi's theory of simple sentence center.The study focuses on the sentence level and compares "X dian" and "X xie" from three aspects,namely,the language formation,semantic meaning and pragmatic meaning.The first inspection is done under the pattem of "numeral + dian/xie + NP". Inspected from the angle ofNP,"Yi dian" can modify uncountable noun and the abstract noun,but "Yi xie" can not only modify countable noun,but also might modify uncountable noun and concrete noun.Semantically both may express the meaning of "a few",but the meaning is indistinct.This chapter also inspects the omission of the numeral "yi",as well as the displacement of noun phrases in sentence.The second inspection is made on the pattern of "adjective+(yi)dian / xie "when it enters the sentence.How adjectives collocate with " dian " and " xie" has been analyzed from the perspective of adjectives.The analysis focuses on the types of adjectives,the emotional color of adjectives and the number of syllables of adjectives.Semantically both "dian" and "xie" represents certain degrees.The pragmatic meaning is analyzed from types of writing,and the tone.Under sentence pattern,the focus is on comparative sentence.It can be further divided into three types:comparison among the same class, diachronological comparison of self,comparison under certain criteria.The third investigation is on "verb +(yi)dian/xie " pattern.This pattern permits the insertion of the auxiliary verb "zhe" or "le" after the verb.Observing from the semantic aspect,the verb should be continuous or in the process of changing semantically.In such cases,classifier of verb "dian" and "xie" serves as complement to make the sentence relative,abstract and indistinct in meaning.This chapter also divides this pattern into two types according to the type of verbs:"verb +(yi)'dian'/'xie'"+ objective,and "verb + (yi)'dian '/'xie'"+ no objective.The merit of the present paper is it compares "X dian" and "X xie" from three aspects,the language formation,semantic meaning and pragmatic meaning when they enter sentences from the sentence level,not from the traditional lexical level.