A Cognitive Study On The Animacy Hierarchy Between The Possessor And The Possessum Of The S-genitives

Animacy is a universal conceptual category that exists independently of its realization in any particular language. Concerning the s-genitive, two animacy hierarchies are introduced: the absolute and relative hierarchies. The absolute animacy of the s-genitive refers to the animate character of the possessor only. According to Quirk (1972: 198), the s-genitive is favored by the classes that are highest on the gender scale. The relative animacy of the s-genitive refers to the relative animacy status of the possessor and the possessum in the s-genitive. Hawkins (1981) argues that nouns higher on the hierarchy always have linear precedence before nouns lower on the hierarchy. However, the author finds that with the extension of the s-genitive, nouns denoting low animals and even inanimate objects can be the possessors. The role of the relative animacy in the formation of the s-genitive attracts people's attention. Yet, little has been done about it. This thesis focuses on the role of the relative aimacy hierarchy to the formation of the s-genitive. It enriches the studies on the s-genitive and contributes to the understanding of the English language.The thesis holds that with the extension of the s-genitive, the constraint of the absolute animacy becomes loosened while the constraint of the relative animacy may turn to be the major constraint for the acceptance of the s-genitive. The hypotheses are: in the formation of the s-genitive, the order of the relative animacy hierarchy will not change; the relative animacy tends to play a stronger role in the formation of the s-genitive; the possible ultimate constraint is that man is the measure of all things.The thesis tests these hypotheses through a comparative analysis on a corpus of one million words through time and styles. 15 s-genitives are found in novels that violate the relative animacy hierarchy; 6 s-genitives are found in news that actually violate the relative animacy hierarchy. And the s-genitives that violate the relative animacy hierarchy decrease chronologically. The statistics supports the above hypotheses. The explanations for the violation are offered from a cognitive perspective. In the end, the thesis predicts that the grammaticaliztion of the change from of-genitive to s-genitive is unidirectional.