The Cognitive Semantic Foundations Of English Complementation: A Cognitive Linguistic Perspective

English complementation is seemingly considered to be one of the great challenges in modern linguistics.According to Wierzbicka(1988:23),without having recourse to semantics,the syntax of English complementation can not be satisfactorily accounted for; unfortunately,with semantics,it can not be satisfactorily accounted for either.Under the framework of construction grammar,the English complementation constructions are assumed to be primarily event structure constructions,where two events are related in terms of temporality,boundedness and iconic principles.In this way,the meaning of a clause is contributed by the integration between the matrix event(mainly the matrix verb) and the embedded event(the complementation).We offer an alternative approach to complementation constructions.Construction grammarians hold that grammatical constructions carry meanings in their own right, independently of the words in the sentence.(Goldberg 1995:1) This thesis attempts to investigate the form/meaning(function) pairings of sentential complementation,their interaction with analytic causative constructions,verbal complementation,and alternative constructions between analytic and lexical causatives.To infinitive and -ing complement constructions play a motivated part in the above mentioned structures.The meaning of a clause is contributed by the semantic integration between the complementation construction and the matrix predicates.In general,all to infinitival complements evoke the notion of conceptual distance of some kind between the matrix and subordinate clauses.In addition,in all its uses -ing is also meaningful in evoking some kind of conceptual overlap between the matrix and subordinate clauses.The thesis is structured as follows.Chapter 1 presents some basic ideas for adopting a constructional approach to English complementation constructions:the rationale,the objective and some opinion about semantics and grammar,which is also the most important topic in the language studies.Chapter 2 is introductory,providing a panorama of English complementation studies:its definition,complementation patterns and previous scholarship.Chapter 3 provides the basics of construction grammar and the advantages of constructional approach will be presented.Chapter 4 demonstrates the construction grammar approach to English complementation constructions.Finally,findings and conclusions are in the last chapter.Each chapter,I hope,will be self-contained,but there will be a progression from the one to the next in understanding the whole English complementation in the cognitive linguistic perspective.The fascinating aspects of cognitive studies reside in seeking the mapping relationship between conceptual thought,bodily experience and language structures. Cognitive linguistics gives us a new paradigm and line of thoughts for language studies.In this way,we will be more enlightened with the nature of complementation constructions and the relationship between language,mind and the world.