A Cognitive Study Of PSC In Modern Chinese

Patient-subject construction (PSC) is an old and fundamental construction in Chinese. Despite profuse research over it, some problems still remain. This thesis attempts to conduct comparatively detailed analyses over certain key issues in the exploration of PSC within the cognitive framework.To avoid the heterogeneity of the research object, this thesis first specifies PSC with a working definition, restricting it to the construction in modern Chinese with patient appearing on the subject position but without any coding of passive markers or appearance of agent, followed by the literature review covering classification, characteristics of subject and predicate, use constraints and constructional meanings etc., from which, four research questions are summarized as follows: 1) why are indefinite and sentient patient subjects accepted in PSC; 2) how do we explain the constraint over PSC predicates; 3) what is the account for the implicitness of agent and prominence of patient in PSC; 4) why is PSC descriptive construction.Based on abundant linguistic data as well as the illustration and employment of some basic notions and theories in CL such as figure-ground (F-G) reversal, force dynamics, subjectivity theory and modality, conclusions are drawn as below: 1) it is the neutralization of force dynamics that brings about the objectification of sentient entities, rendering more patientivity to the sentient subject, hence sentient patient subject is acceptable; the indefinite PSC is usually accompanied by modifiers to increase its referentiality, while its predicate verb is more like stative verb, hence in terms of referentiality, they are compatible; 2) the requirement for complicated predicate in PSC actually reflects the clausal requirements for tense, aspect and modality; 3) the agonist demotion in human cognitive process renders the implicitness of agent in PSC, while the reversal of F-G foregrounds the patient, making it prominent; 4) PSC is a descriptive construction, distinct from both the passive and the English middle, expressing the subjective judgment or evaluation through modality to realize the interpersonal function of language.The research insists on integrating language and cognition, testifying that meaning is not objectively given but constructed. Meanwhile, it may shed some light on machine translation and foreign Chinese teaching which is based on sentence patterns.