A Study Of English And Chinese "s+v" Construction From Grammaticalization To Lexicalization

In this thesis, we choose the theory of metonymic domain matrix to explain the lexicalization of SV Construction in Grammaticalization. Since domain matrix contains matrix domain and subdomain, the relationship between subject and predicate illustrated by metonymic mapping could be semantically interpreted by different domains. As the metonymic mappings stop in matrix domain, the lexicalizational process finishes, SV Constructions thus lexicalize into basic words. Therefore, we would explain how the meaning and word class change and how the boundary between subject and predicate vanishes by means of domain matrix.Based on English compounds and Chinese disyllables, this thesis focuses on the lexicalization of SV Construction in grammaticalization with corpus. The thesis is to fully analyse the change of the boundary, meaning and function in the lexicalization of SV Construction by metonymy, which makes different categories fuse to create new concepts, with an aim to deepen the relationship between grammaticalization and lexicalization.Through analysis and discussion, this thesis is summarized as follows: first, the lexicalization of SV Construcion is classified into three classes: the nominalisation, the verbalisation, the adjectivisation of SV Construction. It is the place in the sentence that has great effect on the formation of word class. The achievement of semantic coherence in a sentence causes word class to change, so does their meaning. Then, we could make the lexicalizational process clear by grouping SV Construction according to the mapping relationship between subject and predicate. Finally, SV domain matrix and SV matrix domain would explain the boundary from weakening to loss as the function between subject and predicate has changed after SV Constructions lexicalize into basic words. Therefore, this thesis describes the boundary between subject and predicate from existence to weakening to loss under the theory of SV domain matrix, which is also a contribution to both grammaticalization and lexicalization.