Modern Chinese Plane Class Quantifier Of Cognitive Research

Currently, the semantic study of Mandarin classifiers is not deep enough, and also lack of a vision of teaching Chinese as a foreign language. This article chose four Mandarin two-dimensional classifiers "zhang", "pian", "mian", and "fu" as a group and analyzed their semantics from the above point of view. The semantic analysis applied methods of cognitive linguistics, and theories such as: image schema, categorization, typicality theory, and metaphor theory. The study confirmed the internal reason of the semantic extension of such classifiers comes from the language speakers' cognitive thinking; the polysemy phenomenon is the result of human's categorization and conception.In the system of two-dimensional classifiers, the internal division of language makes each member has its own unique usage which is distinct from the other members : "zhang" mainly measures objects which are thin , rectangular and with function on the plane; "pian 1" mainly measures integral or cut down objects which are small ,thin , with irregular shape; "pian 2" mainly modifies concrete and abstract things which have irregular shape and a very large scope or area; "mian" mainly measures objects whose basic functions are on the front plane; "fu" mainly measures concrete and abstract things of a certain breadth and the specific feature of the picture. The main difference between such classifiers embodies in the different functions of planes of different things. This demonstrates an important feature of Chinese words' meaning's extension: emphasizing objects' function. Some abstract things can also be modified by such classifiers and that reflects one of the Han nationality's characteristics of thinking: changing abstract things into those with image. With the comparison of Japanese, Indonesian, Korean, Thai, we also found a characteristic of categorization of Mandarin classifiers.This article deeply discussed the semantic network and the theoretical basis of Mandarin two-dimensional classifiers. The result of the research may play an instructive role in the teaching of Mandarin two-dimensional classifiers to foreigners.