On The Matching Constraints On "V+R_APdis" In English And Chinese Verb-result Construction

This thesis, under the framework of the prototype theory ofcategorization, intends to explore the constraints on English and Chinese“V+R_APdis”. It especially focuses on the similarities and differences ofEnglish and Chinese disyllabic adjectives used as complements andattempts to give an appropriate explanation.The research is committed to solving the following questions:（1）What kind of disyllabic adjectives can be used in English and Chinese“V+R_APdis”?（2） What kind of verbs can be used in English and Chinese“V+R_APdis”?（3） What are the similarities and differences of theconstraints on English and Chinese “V+R_APdis” and why?The thesis comes to the following conclusions:Firstly, both English and Chinese disyllabic adjectives which canenter the Verb-Result Construction are limited by four sorts of smanticfeatures:[±animacy][±self-controlled][±spontaneous][±commendatory]. English and Chinese “V+R_APdis” share certainsimilarities in that not all disyllabic adjectives can act as complements. What is more, either adjectives or verbs in English and ChineseVerb-Result Construction tend to be monosyllabic. The other similarity isthat some disyllabic adjectives and verbs in English and ChineseVerb-Result Construction can stand in a one-to-one correspondence.Secondly, most of the English and Chinese verbs in English andChinese Verb-Result Constructions are durative.Thirdly, there are certain similarities between English and Chinese“V+R_APdis” Constructions. Above all, not all disyllabic adjectives inEnglish and Chinese can be used as complements in “V+R_APdis”Construction. What is more, only some of the “V+R_APdis” Constructioncan stand in a one-to-one correspondence in English and ChineseVerb-Result Construction.Fourthly, differences stick out more conspicuously than similaritiesin semantic constraints and categorical patterns. Above all, Englishdisyllabic color adjectives and onomatopoetic words can enter theVerb-Result Construction while in Chinese they cannot. Next, Englishdisyllabic adjectival complements in Verb-Result Construction do nottend to be of positive value. However, in Chinese it is extremelyremarkable that most of the adjectives are commendatory. Finally,English syntactic category pattern is much simpler than Chinese syntacticcategory pattern. In conclusion, similarities and differences of "V+R_APdis" in Englishand Chinese Verb-Result Construction are firstly determined by humanway of recognizing the world starting from the basic level. That is, fromthe concrete to the abstract and from the simple to the complex. Therefore,its linguistic reflection lies in the high frequency of monosyllabic wordsand low frequency of disyllabic words. This qualifies monosyllabicadjecitves as the prototypical member of the adjectives while disyllabicadjectives as the marginal member. Secondly, compared withmonosyllabic adjectives, the semantics of disyllabic adjectives are morespecific. This definitely narrows their semantic capacity and raises theircategory level. No doubts it makes the ability of group matching lessinflexible than monosyllabic adjective. Finally, it also depends on thethinking modes and cognitive orientation of English and Chinese people.