A Study On Chinese Verb-Locative Construction Within The Framework Of Figure-Ground Theory

The study on verb-locative constructions is a very important topic in the circle of Chinese grammar. The verb-locative construction (VLC) refers to such a construction consisting of a verb and a locative object. There is a deep semantic relationship between the verb and its locative object. As is known to all, the semantic relationship between the verb and its object is complicated and various. Besides the relationship between the typical verbs and their patient objects, there are also several other semantic relations. In recent years, scholars pay more attention to the relevant studies on non-patient objects in the circle of Chinese grammar, in which the verb-locative construction (VLC) has always been emphasized because of its high frequency and great controversy. Especially in recent ten years, the studies on this construction have been booming. There have been many articles focusing on this construction from different perspectives. In this thesis, on the basis of case grammar and figure-ground theory, the author redefines the connotation of VLC, establishes its deep semantic frame, explores the generative process and discloses the cognitive cause of generation, which, to a certain extent, furthers the studies on VLC. We first make a general review of the current studies on VLC in China. Undoubtedly, the present studies on locative objects have borne great fruits. However, most of the studies focus on the surface structures rather than the deep structures of locative object constructions. And there are few studies on the generative and cognitive mechanisms of VLC. According to case grammar, the author begins with the analysis of the deep semantic relations, establishes the semantic frame of "verb-locative constructions", and subcategorizes the constructions indirectly by means of case relation in the deep structure. In this thesis,"verb-locative constructions" can be further divided into typical VLCs and untypical VLCs, and untypical VLCs can be further divided into transitive verb-locative constructions and intransitive verb-locative constructions. Though the representations of all the verb-locative constructions are alike on the surface level, they are diverse on the deep level. According to the categorization, the author analyzes the generative process of each category and reaches the conclusion that the generation of all the untypical VLCs experiences the process of objectivization. Then, on the basis of this supposition and figure-ground theory, the author concludes that prominence and specificity principle are the inner cognitive causes to trigger the objectivization.This thesis provides some tips for teaching Chinese as a foreign language and natural language processing, which helps the learners of Chinese have a profound understanding of the complexity and the inherent mechanism of locative objects, and grasp the unique features of Chinese locative objects.