An Analysis On Syntactic Features And Semantic Characteristics Of Function Words Of Gan Dialect In Jiangxi Province Based On The Prototype Theory

In recent years, an increasing number of scholars are interested in researches on regional dialects of China. With a vast territory, areal diversities of dialects vary greatly. Gan dialect, which is relatively smaller in the range of using and the least in the number of speakers among seven major dialect regions, is mainly used in northeastern Jiangxi, eastern Hunan, southeastern Hubei, southwestern Anhui and western Fujian. Absolutely, an analysis on Gan dialect used in Jiangxi province, where should be its birthplace, will be extremely typical and representative. Nevertheless, previous studies were not rich enough, with most stress simply on comparative researching of isolated languages from phonetics, lexicon, syntax and distinguishing from other dialects. The function word, which is widely used in languages, is special part of speech with few regular meanings. This thesis aims to apply the prototype theory to analyze function words in Jiangxi Gan dialect from the perspective of syntax and semantics in depth, and then find out corresponding syntactic and semantic prototypes. Meanwhile, in certain prototypical categories, prototypical features and family resemblances reflected in different function words from the perspective of syntax and semantics will be explored respectively as well. Based on an angle of prototype and family resemblance, through illustrating syntactic features and semantic characteristics of function words in Jiangxi Gan dialect, it aims to provide convenience and help in acquisition of Gan dialect, exploit a new angle for Chinese dialectology, and enrich Chinese illustrations of the conception of prototypical category.This thesis consists of five chapters in total. Chapter one is introduction, in which the purposes and significance of the study will be stated; and the motivation of why the topic is chosen will be explained. Chapter two is literature review and theoretical basis. In this chapter, not only the previous studying situation of Gan dialect, but also a brief review on the background and the application of the prototype theory will be summarized and illustrated. Anyhow, both chapter three and chapter four are cores of the thesis. In chapter three, combined with plenty dialect samples, both syntactic features and semantic characteristics of different function words in Jiangxi Gan dialect are respectively explained in detail. Chapter four will discuss the relationship between the prototype theory and function words of Jiangxi Gan dialect. In this chapter, the possibility of adopting a prototypical angle in the study will be introduced at first, and a prototypical approach to find out both syntactic and semantic prototypes of function words in Jiangxi Gan dialect is applied. At last, chapter five is the conclusion, in which major findings of the study will be listed, and limitations and suggestions will also be given for reference.In short, unique Gan dialect attracts more and more scholars in the wake of popularizing in dialectology in recent years. As an important theory in cognitive linguistics and cognitive semantics, the prototype theory was used to explain natural objects at the very beginning, and then introduce to applications in linguistics and semantics. Moreover, it has not been applied in lexicon until recent decades. Hence, a prototypical analysis on dialectical vocabulary will not only create a new area of Chinese dialectology, but also, to some extent, enrich Chinese illustrations of prototypical category.