Interactive Relationship Between Syntax And Semantics In Parallel-Structure English Proverbs

English proverbs, created in the long process of life experience and social practice, are thecrystallization of English speakers’ wisdom and one of the brightest pearls in their cultural treasure.An English proverb can always present an excellent rhythmical sense for its simplicity inexpressing, vividness in rhythm as well as symmetry in structure, and it also enjoys plenty ofinfectious punch for its rich contents and meaningful connotations. It is the unique languagestructure and profound semantic connotations that make English proverbs be warmly welcomedby human beings and be handed down by them from one generation to another.Being such an important linguistic and cultural phenomenon, English proverbs have alwaysattracted a vast number of scholars both at home and abroad. Most of them study English proverbsfrom the view of traditional grammar, such as their origination and classification, rhetoricalfeatures and effectiveness, cultural traits and connotations, translating strategies and means,language teaching as well as the contrastive comparison of English proverbs and Chinese ones.There are also some scholars making researches from the perspective of cognitive linguistics, anew view to study English proverbs. However, they mainly focus on the understanding processand cognitive mechanism of proverbs and few of them discuss the interactive relationship betweensyntax and semantics in English proverbs from the view of cognitive linguistics.Hence, based on the prominence principle of figure-ground theory in cognitive linguistics,and viewing the parallel-structure English proverbs collected from A Dictionary of EnglishProverbs as the research object, the thesis explores the deep syntactic structure hidden under itscomparatively simple surface structure so as to have a systematic analysis and discussion of theinteractive relationship between syntax and semantics in parallel-structure English proverbs.The research is committed to the following questions.1) What is the parallel-structureEnglish proverbs?2) Is there a linguistic phenomenon of in-equivalence between syntacticstructure and semantic connotation in parallel-structure English proverbs?3) Is there an interactive relationship between syntax and semantics in parallel-structure English proverbs?4) If thereexists, what is the interactive relationship?5) What is the cognitive motivation of the interactiverelationship?6) What is the realization means of the interactive relationship?This study is a qualitative study of the interactive relationship between syntax and semantics inparallel-structure English proverbs based on a self-built corpus. First of all, the study chooses theparallel-structure English proverbs in A Dictionary of English Proverbs as the data of the corpus. Then,by the means of introspection and qualitative analysis, the study mainly observes the phenomenon ofexpressing profound semantic connotations with simple surface structures so as to have an in-depthinvestigation of the interactive relationship between syntax and semantics in parallel-structure Englishproverbs. Meanwhile, further exploration into the realization means of this interactive relationship iscarried out.With an elaborate and thorough analysis and discussion, the thesis proposes the following fourmajor findings.Firstly, there are a large number of parallel-structure English proverbs whose surface structures anddeep structures are not equivalent. That is to say, the complex deep structure is much more likely to besubstituted by the simple surface structure in parallel-structure English proverbs. Meanwhile, with athorough and in-depth observation, the thesis insists that the surface structure of parallel-structureEnglish proverbs can be classified into such seven types as noun (phrase) plus noun (phrase), adjective(phrase) plus adjective (phrase), preposition (phrase) plus preposition (phrase), verb (phrase) plus verb(phrase), simple sentence plus simple sentence, A v. B, and fixed phrases, while the deep structure ofparallel-structure English proverbs can be classified into the following five types, adverbial clause ofcondition, adverbial clause of concession, adverbial clause of time, adverbial clause of comparison andattributive clause.Secondly, there exists an interactive relationship between syntax and semantics in parallel-structureEnglish proverbs. In other words, in parallel-structure English proverbs, syntax as the form andsemantics as the content interact each other dynamically. Syntax is the external representation andconcentration of semantics while semantics is the internal essence and precondition of syntax. Therefore,the deep structure should be viewed as the basis and reference point when such kind of proverbs areanalyzed. Thirdly, the internal features of proverbs and the intersection points of syntax and semantics are thecognitive motivation of the interactive relationship between syntax and semantics in parallel-structureEnglish proverbs. For one thing, with the purpose of achieving the internal features of proverbs likesimplicity in language, symmetry in structure, vividness in rhythm and prominence in meaning, Englishspeakers usually apply simple structures rather than complex ones. For another thing, syntax andsemantics are not two parallel lines. In some sense, they have intersection points in some languagephenomena. It is these intersection points that provide an external condition for the interactiverelationship between syntax and semantics in parallel-structure English proverbs.Fourthly, prominence is the main realization means of the interactive relationship between syntaxand semantics in parallel-structure English proverbs. Elaborately speaking, in parallel-structure Englishproverbs, the complex deep structure is much more likely to be substituted by the simple surfacestructure with the means of condition and result prominence, abstraction prominence, inversionprominence, etc.