The Cognitive Approach To Definiteness

The paper studies definiteness from the cognitive approach, based on a speciallanguage phenomenon and the relevant language data.A great number of studies have been done on the generative mechanism ofconstructions like chi shitang (吃食堂1), and yet few have been done on whetherexpressions like chi Qianmen de Quanjude (吃前门的全聚德) and chi ShaoyuanQihaolou Canting (吃勺园七号楼餐厅) are legitimate or not in Chinese. In the fewstudies, some scholars claim that these expressions are acceptable in particular context;others hold the opposite view. Thus there is still controversy over the issue. What’ smore, the issue is only mentioned rather than specifically studied in those studies. Asa consequence, a specific study is required to clarify the issue.This paper, taking the approach of cognitive grammar, argues that theseexpressions are legitimate in Chinese. To reach the conclusion, this paper first studiesthe generative mechanism of elaborative expressions like chi xuexiao shitang (吃学校食堂). Then, by exploring the change in the nouns’ referent range of the nouns inthese constructions, the paper finds that instance conception can appear in chi shitang,producing such instantiative constructions like chi Shaoyuan Qi haolou Canting. Inconstrual, elaborative constructions can be generated by increasing specificity ofnouns in basic constructions, and instantiative constructions by changing focus fromtype conception to instance conception. The generation of these instantiative andelaborative expressions is motivated pragmatically through Elaboration, while it is theconstrual that provides the cognitive possibility for their generation.The paper mainly devotes to exploring the definiteness feature of the nouns in constructions like chi shitang and their elaborative and instantiative constructions.The studies on definiteness are fruitful in many respects. The original overseas studiesbegin with the philosophical exploration of definite description. There are alsoplenty of studies done by modern linguists. The initiatory are the grammatical studies,which mainly study the function of definite article the. As research continues,linguists hope to find the semantic components and pragmatic feature of definiteness.The hypotheses of familiarity and identifibility are proposed successively. In Chinese,relevant studies are later than that of English. The studies relate definiteness withreference, word order, number category etc, which are fruitful as well. However, thereare few studies about definiteness done from cognitive perspective. The research ofany language phenomenon necessitates the consideration of the research objects’cognitive characters. Furthermore, the study of definiteness is actually to identify thedefinite or indefinite feature of the referents indicated by the linguistic expression.Based on these, we conduct the cognitive study of definiteness.Guided by the theoretical framework of cognitive grammar, the study isillustrated with the case of chi shitang and its elaborative and instantiativeconstructions. The study involves the cognitive view of definiteness in cognitivegrammar. The study yields three findings. First, the subtype conception like xuexiaoshitang (学校食堂) is not necessarily indefinite, even though it still expressesproperty meaning. This is because comparatively speaking, the referents denoted bysubtype conception can be differentiated within certain range, subtype conception isweak definite; second, the feature of nouns’definiteness is influenced by the construal.The change from chi shitang to its elaborative constructions to its instantiativeconstructions indicates a change of definiteness on the one hand and the change issubject to the construal on the other hand. Since the former is influenced by the latter,it is in this sense that we make the above assertion; third, there is a definitenesscontinuum in the case of chi shitang and its elaborative and instantiative constructions.The degree of definiteness increases from chi shitang to chi xuexiao shitang to chituanlide shitang (吃团里的食堂) to chi Shaoyuan Qi haolou Canting. Typeconception is indefinite and instance conception bears the highest degree of definiteness. Other conceptions like those denoted by possessive case are weakdefinite.