A Cognitive Approach To The Chinese Construction Of "V+Le+You(有)+Numeral Classifier Phrase+(NP)"

The present study deals with the Chinese construction "V+le+yow (有)+Numeral Classifier Phrase+(NP)" such as“吃了有几十个饺子”,“等了有四十多分�'�”,“去了有十来次”from the perspective of Construction Grammar. It’s a construction in modern spoken Chinese that is used to express the subjectively estimated number or degree instead of giving an objective account of the precise numbers or degree. A bunch of Chinese scholars have studied this structure, but almost all of them placed their research focus on the lexical term you, which mainly involves the analysis of its grammatical category, its semantic and syntactic properties, without taking the whole construction into consideration in the process. In other words, few scholars have taken a construction-based approach to the study of the construction. As a result, those studies have various drawbacks. This thesis takes a modular view and aims to combine the synchronic and diachronic study of the construction so as to present both a descriptive and explanatory analysis of it from the perspective of Construction Grammar, specifically by drawing on Goldberg’s theory of Construction Grammar.Firstly, a systematically descriptive analysis of the construction is carried out. The author begins with motivating the existence of the construction by demonstrating that some aspect of the form or meaning of the construction cannot be strictly predictable from its components. Then, the constructional meaning and function, which is to express the speaker’s subjective estimation of the related numbers or degree, is worked out based on the careful analysis of relevant data. Next, the cognitive and pragmatic features of the construction are summed up, which mainly include the following three points:First, the semantic tendency of the construction is to express subjectively large quantity or high degree; second, "probability" and "perfective" are displayed in the construction in terms of modality and aspect respectively; third, the information focus of the construction lies in the Numeral Classifier Phrase at the end of the construction. Meanwhile, the application of those features is also illustrated, through which we can get a clear understanding of what lexical terms can enter the construction.Secondly, an explanatory study of the construction is conducted so as to construe the mechanism of this construction. On one hand, the exploration of inheritance relationship of this construction with other related constructions in the language is made. On the other hand, the internal network of the construction is also studied. Based on the inheritance links and "motivation" theory held in Construction Grammar, this construction doesn’t grow out of nowhere but its appearance in the language has a basis and a development course. Actually, this construction is in the network of you constructions and is influenced by the already established constructions in the language in one way or another. Therefore, a diachronic study of the relevant constructions is carried out and the conclusion is arrived that the "V+le+you+Numeral Classifier Phrase+(NP)" construction has a prototype construction, the you Possessive Construction, and it inherits information and structure from other dominant constructions in the network such as the Chinese Measure Construction "Noun+Numeral+Classifier", "you+Numeral Classifier Phrase" construction and "NP+you+Numeral Classifier Phrase" construction. Moreover, the motivation for those inheritance links has also been demonstrated. Through such effort, the production of the construction can be accounted for. Then, a synchronic study follows up which aims to figure out the internal inheritance of the construction. The result shows that the "NCP" in the construction actually covers three categories:Nominal Classifier Phrase. Temporal Classifier Phrase and Verbal Classifier Phrase. They are different in the semantics representation realized by the three types of NCPs, but they can perform the same discourse function and thus are regarded as the extensions of the core sense of the construction. To sum up, the three variants are actually three sub-constructions of the "V+le+you+Numeral Classifier Phrase+(NP)" construction.The analysis above all concentrates on the construction as a whole in a top-down manner, while the following study will focus on the core component you in a bottom-up manner because both make great contribution to the meaning and function of the expression. It’s argued that you in this construction displays the feature of being bleached both semantically and syntactically, which is the result of abstraction occurring in the construction. Namely, the construction itself plays an essential role in shaping the features of you exhibited in the construction. Specifically, in "V +le+you+Numeral Classifier Phrase+(NP)" construction, the sense possessing of you is submerged beneath while its semantic tendency of being subjective stands out. Thus you plays the role of being a subjective marker in the construction, which explains the subjectivity displayed in the construction. Besides, you being a subjective marker is closely associated with its inherent semantic tendency rather than a new additional function of it. At last, construction coercion on its components is investigated, which can explain why you no longer has two participate roles in this construction and even the definite numbers can convey the concept of approximation. In this way, how the construction as a whole and its components interact with each other in order to work harmoniously can also be interpreted.