A Study On Sentence "Conjunction+Modal Word"

A kind of special sentences will be discussed in this thesis. They are composed by conjunctions and modal words. They are universal in modern Chinese conversation. The function of conjunctions and modal words makes these sentences appear unique obviously. In this thesis, we will discuss the syntax, semantics and pragmatics of these sentences. We also try to find the cause of the formation of these sentences.Firstly, we focus on the syntax, semantics and pragmatics. Syntax:We analyze the constituent elements of these sentences, especially the available conjunctions and modal words. Then, according to the number of conjunctions, these sentences are divided into single conjunction sentences and complex conjunctions sentences. Semantics:The semantic discovery can be explained by the spreading activation model in cognitive psychology theory. These sentences belong to implicit, rather than omission. They can be divided into two categories:expressing doubt and non-expressing doubt. Pragmatics:We try to explain the rationality of the existence of these sentences according to the relevance theory. Combined with cognitive context, pragmatic inference, and optimization of relevance.Secondly, we focus on the cause of the formation. External causes:The relationship between the clauses and conjunctions are divided into five kinds:"Conjunctions (clause)" "Conjunctions, (clause)", "Conjunctions+modal particles, (clause)’’, "Conjunctions+ modal particles? (clause)", "Conjunctions+modal particles?" We find that the textual distance and the context have important influence on the formation of these sentences. Internal causes:Compared with other conjunctions, the conjunctions in these sentences have some special characteristics, such as the weak attachment on the sentence, the deletability of following clause and the dissociation. The specificity of conjunctions and the function of modal words also have important influence on the formation of these sentences.