An Intensional Semantic Analysis Of Modal Fei

This thesis would start from Zhang Yisheng(1992),Shi Jinsheng(2002)and Wang Canlong's(2008)opinion,acknowledging that fei no longer belongs to the category of negative adverb but is a modal in the construction of fei X bu Y.On the basis of Tang Xianqing and Li Zhenzhong's(2012)interpretation towards fei,who hold that fei not only can be used to express emphasis but also possibilities sometimes.This thesis aims to discuss the modality meaning of fei in the framework of intensional semantics from the perspective of possible worlds and try to answer the following questions: Under what circumstances can fei act as a modal and express modality meaning? How many kinds of modality meaning does it express? What is the actual usage frequency in modern Chinese? What semantic conditions license the modal meaning of fei?The special usage has attracted many scholars' attention.There are thousands of studies focusing on fei X bu Y from different perspectives.However,most of the previous studies were limited into the same traditional semantic classification framework provided by Zhang Yisheng.Gao Xiaomei(2003)appealed for the semantic meaning study of fei itself,and Tang Xianqing & Li Zhenzhong(2012)developed the possibility meaning of fei based on the agreement that fei itself can express the necessity meaning.Even so,without linking with western linguistic theories,there have been no persuasive arguments so far towards the modality meaning of fei.Therefore,the thesis would discuss fei within the framework of intensional semantics,with the language data collected from corpora CCL.Besides,fei is going to be analyzed together with propositional attitudes,conditionals and simple declarative sentence to prove that fei can express both necessity meaning and possibility meaning.In a word,this thesis intends to employ intensional semantics and logical tools to back up Tang Xianqing and Li Zhenzhong's proposal theoretically,and a thorough investigation towards corpora CCL can help us find persuasive evidence in modern Chinese.Finally,the conclusion is reached,which holds that fei can express both necessity and possibility modality meaning in the framework of intensional semantics.