Modern Chinese "above/below" Construction Studies

This paper studies two frame structures "zai......zhishang/zhixia" under the theoretical direction of Construction Theory, Cognitive Grammar. Collostructional Analysis, the quantitative analysis method, quantitatively analyzes semantic and combinational characteristics in these two structures and assure their validity as constructions with the corpus data features. Their constructional meanings are explored by description and qualitative analysis, which differ these two from members in the same construction category and explains their functioning mechanism.First thing first, "zai......zhishang/zhixia" are syntax combination in Chinese that it takes procedures to confirm its construction validity, which is verified by the usage based non-linear combinational meanings. Collostructional Analysis, unlike the traditional approach, which is based on a few corpus samples and linguistic intuition, measures the particular non-regular meanings with several arguments'semantic categories in constructions and makes a certain confirmation on its constructional validity by the figures of the data. Their elementary construction meanings are beyond/below according to the measurement.Secondly, on the basis of the elementary construction meanings, the second chapter has an analysis of their own characteristics as constructions. It covers syntax, semantic, pragmatic features of the constructions mentioned above with simple description. "Zai......zhishang/zhixia" trend to be symmetric in functions which are expressed in same syntax distributions with various introducing objects and "zhi xia" holds verbs as its unique introducing unit. On semantics, both constructions have three primary meanings (space, time and abstract notion),which have further extended in sentences showing disparate semantic categories, such as location, direction, matter, reason, condition, object and aspect, with generalization, extension in meanings and metonymy approaches. Pragmatically speaking, the pragmatic functions are tightly related with its syntax and semantic features. For example, "zhishang" tend to appeared in the end of a sentence expressing new message as the focus of a conversation, while "zhixia" has a reversed pragmatic function determined by its non-fitted syntax feature in sentences.Last but not least, the external construction relations reflect the interaction among constructions and verbs, other constructions and parole environment. These three types of interactions are defined as coercion, inheritance and generative as well as understanding mechanism in construction. The three relations reflex their function and distribution in various systems and hierarchies. Verbs matched in the construction has a strong matching-up trend while coercion has less effect. Metonymy and salience play important roles in this process. Its inheritance mode shows the original source of its syntax and semantic relations as well as verifies its motivations and independence by the discourse on the particular construction meanings. The generative and understanding mechanisms involves concept blending and several cognitive theories to explain how language users create new sentences in the contextual environment and understand new meanings in sentences by decoding the words transmit by the speakers, which also reflects its combinational features in its functioning.