Study On Symmetry And Asymmetry Of Position Word "Shang" And "Xia"

This thesis explores the symmetry and asymmetry of a pair of directional antonyms “shang” and “xia”.Research methods of description and interpretation,analysis and induction,and comparison between forms and meanings are used.Firstly,this thesis analyses the phenomenon of symmetry and asymmetry of the phrases “X shang” and “X xia”.When forms of the phrases are similar and their meanings are consistent in the same category,human organs and other specific groups of the objects in the phrases,based on the classification of Zhang Qingxu and Cai Yongqiang,are used for analysis.In term of similar forms and inconsistency of the meanings of the phrases,the objects are classified into the groups of architecture and furniture for analysis.In specific context,the meanings of “X shang” and “X xia” are inconsistent or nearly consistent.Secondly,the objects used in the phrases for exploring the symmetry and asymmetry are morphemes,nouns and noun phrases,which are grouped into space,time,sequences,ranks and quality according to their meanings.Our researches find out that “shang X” and “xia X” are approximately identical in forms in the five groups and their meanings are opposite or consistent.A few of the phrases are different in forms when used to express the concept of space,time,ranks and quality.Thirdly,we find that 15 fixed-form phrases of combining other Chinese prepositions with “shang” and “xia” are similar in forms and consistent in meanings when the whole phrase functions as prepositional phrases.In term of asymmetry,“?……?” expresses scope and aspects while “?……?” signifies conditions or circumstances.In Chinese prepositional phrases of “?……?” and “?……?”,which means on something and under something respectively,the preposition “?” is found out to be indispensable,optional or unacceptable in the phrase.In the Chinese phrase of “?……?”,the word “?” is indispensable or can be optionally used.Finally,we used the theories of cognitive linguistics and markedness to analyze the reasons for the asymmetry of “shang” and “xia” in forms and meanings of aphrase.In term of image schema,“shang” means above,on top of,supported by or in contact with something,and “xia” means beneath,below or approximately below something.In term of metaphor,when indicating time,space,sequences,ranks or quality,the phrases of “shang” and “xia” are not similar in forms.When turns to the theory of markedness,we find that “shang” is an unmarked term and “xia” is a marked term.