A Contrastive Study Of Evolution Of Prototype Features Of English And Chinese Causal Conjunctions

Causal complex sentence is an important part of grammatical constructions.In the study of causal complex sentences,the study of causal conjunctions is particularly important.However,the synchronic studies of causal conjunctions is more than the diachronic studies.This study chooses causal conjunctions as the research object and aims to solve the following three questions:(1)What evolution have the prototype features of English causal conjunctions experienced in the three aspects of pragmatic frequency,syntactic position and semantic strength?(2)What evolution have the prototype features of Chinese causal conjunctions experienced in the three aspects of pragmatic frequency,syntactic position and semantic strength?(3)What are the similarities and differences in the evolution of prototype features of English and Chinese causal conjunctions? What are their motivations?Firstly,based on the prototype theory and the method of quantitative analysis,this study aims to find out the pragmatic frequency of the prototypes of English and Chinese causal conjunctions in different periods;secondly,it explores the mark patterns of the prototypes of English and Chinese causal conjunctions in different periods and the word order of the causal complex sentences theyconnect;thirdly,it analyzes subjective and objective meanings of prototypes of the causal conjunctions in different periods;finally,it compares the similarities and differences in the evolution of the prototype features of English and Chinese causal conjunctions and explains their motivations.The main findings of this study are as follows:(1)the evolution of prototype features of English causal conjunctions.First of all,the evolution of prototypes of English causal conjunctions is for < for < for < because;their pragmatic frequency has been kept above 65%;secondly,the mark pattern of prototypes of English causal conjunctions has been dominant in the middle and the effect-cause word order has been the dominant word order;finally,the evolution of the subjective meaning of prototypes of English causal conjunctions is 51.61%,62%,70%,75%.(2)The evolution of the prototype features of Chinese causal conjunctions.First of all,the evolution of prototypes of Chinese causal conjunctions is yi < yin < yin< yin wei,and their pragmatic frequency has been kept more than 40%;secondly,the mark pattern of Chinese causal conjunctions has been dominant in the preceding from middle ancient times and the cause-effect word order has been the dominant word order;finally,the evolution of the subjective meaning of prototypes of Chinese causal conjunctions is 33.33%,44.44% ? 64% ? 68%.(3)Similarities and differences in the evolution of the prototype features of English andChinese causal conjunctions.The pragmatic frequency of prototypes of English and Chinese causal conjunctions are all very high,but the pragmatic frequency of prototypes of English causal conjunctions are higher than those of Chinese ones;the mark pattern of English causal conjunctions are dominant in the middle and effect-cause word order is the dominant word order,while the mark pattern of Chinese causal conjunctions are dominant in the preceding and cause-effect word order is the dominant word order;the subjective meaning of English and Chinese causal conjunctions has been increasing.However,the subjective meaning of the prototypes of English causal conjunctions is always higher than that of Chinese causal conjunctions.This study has certain theoretical and practical significance.On the one hand,based on prototype theory,this study enriches the research perspective and method of this theory and provides reference for the application of this theory in the future.On the other hand,through synchronic and diachronic description and analyses,it provides evidence for the different usages of English and Chinese causal conjunctions in different periods,which is of help for the study and teaching of causal conjunctions.