Synonym Discrimination Of The Degree Adverb In Zuozhuan

This article takes the degree adverbs in Zuo Zhuan as the object of study,and an exploration of the basic degree adverbial system in languages from the pre-Qin to the two Han dynasties.In this paper,we will use the modern linguistic criteria for classifying degree adverbs into lexical categories,apply contemporary semantic methods of analysis of semantic elements and meaning fields,draw on the results of ancient exegesis and traditional semantics,and analyze the differences between these synonyms from the perspectives of semantics,grammar,usage respectively,with semantics,i.e.word meaning,as the core factor.The study also provides an in-depth analysis of the differences between the semantics and the grammar and usage of these synonyms,to define the semantic differences more accurately,objectively,carefully analyze the inner connection between semantics,grammar,usage,and to fully understand and outline the laws of the role of semantics on grammar and usage.All the degree adverbs in Zuo Zhuan are divided into five sub-categories: absolute degree adverbs(expressing extreme quantity,high quantity,near quantity)and relative degree adverbs(expressing higher quantity and lower quantity),and are comprehensively analyzed according to their semantic and functional characteristics.As this category of words is characterized by a shift from real to imaginary,half-real and half-imaginary,it is crucial to explore the semantic clues of each word’s shift from real to imaginary,through exegetical and traditional semantic arguments.Based on clarifying the chain of meanings from real to imaginary worlds,the real meaning of each degree adverb is taken as the core meaning of each word by class,and its position in the sentence,its collocation object,its sentence constituents,its semantic direction and its relationship with the main syntactic constituents of the sentence are verified or corroborated concerning the context,and each word is analyzed using modern semantic meaning analysis.The next step is to establish a solid theoretical basis for the identification of the similarities and differences between different categories of degree adverbs.Finally,a series of comparisons of the semantic and functional features of each word in the same broad category and the same group of subcategories is carried out according to the different levels of the degree adverbs,to obtain more accurate regular scientific conclusions for the differentiation and analysis.