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Conceptualization and Cognitive Relativism Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2005 Conceptualization and cognitive relativism on result in Mandarin Chinese: the case study of Mandarin Chinese bǎ construction using a cognitive and centering approach Jin huei Enya Dai Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Linguistics Commons Recommended Citation Dai, Jin huei Enya, "Conceptualization and cognitive relativism on result in Mandarin Chinese: the case study of Mandarin Chinese bǎ construction using a cognitive and centering approach" (2005). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2031. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2031 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. CONCEPTUALIZATION AND COGNITIVE RELATIVISM ON RESULT IN MANDARIN CHINESE: THE CASE STUDY OF MANDARIN CHINESE B CONSTRUCTION USING A COGNITIVE AND CENTERING APPROACH A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Interdepartmental Program of Linguistics by Jin-huei Enya Dai B.A., Fu-Jen Catholic University, 1995 M.A., Louisiana State University, 2000 May 2005 Copyright 2005 Jin-huei Enya Dai All rights reserved ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply grateful to the LSU Graduate School. Without the Dissertation Fellowship Award in the last year of my doctorate program, I would not have been able to complete this work and finish my doctorate program. I would not have the chance to study at Universität Heidelberg through the LSU Academic Exchange Program without Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst Fellowship. In addition, I would like to thank Ohio State University Summer Program of East Asian Concentration for inspiring a new perspective for this work. Without OSU National East Asian Resource Language Center Fellowship, I would not have been able to take part in the training program. Special thanks go to my lovely and supportive students at University of California, Santa Barbara. I am much indebted to my mentor and major professor, Dr. Mary Jill Brody, throughout my years as a graduate student at LSU. She has always been a strong support in my academic and personal life. She has read and corrected voluminous drafts of this work, and gave me plenty of insightful remarks. Thus, tz’akatal, BoBro. I am also very grateful to Dr. Michael Hegarty for his astute comments, academic advice and guidance in the field of cognitive linguistics. I thank Dr. Hugh W. Buckingham for his inspiring advice, and his enthusiasm and passion toward sports that has also inspired my persistence in fitness, sports, and academic work. I want to thank Dr. Qiancheng Li and Dr. Pius Ngandu for their generosity in participating as members of my committee. Special thank goes to Dr. Claude Vandeloise for having introduced me to related works in cognitive linguistics, and to Dr. Walter Bisang at Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz for reading and commenting on my dissertation. iii My friends, Satomi Fukutomi and Phillip C. Y. Chang, have always been my constant support whenever I need them. They have been good listeners throughout the years. I would like to thank them for being THERE for me. I also like to thank my friends, Cristina Alarez, Remus Gergel, Sahoko Ichikawa, Liduino Pitombeira, and Sarah Ross for their professional comments, also Maria Dicavalcanti, Judy Hung and Mandy Chao for many rides and much assistance. I am thankful to my fitness instructors Melissa and Fernanda at the LSU Recreation Center, and to Diane and Julie at Xtreme fitness for boosting up my metabolism, which helped keep me revved up throughout this process. I thank my mom, who doesn’t know much about what I am doing, but she constantly asks Buddha to protect me. She has always been the source of my life attitude: never give up. Last but not least, I would like to thank my husband, Kevin D. Koch, for his unfailingly support, his technical advice, and his honest comments on my work. He makes things possible for me. 謝謝你﹗凱文。 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………..…..iii LIST OF FIGURES ……………………………………………………………….....ix STYLISTIC CONVENTIONS ……………………………………………………...xii ABSTRACT ……………………..……………………………………………………xv CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND THEORETICAL PRELIMINARIES ….1 1.1 Motivation…...…….………………………………………..………….1 1.2 Aim of the Study….………………………………………..…………..1 1.3 Chapter Outlines…………………..………..………………………….2 1.4 Phenomenology and Cognitive Linguistics…………………………....3 1.4.1 Fillmore’s Frame Semantics…………………………………...4 1.4.2 Langacker’s Cognitive Grammar…………….………………...9 1.4.2.1 Conceptualization………………………………….….12 1.4.2.2 Types of Profile………………………………….…....16 1.4.2.3 Construal….….….……….….….….….….….….…….19 1.4.2.3.1 Construal Exemplified: 小姑姑 xi o g ū gu ..21 1.4.2.3.2 Viewing Arrangement and Conceptual Arrangement.................................................24 1.4.2.3.3 Construal and Perspectives….…...…….…..26 1.4.2.3.4 Subjectivity and Subjectification….…...…..31 1.4.2.4 Conclusion….….………….….….….….….…….….....32 1.4.3 Goldberg’s Construction Grammar…………………………....33 1.4.4 Talmy’s Cognitive Semantics….….….…...……….….….…...33 1.4.5 Tyler and Evans’ Principled Polysemy………………………..40 1.4.6 Conclusion………………………………………………..…...40 1.5 Grammaticalization…………………………………………..………..41 1.5.1 Mechanisms: Reanalysis and Analogy………………………..41 1.5.2 Motivations for Grammaticalization………………………….43 1.5.3 Types of Pragmatic Inferences………………………………..44 1.5.4 Persistence and Semantic Bleaching………………………….45 1.6 Cognition and Chinese Grammar……………………………………..47 1.6.1 Semantic Cognition in Chinese Characters…………………...49 1.6.2 Classifiers……………………………………………………..52 1.6.3 Temporal and Spatial Expressions……………………………54 1.6.4 Nominal Compounds……………………………………..…..55 1.6.5 Resultative Verb Compound………………………………….58 1.6.6 B Construction………………………………………………59 1.6.7 Tai’s Four Principles of Cognition in Chinese Language…….59 1.6.7.1 Principle of Temporal Sequence (PTS)……………….60 1.6.7.2 Principle of Temporal Scope (PTSC)………………...66 1.6.7.3 Whole-Before-Part……………………………………67 1.6.7.4 Principle of Information Center (PIC)………………..69 v 1.6.7.5 Summary……………………………………………...70 1.7 Centering Theory and Assumed Familiarity………………………….71 1.7.1 Grosz, Joshi and Weinstein’s Centering Theory……………...71 1.7.2 Prince’s Assumed Familiarity………………………………...72 1.8 Data……………………………………………………………………73 1.8.1 Corpus Data…………………………………………………...73 ō 1.8.2 Two Mandarins: Guóy and P t nghuà………………………75 1.9 Cognitive Relativism………………………………………………….77 1.10 Cognitive Linguistics and Pedagogy………………………………….78 1.11 Conclusion…………………………………………………………….79 CHAPTER 2. THE SEMANTIC CATEGORY OF RESULT IN MANDARIN CHINESE ………………………………………...80 2.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………..80 2.2 The Semantic Category of Result in Mandarin Chinese……………...80 2.2.1 Resultative Verbal Compounds………………………………80 2.2.2 V-得 de -EXT Resultative Construction………………………88 2.2.3 B /bèi Constructions………………………………………….89 2.2.4 Remarks………………………………………………………90 2.3 Construals in the 被 bèi Construction………………………………...91 2.3.1 The Nature of the 被 bèi Morpheme in the bèi Construction…94 2.3.2 The Semantic Nature of 被 bèi Construction………...............96 2.3.2.1 Passive without 被 bèi ………………………………..96 2.3.2.2 被 bèi Passive………………………………………..101 2.3.3 Resultant Construals in the 被 bèi Construction…………….103 2.4 Findings and Conclusion..…………………………………………...105 CHAPTER 3. CONCEPTUALIZATION AND GRAMMATICALIZATION ¢ OF 把把把 B IN MANDARIN CHINESE..…………………………..107 3.1 Introduction………………………………………………………….107 3.2 Types of Profile……………………………………………………...108 3.3 Profiles of 把 b ……………………………………………………..110 3.3.1 Processual Profiles of 把 b …………………………………114 3.3.1.1 Lexical Verb…………………………………………117 3.3.1.2 Compound Verb……………………………………..120 3.3.2 Regional Profiles of 把 b …………………………………..122 3.3.2.1 Nominal Compound…………………………………122 3.3.2.2 Classifier……………………………………………..125 3.3.3 Relational Profiles of 把 b ………………………………….127 3.3.3.1 Modifier……………………………………………...128 3.3.3.2 The Status of 把 b in the b Construction…..……...129 3.3.3.2.1 The Semantic Nature of the b -c………….131 3.3.3.2.2 b as a Co-verb in the b -c………………..136 3.3.3.2.3 Conceptual Construal of b in the b -c…...139 vi 3.4 Meaning Extension as a Motivated Phenomenon…………………....147 3.4.1 Language Change and Human Experience…………………..147 3.4.1.1 Cross Linguistic Evidence of “to take, to hold”……..148 3.4.1.2 The Verb “to see”……….……………………………150 3.4.2 Polysemy…………………………………………………….151 3.4.3 Iconicity and Motivation…………………………………….153 3.5 Lexical Network of b ………………………………………………156 3.6 Subjectification and Grammaticalization……………………………159 3.7 Conclusion…………………………………………………………..162 ¢ CHAPTER 4. RESULTANT CONSTRUALS IN MANDARIN CHINESE B CONSTRUCTION …………………………………..……………163 4.1 Introduction………………………………………………………….163 4.2 Prior Studies on the Mandarin Chinese b Construction……………164 4.2.1 Li Wang’s 處置式 ch zhìshì “Disposal Construction”……..166 4.2.2 Li and Thompson’s Analysis of the b Construction……….167 4.2.3 Tsao’s Topic-Comment Approach to the b Construction….172 4.2.4 Ding’s b Resultative Construction…………………………173 4.2.5 Guo Wu’s Information Structure of the b Construction……178
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