语法调查与研究中的从属小句问题

Subordinate clauses as an issue in language investigation and description

从属小句(简称从句)是当代语言学不同学派都采用的基本句法概念,许多重要语法规律的揭示都与从属小句有密切关系,如形式语法的孤岛条件、类型学的名词关系化的可及性系列等。而目前在中国内地,从句的概念主要只在外语教学界讲外语时用到,在汉语语法(包括方言语法)研究领域和深受其影响的民族语言语法学领域,从句的概念近乎空白,采用者寥寥无几。有关的成分被分别归入主谓短语、动宾短语、某些复句的偏句等。从句概念的缺乏除了有碍中外语法学术的交流、不利于国内的研究成果走向世界之外,更实质性的影响是可能制约语法调查研究的深化,不利于国内各种语言方言语法事实的调查研究和很多语法规律的揭示与解释。本文以说明、例示Comrie和Smith(1977)的《语言描写问卷》有关从属小句的细目的形式,从理论和事实两方面沟通从句概念与国内通行的相关概念之间的关系,便于国内学界有选择地在句法研究中借鉴吸收从句概念的合理成分,以利于国内的语法学框架体系更好地涵盖和发掘语言事实、促进中国境内语言方言的语法调查和研究。

The concept of subordinate clause plays a vital role in syntactic theories of various schools in contemporary linguistics. However, this concept is rarely mentioned in the Chinese linguistic literature in China's Mainland. The phenomenon has been treated under a range of traditional terms, such as subject-predicate phrase, verb-object phrase, branching clause and so on. To introduce the concept of subordinate clause into Chinese syntax, the present paper attempts to bridge the gap between the concept of subordinate clause and the Chinese traditional concepts by incorporating the insights from Comrie and Smith's (1977).