英汉语义认知基础对比研究的框架

Toward a Conceptual Framework for Contrasting Cognitive Foundations of English and Chinese Semantics

本文在综述英汉语义对比研究现状的基础上提出英汉语义认知基础对比研究的框架。英汉语义对比研究远落后于语音、语法、词汇对比，成果甚少，范围尚未展开。语义对比研究中“比什么”和“怎么比”等根本问题尚待探讨。认知语言学的经验现实主义语言观为英汉语义对比研究开拓了视阈。文章构想了“分、合、转”英汉语义认知基础三层双向对比研究的框架。对比“分”的规律是以范畴化为中立项对比英汉词义系统的异同；对比“合”的规律是以小句的构意图式为中立项对比英汉小句意义组合的异同；对比“转”的规律是以喻义为中立项对比英汉词汇隐喻和语法隐喻的异同。这一语义研究框架探讨了语义对比的对象和途径问题，具有对比语言学本体论和方法论意义。

The paper points out, on the basis of a review of the literature, that contrastive analysis of English and Chinese semantics lags behind other aspects and such fundamental questions as what to contrast and how to contrast await exploration, in light of the experiential realist view of language, the author proposes a conceptual framework for contrasting the cognitive foundations of English and Chinese semantics, which is composed of categorization, configuration and transcategorization. Categorization is conceived as the very cognitive basis of lexcial meanings and thus taken for the starting point of constrastire analysis of English and Chinese lexical meanings. Configuration, the cognitive process of meaning construction in the clause, is a tenable basis for contrasting the meaning of the clause in the two languages. Transcategorization, a phenomenon at both the word and clause level in the two languages, serves as the basis for contrasting meaning creation in English and Chinese. The framework purports to address on the current ontological and methodological issues of contrastive linguitics.