句子Tom Saw Jerry on the Bus歧义结构的空间域分析

Spatial domain analysis of the ambiguous structure of Tom Saw Jerry on the Bus

从空间域分析的角度,并借助于图形背景理论,对句子Tom saw Jerry on the bus的歧义结构进行了分析。认为歧义的产生来源于动词动作的空间域与地点状语(介词短语)空间域之间的关系。正如对see的空间域和对on thebus的空间域的阐述成功解释了句子Tom met Jerry on the bus和Tom saw Jerry in China没有歧义的原因,通常认为如果前者的空间域大于后者,歧义就有可能产生。

The ambiguous structure as in sentence Tom Saw Jerry on the Bus is analyzed from the perspective of spatial domain analysis with figure and ground theory.The authors argue that the ambiguity results from the relationship between the spatial domain taken by the verbal action and the one offered by the adverbial of place （the prepositional phrase）. It is assumed that ambiguity might arise if the former domain is larger than the latter, as is illustrated in the spatial domain of ＂see＂ and the one of ＂on the bus＂, which explains the reason why there is no ambiguity as in ＂Tom met Jerry on the bus＂ and ＂Tom saw Jerry in China＂.