认知语法的概括性

The generality of cognitive grammar

“认知语法”以追求概括性为首要目标,力图找出一些基本的认知原则对语言不同层次、不同方面存在的并行现象作出统一的解释,以收以简驭繁之效。本文以三个个案研究为例来说明这种概括性。第一例说明认知上“有界—无界”的对立在名词、动词、形容词三大实词类上都存在;第二例说明“量”的认知模型在句法、语义、语用三个层面上都起作用。第三例说明“相邻”、“包容”等认知图式能对不同句式的语法现象作出统一解释。

Three case studies conducted by the author are discussed to illustrate the generality commitment of Cognitive Linguistics. The first study demonstrates that the opposition between “bounded” and “unbounded” concepts exists in parallel in the domains of space, time, and property. This opposition provides a general explanation to the constraints of numerals imposed on verb_object constructions and attributive_noun constructions in Chinese. In the second study an idealized cognitive model about quantity scale explains in a unified way the performance of polarity words at different levels. It demonstrates that the boundaries defining syntax, semantics and pragmatics can be neglected in offering a convincing interpretation for grammatical phenomena. The third study pertains to two types of constructions in Chinese, the zai_construction of locating and the gei_construction of giving, which were considered irrelevant to each other. The syntactic similarities and differences between them are explicated on the basis of four general cognitive principles underlying the formation of constructions.