“未X”式副词的委婉用法及其由来

Euphemistic Adverbs in the Form of “Wei(未)+X” and Their Historical Origins

文章讨论"未免、未尝、未必、未始"等包含否定语素"未"的语气副词,认为这些语气副词都有委婉的用法。文章对这些语气副词所表达的委婉语气进行了描写和分类,并对这些副词的语义和语用特点作了分析,同时讨论了"未X"式副词的历时来源,揭示了"未X"式副词所经历的词汇化与主观化的具体过程,探讨了造成"未X"式副词委婉用法的相关因素。

In Chinese, some adverbs that have euphemistic function are in the form of ＂wei（未）＋ X＂, for example, ＂voeimian（ 未免 ） ＂, ＂voeichang（ 未尝）＂, ＂weibi （ 未必 ） ＂, and ＂weishi （ 未始 ） ＂. The paper describes in detail the euphemistic function that these adverbs have and analyzes their semantic and pragmatic features. We also discuss the historical origins of these adverbs and point out that they all experienced the processes of lexicalization and subjectification. Finally, factors contributing to the euphemistic function of these adverbs are explored.