相邻吸纳:语言结构创新的一个动因——以现代汉语动补结构的形成为例

Adjacent Attraction:A Motivation for Syntactic Innovations——With the Formation of Modern Chinese Resultative Construction as an Example

现代汉语动补结构源于先秦汉语中的复合S-V-O句法型式,其中一个是描述事件的行为过程的核心式,另一个是描述结果状态的边缘式。在语言发展过程中,由于人类认知规律的制约和语言规约的促动,两式因意义相关、形式紧邻,核心式吸纳了边缘式,融合成形似简单的S-V-O式,使得两式中的动词(或其他形式的谓词)处于句法紧邻位置,最终在相邻吸纳原则的支配下融合,词汇化为一个双音节动词,就形成了现代意义上的动补结构。相邻吸纳的运作不仅见于现代汉语动补结构的形成过程,在其他语法结构的演变和发展过程也随处可见。相邻吸纳原则是人们对世界事物的基本认知规律在语言结构组织活动中的具体体现,是语言结构创新的动因之一。

The resultative construction in modern Chinese is derived from complex S-V-O syntactic patterns in pre-Qin Chi- nese, with major S-V-O structure describing the action and the minor predicating the end state caused by the action. In the course of linguistic development, under the control of the laws of human cognition and linguistic conventions, the major S-V-O structure attracts the minor one so much so that the two verbs（ or predicates of other forms） adjacently juxtaposed syntactically. And then again, under the control of the adjacent attraction principle, the verb from the major S-V-O attracts the one from the minor and the two merge into a two-syllable verb, resulting in the appearance of a resultative construction as seen in modem Chinese. The adjacent attraction principle not only operates in the formation of modem Chinese resultative construction but in other forms of linguistic change and development. The adjacent attraction principle proposed in the present paper is in fact a human cognitive law reflected in linguistic organization and it motivates syntactic innovations in one way or another.