英语附着偏好影响性因素分析——以“N1 of N2+RC”结构为例

On the Factors that Affect Attachment Preference in English——With a Special Emphasis on“N1 of N2 + RC”Structure

句中的某一语言成分C在既可能修饰A也可能修饰B的情况下通常都是用来修饰A或B,这种对所修饰对象选择的倾向性即为"附着偏好"(attachment preference)。附着偏好有多种类型,但本文主要关注英语"N1 of N2+RC"结构,从句法结构、释义原则及假设几个方面全面而系统地回顾并分析了前人的相关研究,认为"N1 of N2+RC"结构本身不具有任何的附着倾向性,是语言实际使用过程中的某些特定的因素,如RC的长度、复杂名词短语类型、性及数的一致关系、搭配频率、隐性韵律等,导致了附着偏好的产生。

In cases where component C has possibilities of modifying either component A or component B, C in real situations is more frequently used to modify A or B. This choice preference between C and A or C and B is what is called attachment preference. Attachment preference consists of many types, but this paper focuses on ＂N1 of N2 ＋ RC＂ only. A lot of literature will be reviewed and analyzed concerning syntactic strneture, interpretation princi- ples and hypotheses. It is proposed that ＂NI of N2 ＋ RC＂ itself does not contain any bias of attachment, and what determines its bias is related to the factors that only take effect in the actual use of language, including the length of RC, type of noun-phrase complex, agreement of gender or number, frequency of collocation, implicit prosody, and SO on.