英汉时间定位状语与“时”的语义-句法关联--算子辖域的结构同构原则vs.语义兼容原则

The Semantic-Syntactic Relevance of TLA with Tense in English and Chinese: Isomorphic Principle vs.Semantic Compatibility Principle in Operator Scope

本文旨在揭示英汉语独立小句中时间定位状语(TLA)与时的关系,为跨语言显性/隐性的时表征提供对比基础。研究发现:1)英语和汉语独立小句中的TLA本质上是修饰参照时间或事件时间的修饰语,英语句首TLA修饰参照时间,句尾的则可修饰参照时间或事件时间,而汉语由于语序限制,句首TLA可修饰参照时间或事件时间;2)英语句尾TLA和汉语句首TLA修饰参照时间还是事件时间会引发歧义,英汉语TLA所修饰的参照时间与句子的时所触发的参照时间发生冲突都会生成不合格句;3)结构同构原则不是汉语中制约算子取域的绝对性原则,汉语存在逆序辖域的解读方式;4)英汉语不同类型的算子在逻辑式中共现时,算子辖域等级上的相邻算子需遵守语义兼容原则,即相邻算子之间不允许发生语义冲突。

The paper aims to reveal the relation between Time-Locating Adverbials(TLA) and tense in English and Chinese independent clauses,providing a framework for overt/covert tense comparison across languages. The study has the following findings: 1) English and Chinese TLA in nature functions as modifiers to modify either reference time or event time. In English,sentence-initial TLA tends to modify reference time,while sentence-final one may modify either reference time or event time. But because of word order restriction in Chinese,sentence-initial TLA may modify either reference time or event time; 2) That English sentence-final TLA and Chinese sentence-initial TLA may modify either reference time or event time may lead to ambiguous sentences. In both English and Chinese,the conflict between the reference time modified by TLA and the one triggered by tense will bring about ungrammatical clauses;3) Isomorphic Principle proves not to be a comprehensive principle which affects operator scope,because Chinese allows inverse scope interpretation; 4) When different types of operators co-occur in a logic formula in English and Chinese,the adjacent operators at the scope hierarchy need to follow the Semantic Compatibility Principle,i. e.,semantic conflict is not allowed among the adjacent operators.