关于单维时间概念的多维空间语言表达的思考

Toward the Multi-Dimensional Spatial Language of One-Dimensional Temporal Concepts in English and Mandarin Chinese

就空间而言,人有对前后、左右、上下这三个基本维度的感知,这表明空间具有三维。就时间而论,人有过去、此刻与未来的感知,而这三种时间处于一条线上,这表明时间是一维的。如果说时间可以通过空间来获得语言表达,或者说＂时间就是空间＂的话,那么,语言表达中的时间究竟是一维的呢还是多维的？围绕这一问题,我们主要以英语和汉语中时间的空间语言表达方式为思考对象,试图探讨两种语言中关于时间概念的空间表达是否存在维度上的差异。如果存在维度上的差异,那么这种差异会给语言范畴和认知范畴二者的关系带来什么样的思考呢？为了回答上述问题,我们从时间与空间二者的概念性质及表现形式出发,针对汉语关于时间的维度表达而进行分类研究。我们发现,英语中关于时间的空间表达具有二维性,而汉语关于时间的空间表达却具有三维性。这一发现说明＂认知决定论＂会受到＂认知相对论＂的挑战,因为语言范畴虽然要受认知范畴的支配,但并不完全由认知范畴决定。英语和汉语二者在时间概念的空间表达上的差异关系着哲学和认知科学等领域诸多极具研究价值的问题。

With regard to space,human beings will certainly experience the three basic dimensions in space,namely,the front and back dimension,the right and left dimension,and the up and down dimension. With regard to time,human beings will be perceptive of the linear dimension of time from the past to the present and to the future. Metaphorically,it is held that time is space. In tune with this metaphor,we have a verbal commitment that we express our temporal concepts through spatial language.Thus,we are led to ask the following questions： Is the spatial language of our one dimension of temporal concepts one-dimensional or multi-dimensional？ Is the Chinese language completely consistent with the English language in terms of temporal concepts？ If not,is the difference indicative of the relation between linguistic category and cognitive category？ In search for answers to these questions,we have found that the English spatial language of temporal concepts is two-dimensional while the Chinese spatial language of time is three dimensional. Our findings provide a challenge to the cognitive determinism which claims that cognitive category determines linguistic category. We arrive at a conclusion that cognitive relativism can well be evidenced from cross-linguistic studies. The difference between Chinese and English in regard to spatial conceptualization of time is concerned with many issues worthwhile in philosophy and cognitive sciences.