英语临界情态动词构式变化研究——基于历时语料库数据的语言学动态图分析

The Changes of English Marginal Modal Constructions——Linguistic Motion Chart Analysis Based on Diachronic Corpus Data

文章从浮现语法的视角,借助美式英语历时语料库COHA探讨了以dare(to)、need(to)、ought(to)等为代表的英语临界情态动词构式的历时演变规律。研究结果表明:该图式性构式逐渐倾向于临界情态动词与全称不定式补语连用--该构式中的节点动词逐渐呈现出"去助动词化"的倾向,只有dare(to)和help(to)呈现出相反的趋势。本研究认为,这可能是受到了诸如"I dare say"等固化习语的影响,以及由于help本身并不具有情态含义所致。就"浮现情态动词"want(to)而言,从语言学动态图中观察可知:该微观构式的频数以及不定式补语类型的分布情况先后受ought(to)和need(to)的影响,这也补充解释了want to逐渐衍生出与第二人称主语连用表示"建议"的(弱)道义情态用法的原因。不过,该用法目前仅限于具有皮钦语或克里奥语特征的小说类文体中,至于今后是否会进入主流美式英语还有待进一步观察。

From an emergentist approach,this study explores the diachronic changes of all the possible marginal modal constructions which display a to-infinitive vs.bare-infinitive alternation via COHA corpus data,such as dare(to),need(to)and ought(to)etc.The results show that the whole construction schema is moving towards the to-infinitive end,which is an indication of"de-auxiliarization"of the node word.The only two exceptions are dare(to)and help(to);the former may be due to some highly entrenched frozen idioms such as"I dare say",the latter due to the non-modal meaning of help itself.In terms of the so-called"emerging modal"want(to),judging from linguistic motion chart,its frequency and distribution of infinitival complement types display a correlation with ought(to)and need(to)successively.This might be an alternative explanation for the emergence of its weak deontic meaning of advice,particularly with a second person subject.However,since most of the"want+bare-inf."examples occur in English-based Pidgins/Creoles and in fiction genre,whether this usage will encroach on the territory of mainstream American English still needs further observation.