现代英语贴近律的历时发展考察

A Diachronic Investigation of the Evolution of the Adjacency Rule in English

贴近律指语义相关的成分在句法位置上相邻。已有的研究发现,现代英语遵守贴近律,在共时层面有不同的句法表现,但这些研究尚未从历时演化的角度对其来源和动因进行考察。本文对英语的宏句法结构和微句法结构中体现的贴近律进行了历时考察,主要发现有三:(1)在宏句法结构中,语义相关的句法成分大多经历了从位置分离到位置毗邻的历时发展过程,体现在赋格体和受格体从分离变成相邻;(2)在微句法结构中,逐渐形成"形容词+名词"语序,副词(附加语)从看似缺乏理据的句法位置演化为进入语义相宜的句法位置;(3)现代英语的贴近律是通过多种途径演化而成。贴近律的历时发展考察对于观察和了解英语句法结构的历时演化具有较大的历史语言学意义。

Adjacency Rule is defined as"semantically-related elements are required to be adjacent syntactically".Previous studies have found that Modern English observes Adjacency Rule,and its various synchronic behaviors are manifested,but its diachronic changes and motivations remain unexplored.This study attempts to make a diachronic investigation of the Adjacency Rule in English found both at macro-syntactic and micro-syntactic layers.Three major findings are presented:(1)at macro-syntactic layer,most of the once separated semantically-related syntactic elements evolved to be adjacent in that the once separated case-assigner and case-assignee became adjacent;(2)at micro-syntactic layer,"attributive+head"combinations have gradually evolved,and adverbs that were once in seemingly unmotivated syntactic positions evolved to be in syntactic slots compatible to their semantics;(3)the formation of the Adjacent Rule in Presentday English has undergone various diachronic paths.The diachronic investigation of Adjacency Rule is of much historical-linguistic significance to the observation and understanding of the diachronic change of English syntactic structure.