动词的概念结构与概念观照——以主宾倒置句为例

Conceptual structures of verbs and their conceptual construal: A case study of subject-object inverted construction

主宾倒置是指动词的两个不同语义角色交替实现为主宾语的现象,这给词库/句法界面理论带来挑战。在认知语法视角下,本文提出,该句式源自动词的状态用法,而非其典型的动作用法。该用法是认知主体从对整个过程轨迹的显影调节至对其终结阶段的显影。这造成施事(或与事)和受事(或处所)的角色对立弱化甚至消失。主宾倒置是认知主体选择后者为射体,即主语,前者为界标,即宾语,并通过对前者的量化来实现其用量描写功能。该分析突显出动词概念结构的复杂性与概念观照的地位,为其他论元交替现象提供了一个新的认知解释路径。

The subject-object inverted construction illustrates that two different semantic roles can be alternatively realized as the clausal subject and object. This phenomenon challenges the theories of lexicon-syntax interface. From the perspective of cognitive grammar, this paper proposes that the verb in this construction denotes a state, rather than an action as its prototypical usage indicates. Specifically, the conceptualizer shifts the profile from the whole processual trajectory to its final subtrajectory. For this reason, the opposition between the agent(or dative) and the patient(or locative) weakens or even disappears. The subject-object inversion derives from the former serving as the landmark and the latter as the trajector. Further, with the landmark quantified, this construction fulfills the function to describe the usage quantity of the trajector. In brief, this proposal emphasizes the complexity of the conceptual structure of the verb as well as the role played by the conceptual construal, and provides insights on other argument alternations.