概称构式容错成因解析

On the counter-example tolerance of generic constructions in English and Chinese

英汉语中都含有大量概称句,可充分体现英汉民族的认知方式和语言文字特征,概称句容错成因是国际学界研究的难点。此前研究从语义、语用、认知、语言哲学等视角展开,取得丰硕成果,但容错成因仍然值得探索。本文基于构式语法,将概称句置于概称构式框架中,借助感觉与料理论,探究英汉概称构式容错的缘由。研究发现,概称构式源于具体事物某一特征即感觉与料形成的原子命题,是对事物进行"所见即所得"的或然概括;原子命题在家族相似性的作用下,常概括或递归为分子命题。众多分子命题形成概称构式,它们形似全称句,但主要功能是为了对比认知和表情达意,并非逻辑全称表达式。研究结果有利于进一步观察语言文字表述的不完备性,探测人类的概称思维和语言的概称性。

Generic sentences, revealing our cognition models and language features, pervade in both English and Chinese. It remains unsolved that why most generic sentences can tolerate counterexamples. On the basis of the previous researches carried out from such perspectives as semantics, pragmatics, cognitive approach and language of philosophy, the present paper, based on the construction grammar and the sense-data theory, argues that generic sentences are atomic propositions coming out of the what-you-see-is-what-you-get principle, while the molecular propositions, made of the atomic propositions in accordance with the family resemblance theory, form the generic constructions which appear to be full logical expressions but mainly achieve the contrastive and expressive functions. It is beneficial to explore both the human generic thought and the genericity of human languages.