名词的定义问题

The Issue of Noun's Definition in Chinese

本文是对陆俭明(2022a)针对作者“名动包含说”(沈家煊2016)所作批评的部分回应,重在厘清名词的定义问题。作者重申,“名动分立说”和“名动包含说”的争论不是简单的名称问题,而是一个实质性争论,涉及名词动词的内涵和外延。在汉语里,如果采纳“名动分立说”,名词应该正面定义,但事实上却只能从反面定义,即定义为[-动词]。按照“名动包含说”,名词具有正面定义,即定义为[+指称],不属于动词的那部分名词只需从反面定义。作者强调从事探索的动机是描画一幅简单明了的图像,该图像与语言现象之间有一种自然的和谐,语法体系的构建因此要遵循“简单原则”,并且避免用先验的范畴作为探索发现的准则。

This article is a partial response to Lu(2022a)'s criticism to the author's“N-V Inclusive Model”(verb as a subclass of noun) as elaborated in Shen(2016),concentrating on the issue of noun ' s definition in Chinese.The author reiterated the view that the difference between the N-V Distinctive Model and the N-V Inclusive Model is not a superficial matter of terms but rather a substantial issue which concerns both connotation and extension of the two terms.In the former model noun should have a positive definition but in fact it does not and is defined from the negative[-Verb].Only in the latter model has noun a positive definition [+ Referential].The author emphasizes the motivation of linguistic exploration is to draw a clear and simple picture which matches the language phenomena well,and therefore we should act on the principle of simplicity and avoid basing our account of a language on a priori categories.