时间与情态的内在一体性——以英语一般现在时为例

Merging of Time and Modality:Evidence from the Epistemic Function of the English Present Tense

在Langacker的认知语法理论体系中,“认知定位”是最重要的概念之一,由时态和情态实现。已有研究主要关注了时态实现定位的理据和方式,但情态何以能够实现定位,怎样实现定位,却一直讨论得很少。相关联的问题是,汉语中的语气词为什么具有完句功能(本质上也是实现认知定位)也没有得到充分的理论解释。本文以英语一般现在时的情态功能为例,论证时间与情态的内在一体性,在有效解决以上两个重要的理论与实践问题的同时,也能说明汉语为什么以主观性凸显的认识论为基础——因为情态本身具有主观性。

In Langacker’s Cognitive Grammar,grounding,a key theoretical tenet in ensuring successful communication,is realized by tense and modality.The motivation and ways of tense fulfilling the grounding function are well elaborated,but modality is not.Similarly,why modal particles in Chinese can fulfill the function of sentence completion(grounding in nature)also leaves much room for theoretical explanation.The merging of tense(temporality)and modality as expostulated by the present paper,taking the English present tense as our case here,can serve a feasible theoretical perspective for the solution to the above mentioned issues and at the same time give a sound explanation for why Chinese is a subjectivity-dominant language,due to the subjective nature of modality.