论英语成语的句法可变性、语义可分解性及其认知理据

On Syntactic Productivity, Semantic Decomposability and Cognitive motivation of Idioms

文章首先对传统的成语观 ,即成语结构的固定性和意义的不可分解性提出了质疑 ,然后阐述成语句法的可变性和意义的可分解性 ,并指出成语句法的可变性取决于成语各构成成分的意义是否有助于成语整体意义的构建 ,成语意义的可分解性又依赖于成语运用和理解中包含的隐喻、转喻等认知方式。

s: This paper first questions the validity of the traditional view that idioms are syntactically frozen and semantically non decomposable, and then proceeds to elucidate the syntactic productivity and semantic decomposability of idioms. Idioms can undergo syntactic changes to varying degrees and still retain their original figurative meanings. Such syntactic productivity depends on whether the meanings of an idiom's individual parts systematically contribute to the overall figurative meaning of the idiom. And the semantic decomposability of idioms is, in turn, determined by the cognitive modes such as metaphor and metonymy, which underlie the use and comprehension of idioms. An emphasis on the analyzability of idioms in the teaching practice can benefit the learners in their deepened comprehension and appropriate use of idioms.