Chapter 4. Types of negatives and the noun-verb distinction in English and Chinese
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Jiaxuan Shen
Abstract
In this study, it is claimed that, unlike in Chinese, the most important division of negatives in English is between the negation of nouns and that of verbs, but not between indicative and non-indicative negation, nor between the negation of there is and is. In Chinese the most important division of negatives is between indicative and non-indicative negation, or between the negation of you 有 ‘has/there is’ and the negation of shi 是 ‘is’, but not between noun and verb negation. This difference supports the thesis that, while in English nouns and verbs occupy two separate grammatical categories, nouns in Chinese constitute a super-noun category with the verb included, and thus a noun-verb division in Chinese should not be overstated.
Abstract
In this study, it is claimed that, unlike in Chinese, the most important division of negatives in English is between the negation of nouns and that of verbs, but not between indicative and non-indicative negation, nor between the negation of there is and is. In Chinese the most important division of negatives is between indicative and non-indicative negation, or between the negation of you 有 ‘has/there is’ and the negation of shi 是 ‘is’, but not between noun and verb negation. This difference supports the thesis that, while in English nouns and verbs occupy two separate grammatical categories, nouns in Chinese constitute a super-noun category with the verb included, and thus a noun-verb division in Chinese should not be overstated.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors and contributors vii
- Series Editors’ Preface ix
- Foreword xiii
- Abbreviations xv
- Introduction to this volume 1
- General introduction 7
-
Part I. Morphological, lexical and syntactic constructions
- Chapter 1. When constructions meet context 47
- Chapter 2. On the partial productivity of constructions 73
- Chapter 3. A corpus-based study of subjectification and the disposal construction in modern Mandarin 95
- Chapter 4. Types of negatives and the noun-verb distinction in English and Chinese 121
- Chapter 5. The conceptual spatialization of actions or activities in Chinese 157
-
Part II. Cognitive pragmatics
- Chapter 6. Structural salience and referential accessibility 185
- Chapter 7. Complementing cognitive linguistics with pragmatics and vice versa 207
-
Part III. Neurocognition and psycholinguistics
- Chapter 8. A neurocognitive approach to Chinese idiom comprehension 227
- Chapter 9. The role of metaphor in categorization 261
- Chapter 10. Linguistic and mental representations of caused motion in Chinese and English children 285
- Author index 309
- Subject index 311
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors and contributors vii
- Series Editors’ Preface ix
- Foreword xiii
- Abbreviations xv
- Introduction to this volume 1
- General introduction 7
-
Part I. Morphological, lexical and syntactic constructions
- Chapter 1. When constructions meet context 47
- Chapter 2. On the partial productivity of constructions 73
- Chapter 3. A corpus-based study of subjectification and the disposal construction in modern Mandarin 95
- Chapter 4. Types of negatives and the noun-verb distinction in English and Chinese 121
- Chapter 5. The conceptual spatialization of actions or activities in Chinese 157
-
Part II. Cognitive pragmatics
- Chapter 6. Structural salience and referential accessibility 185
- Chapter 7. Complementing cognitive linguistics with pragmatics and vice versa 207
-
Part III. Neurocognition and psycholinguistics
- Chapter 8. A neurocognitive approach to Chinese idiom comprehension 227
- Chapter 9. The role of metaphor in categorization 261
- Chapter 10. Linguistic and mental representations of caused motion in Chinese and English children 285
- Author index 309
- Subject index 311
