Chapter 1. When constructions meet context
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Wei-lun Lu
Abstract
This study investigates the synchronic polysemy of the Mandarin construction hai. Drawing on authentic and contextualized examples of spoken language, I propose that hai prototypically functions as an indicator that the ensuing proposition refers back to some relevant presupposition in prior discourse, which is either explicitly stated or inferable. With this contrastive alignment of two propositions, the reading of hai as ‘temporal continuance’ emerges naturally by way of pragmatic inferencing. In other words, I demonstrate that the various meanings identified in previous studies arise from an interplay between hai’s schematic sense and discourse pragmatics. This study presents not only a unified account for the synchronic polysemy of hai, but also has significance for the study of constructions in discourse.
Abstract
This study investigates the synchronic polysemy of the Mandarin construction hai. Drawing on authentic and contextualized examples of spoken language, I propose that hai prototypically functions as an indicator that the ensuing proposition refers back to some relevant presupposition in prior discourse, which is either explicitly stated or inferable. With this contrastive alignment of two propositions, the reading of hai as ‘temporal continuance’ emerges naturally by way of pragmatic inferencing. In other words, I demonstrate that the various meanings identified in previous studies arise from an interplay between hai’s schematic sense and discourse pragmatics. This study presents not only a unified account for the synchronic polysemy of hai, but also has significance for the study of constructions in discourse.
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
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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
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Part II. Cognitive pragmatics
- Chapter 6. Structural salience and referential accessibility 185
- Chapter 7. Complementing cognitive linguistics with pragmatics and vice versa 207
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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
