TY - JOUR
T1 - Conceptualization of containment in Chinese
T2 - A corpus-based study of the Chinese space particles lĭ, nèi, and zhōng
AU - Su, Hung Kuan
AU - Chen, Alvin Cheng Hsien
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Department of English, National Taiwan Normal University.
PY - 2019/11/1
Y1 - 2019/11/1
N2 - This study investigates the semantic variations of three near-synonymous space particle constructions of containment in Chinese: [zai NP l./nei/ zh.ng]. While previous work has mostly applied qualitative analyses of the semantic differences between these particles, this study presents a corpusbased analysis examining the relationship between space particles and their co-occurring landmarks in the locative construction. Two quantitative analyses were conducted: a multiple distinctive collexeme analysis and a post-hoc semantic analysis. Our results suggest the following. First, l. is a more unmarked particle in encoding containment, co-occurring with both canonical landmarks and a wider range of entities. Second, nei shows a strong preference for landmarks denoting temporal concepts; this metaphorical use often implies a preplanned objective in the proposition, with the landmark as an intended deadline. Finally, zh.ng shows a strong connection to landmarks denoting high-dynamicity events. This extended use often comes with a marked aspectual reading of the landmark.
AB - This study investigates the semantic variations of three near-synonymous space particle constructions of containment in Chinese: [zai NP l./nei/ zh.ng]. While previous work has mostly applied qualitative analyses of the semantic differences between these particles, this study presents a corpusbased analysis examining the relationship between space particles and their co-occurring landmarks in the locative construction. Two quantitative analyses were conducted: a multiple distinctive collexeme analysis and a post-hoc semantic analysis. Our results suggest the following. First, l. is a more unmarked particle in encoding containment, co-occurring with both canonical landmarks and a wider range of entities. Second, nei shows a strong preference for landmarks denoting temporal concepts; this metaphorical use often implies a preplanned objective in the proposition, with the landmark as an intended deadline. Finally, zh.ng shows a strong connection to landmarks denoting high-dynamicity events. This extended use often comes with a marked aspectual reading of the landmark.
KW - Cognitive semantics
KW - Collostructional analysis
KW - Containment
KW - Distinctive collexeme
KW - Quantitative corpus linguistics
KW - Space particles
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U2 - 10.1075/consl.00009.su
DO - 10.1075/consl.00009.su
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85093516924
SN - 1810-7478
VL - 45
SP - 211
EP - 245
JO - Concentric: Studies in Linguistics
JF - Concentric: Studies in Linguistics
IS - 2
ER -