A Static And Dynamic Study On Adjective-Noun Constructions

Compound-like constructions, as connectors between words and sentences, have gained much concern from both theoretical and computational linguists. Since Adjective-Noun Constructions (ANC) are among the core compound-like constructions, the dissertation is intended to investigate the semantic build-up and the syntactic collocation patterns of (ANC) in Chinese.After the historical study on ANC in theoretical and computational linguistic circles, a breakthrough in the traditional approach to adjectives as attributives and modifier may come out as a result of the investigation. Statically, the present study summarizes ten types of internal semantic relations between adjectives and nouns based on the semantic grammar as ontology and the mutual option as methodology. Different semantic relations reflect different semantic types of adjectives and nouns respectively. Combining the ten semantic relations with the conceptual meaning of adjectives and nouns, we classify adjectives into five sub-classes, subjective, eventual, objective, spatial & temporal, and appraisal and we also classify nouns into five sub-classes, subject, event, object, space & time, and logic. Consequently, a model of semantic combinations between sub-classes of adjectives and nouns is established. Regulations to constraint ANC are explored in detail among subjective-subject (feature, figure, attitude, personality, intelligence, emotion), eventual-event (modality, hardness, urgency, speed, length, strength, range, depth, detail), objective-object (colour, taste), and appraisal-logic (evaluation, oddness). The concrete study does not only justify the validity of semantic grammar and mutual option, but also verifies the rationality of the semantic classification of adjectives and nouns. Dynamically, we investigate the syntactic function of ANC in syntactic structures, such as N1+A+de+N2,N1+you+N2+A,N1+N2+A+de+VP, and N1+A(single syllable)+N2(double syllable)+de +VP. The dynamic study gives a new semantic explanation and formal verification of the complex semantic relations between ANC and other syntactic elements. It also shows the governing mechanism for the syntactic structure to constrain ANC and the selecting mechanism for ANC to require the syntactic structure. It has been suggested that there also exist mutual options between formal structures and semantic combinations.Theoretically, the static and dynamic study on ANC paves the way for the study of semantic features, semantic relations, semantic combinations and semantic options in semantic grammar. Practically, semantic relations, the semantic combination model, sub-classes of adjectives and nouns, governing mechanism incorporating constructions into structures give clues to Chinese language teaching, computerized Chinese language processing and dictionary compiling.