On The Transformation Of English Construction V-ing From Categorization To Decategorization

The cognitive linguistics upholds that categorization is an important component and an advanced activity of human cognition. The theory of prototype category constituting an essential theory in cognitive linguistics has a strong explanatory power to all levels of language application. Hopper and Thompson, firstly putting forward the term of decategorization in 1984, defines it as a process in which parts of speech (mainly nouns and verbs) are apart from their original word meanings and syntactic features under the conditions of a given context. Besides, as for most of English learners, the usage of English construction v-ing is complex and flexible, which brings forth a certain blockage and confusion in acquisition of this grammatical rule according to traditional grammar. Distinctive from the traditional grammar, this thesis aims to take a fresh look at and get a systematic research on English construction v-ing on the theoretical framework of prototype category and decategorization by the cognitive mechanism of metaphor and metonymy.Based on considerable analysis of English construction v-ing both in the progressive aspect and in the non-progressive aspect, we find out, in the progressive aspect, English construction v-ing has gone through metaphorical mapping from the source domain of space to the target domain of time and psychology, and prototype categorization is the cognitive style behind it. By analyzing the process of metaphorical mapping and expansion of the meanings, we hold that the spatial meaning of English construction v-ing acts as the prototype of human cognition, later on it gradually extends to the marginal meaning of time and psychology; In the non-progressive aspect, English construction v-ing takes on multifunctionality. That is, apart from acting as predicate together with the link verb "be" in the progressive aspect, English construction v-ing itself can also act as gerund, adjective, adverb, connective and preposition in the non-progressive aspect, and decategorization is the cognitive style behind it. Meanwhile, during the process of English construction v-ing functioning as gerund, adjective, etc, some of its original verbal features have gradually disappeared and some new grammatical features have gradually appeared. In the meantime, its grammatical meaning is transformed from the original meaning of an action ongoing into the target meaning of indicating a state, which is the result of decategorization. Furthermore, in this thesis, what we focus on is to probe into the cognitive evolution and transformation of English construction v-ing from both methods of prototype category and decategorization, including the contents of transformation, the processes of transformation, the features of transformation and the deep cognitive mechanisms behind it. Findings of the detailed researches show that the cognitive mechanisms of metaphor, metonymy and the combination of metaphor and metonymy play important roles in the processes of transformation.Language is a dynamic system, and there exist a large number of fuzzy and intermediate regions besides the ones with clear-cut boundaries. However, by using decategorization theory, we can make a further study on the language and a reasonable explanation about a lot of irregularities. Through elaborate analysis, we discover that English construction v-ing has gone through the processes from categorization to decategorizaton and then finally to recategorization, reflecting the characteristics of wholeness, dynamics and innovativeness embodied all through the process, which verifies the whole developmental tendency of human language as well. If we adopt the methods of prototype categorization and decategorizaiton in English teaching, it will be in accordance with the cognitive principles of human being and the requirements of social development.