Decategorization And Noun-adverbials In Mandarin Chinese

Nouns'functioning as adverbials is a common linguistic phenomenon in both ancient Chinese and Mandarin Chinese. Since the inception of Chinese grammar study, it has been studied from different perspectives by different schools of scholars.There are three theoretical inclinations in approaching noun-adverbials in China, namely, the flexible use of words, the fontal use of words and the omission of prepositions. Each theory distinguishes itself as a valid one for their explanatory force in solving many theoretical and practical problems. They have made great contributions to Chinese study, especially for the study of ancient Chinese. However, there are also problems and inadequacies in their enquiries.This thesis focuses on the study of noun-adverbials preceding the predicates in Mandarin Chinese under the theoretical framework of decategorization. Noun-adverbials denoting time and location will not be examined in the present study. At the linguistic layer, decategorization is a process in which category members gradually lose the category features. Through a comparison between noun-adverbials and their prototypical nominal counterparts with respect to their different morpho-syntactic, semantic and functional features, it is proved that noun-adverbials are decategorized prototypical nouns. Morpho-syntactically, noun-adverbials can not be modified by quantifiers; nor can they be modified by adjectives. Semantically, they denote such meaning as the manner, characteristic of the action. They function as the adverbial of the sentence, modifying the predicate. They can not introduce any participants any more. At the cognitive layer, decategorization serves as a means of innovation. Noun-adverbials are pragmatically intensified by metaphor and metonymy; therefore the information conveyed is greatly increased, thus cognitive economy and expressive efficiency are achieved. What's more, being marked structures, they are more salient cognitively and psychologically, acquiring better expressive effect. Innovation in language and cognition is realized by extending the meaning and function of nouns.After a systematic study on noun-adverbials in Mandarin Chinese, I argue that many problems such as the acceptability and the identification of the part of speech of noun-adverbials can be better accounted for in this theoretical framework. The present study further proves the validity and applicability of this theoretical orientation.