On Chinese Double-subject Construction-from The Perspective Of Cognitive Grammar

Chinese double-subject construction appears as a common construction in our language, and prominent achievements of Chinese double-subject constructions have been gained by Chinese linguists. But most studies focus on the argument of the status of the two nominal phrases in Chinese double-subject construction. What roles do the two nominal phrases in Chinese double-subject construction play? (Do both serve as topics? Or both as subjects? Or one as subject and the other as topic? ) The research is expected to interpret Chinese double-subject construction in a proper way. As a matter of fact, there has been a long dispute on the two notions: subject and topic. Most of previous researches on double-subject construction in China can not justify themselves.The present thesis proposes the assumption that Chinese double-subject construction appears to be one sort of reference-point construction. The thesis presents a cognitive study of the Chinese double-subject construction from the standpoint of cognitive grammar, and offers an explanation as to how such construction should be interpreted with respect to reference-point construction.The various chapters are dedicated to exploring this issue and offering some explanatory insights.Chapter 1 explains that double-subject construction is a common phenomenon in language, but it has not been fully or reasonably focused on by many linguists. So chapter 1 will demonstrate the four sorts of interpretations and point out advantages as well as disadvantages for each one.Chapter 2 presents the two notions : Chinese subject and topic and Chinese double-subject construction in the light of cognitive grammar. Subject and topic in Chinese will be illustrated by detailed explanations and examples with reference to cognitive grammar, which is the basis of interpreting Chinese double-subject construction. In the following section, classifications and characteristics of Chinese double-subject construction will be concentrated on and some similar constructions like possessive constructions as well as topic constructions will be eliminated by contrast of double-subject constructions.In chapter 3, the two nominal phrases in double-subject construction, as well as the reference-point construction, will be explored. The interpretation of Chinese double-subject construction by use of reference-point construction will be shown in chapter 3. The claim will be made that it is a pioneering attempt to consider the two nominal phrases as reference point.A further exploration of Chinese double-subject construction will be carried out in the final chapter. It will discuss various features of those four sorts of Chinese overt double-subject construction.As to the significance of the present research, firstly, from the theoretical perspective, the present thesis proposes a new view that the theory of reference-point construction in cognitive grammar is available in Chinese study. Then from the practical perspective, the thesis combines Chinese double-subject construction with reference-point construction. It has practicability and feasibility and offers a fresh thought and methods for such analysis.The research result shows that it not only has the theoretical feasibility proved, but also yields a new insight into Chinese double-subject construction.