Diachronic Investigation Of "Wu A Wu B"

Guided by the theory of "three planes", this thesis put the focal point of diachronic research on the "Wu A Wu B" pattern (Wu, is pingyin for the Chinese Word "W’which means "without") in three-character structure, including discussion on its syntax function, meaning pattern and pragmatics. There are three parts in the thesis:introduction, main contents and conclusion.The introduction provides the research object, literature review, content, methodology and corpus,etc. The thesis is further divided into four chapters.Chapter1do some researches on the nature of A and B in "Wu A Wu B".We find that the most important nature is N,and then V, then Adj, from long long ago to now. And the trend is more and more apparent.Chapter2presents the diachronic development of syntactic function of "Wu A Wu B" by analysis of corpus from dynasties of Pre-Qin, Han, Tang and Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing, and We come to the conclusion that its clause function decreased progressively. However, the proportion increases progressively regards to its predicate,attribute,adverbial and complement function. The functions as subject and object remain stable in low proportion. There are two reasons contributed to" Wu A Wu B"’s main function as clause, first is the influence of four-character structure style, second is its symbolic integrity in itself.Consequently, the function of "Wu A Wu B" as clause receded to a low ebb. The enhancement of function as predicate is closely related to the stability of linguistic rules in Chinese. Moreover, the development of function as attribute, adverbial and complement indicates the enhancement of cognitive and thinking competence of Chinese language users. Besides, there are also description of its function as subject and object in the thesis. We come to the conclusion that different functions of "Wu A Wu B" mentioned above are all necessary regards to the realistic needs. Meanwhile, the functions fail to develop due to its intrinsic characteristics.Chapter3exhibits a diachronic description of "Wu A Wu B". According to the statistic analysis,"mei you A mei you B" pattern increased progressively. But "bu A bu B" and "bu fen (bu lun) AB" decreased. And other patterns remain stable in low proportion. The reason contributed to the increase of "mei you A mei you B" pattern,one is that the meaning of "mei you" in "Wu" is more frequently used, the other reason lies in stability in language rules. The trend of increase of "mei you" meaning in "Wu" influences the usage of "Wu A Wu B" pattern. Mean While,"mei you A mei you B" pattern is actually the original pattern of "Wu A Wu B". As to the decrease of "bu A bu B" and "bu fen (bu lun) AB" pattern, tWo reasons listed below can serve as the explanation,firstly, the meaning of "Bu" in "Wu" decreases; secondly, the development of format. Besides, a primary study on other meaning patterns of "Wu A Wu B" is also conducted.Chapter4is the pragmatic depiction of "Wu A Wu B" pattern. The general development of the pattern is estimated at first, then we find that the pattern has put up strong vitality.The causes for the development trend consist of:firstly, the need of social development. As new things,new ideas and new life styles emerge, language, especially vocabulary develops rapidly. Secondly, the unique advantages of "Wu A Wu B" in itself. And,this chapter provides a brief analysis of "wu A wu B" usage from a stylistic view. And we finally come to the conclusion that there is a downward tendency occurring to the frequency of the pattern in oral style and a upward tendency regarding to the frequency of the pattern in written style. Hypothesis of the reasons are:first,the usage limit of "wu" in oral style; second, relative conciseness tendency of written style.The conclusion offers a general review of the thesis, summarizing main study on "Wu A Wu B" pattern. Mean While, it also presents research limitations as Well as the statement that there is still room for improvements and developments due to time and energy limitation of the author.