A Cognitive-semantic Study Of Nominal Predicate Sentence

In recent years, with the innovation of research technique, nominal predicatesentence, a simple but special Chinese sentence pattern, has aroused scholar’s interest,and it becomes a hot issue in Chinese research field. Predecessors’ many descriptionsfor the nominal predicate sentence have been making great contribution to the futureexplanation of nominal predicative structure. However, many researchers regard thenominal predicate sentence as the same; even some famous scholars take the nominalpredication’s homogeneousness for granted. Actually, these sentences are differentwith great discrepancy not only from the angle of language perception but alsoformation approaches and mechanism. Evidently, it is very necessary to conduct afurther research on the formation approaches and mechanism of the nominal predicatesentence.Based on previous studies on nominal predicate sentences, this thesis conductsits research from the semantic and formation mechanism aspects. Nominal predicativestructure, as an independent sentence pattern, demonstrates characters of its own. Thenominal predicate usually demonstrates some descriptive meaning and tends to defineand describe its subject. Meanwhile, the predicate all have hierarchical feature andthis enables the nominal structure to gain some dynamic properties. Also, thehierarchical feature in nominal predicates lay a foundation for sequential meaning andthe process of mental scanning. As to the relation between the subject and predicate,we find the profile/base relation. Everything in the world is connected with otherentities, so is the subject in nominal predicate sentence. The subject generallyprovides a base for its predicate to be profiled and the predicate usually profiles thesubject from three aspects—relation, character and status as well as behavior. Thestudy of semantic relation between the subject and predicate is not enough to solve theformation mechanism of nominal predicative structures. Can all nouns be used asnominal predicate? If not, then what factors are there affecting the acceptability ofnominal predicate? To solve this problem, the paper employs the theory ofdecategorization. Some nouns can function as nominal predicate alone, for instance,numeral-classifier structure. Some other nouns, however, gain predicative featureonly with help from external elements, for example, temporal structure and discursiveenvironment. The results of this research establish a foundation for further systematic researchon the formation approach and the formation mechanism. It has not only thetheoretical meaning for studies on typological linguistics and linguistic universal law,but also realistic meaning for people who need to consciously grasp a certain kind ofexpressive nominal predicate sentence.