| Motion event is a prototype event, consisting of a framing event, a supporting event and the supporting relationship bearing between them. The linguistic representation of motion event has aroused a lot of attention since the1970s. It is one of the hot topics of syntax-semantics interface researches. There are many researches of motion event but most of them focus on the classification or categorization from a typology perspective.In order to further the understanding of this prototype event, this thesis attempts to discuss motion event from the perspective of semantic incorporation. Semantic incorporation refers to the situation in which a single surface form can express a few semantic elements and it is a telescoped representation of complex events. The thesis is constructed around the following questions:(1) What is the correspondence and divergence between motion events in English and Chinese?(2) What is the pattern in which motion events embody semantic incorporation?(3) What influence does semantic incorporation exert on motion events?(4) What are the implications on interlingual translation and English teaching?The thesis summarizes the correspondence and divergence of motion events in English and Chinese for a start. Then, the thesis takes motion verb as the entry point to analyze three major conflation patterns of languages and points out that there are other minor systems. Subsequently, the thesis discusses the influence that semantic incorporation exerts on motion event from the perspective of valence, syntax simplification and salience. Finally, the thesis reflects upon the implications on interlingual translation and English teaching suggested by semantic incorporation and the correspondence and divergence of motion events in English and Chinese.This thesis is mainly concerned about the classification of motion verbs, different mappings between different patterns and satellites and the study of the influence of semantic incorporation embodied in motion events on syntax. It can help to gain a better understanding of motion event and it will facilitate the translation and language teaching. |
