A Constructional Study On The Novel Bei XX Expressions

This paper provides ar guments in favor of Goldberg’s construction grammar in the study of the novel bei XX expressions. With all the novel bei instances in use, bei XX is motivated as a n ew abstract constru ction according to th e criterion of non-predictability of form and meaning. The constructional meaning is(the patient) BEING UNDER MANIPULATION and upon this schem atic meaning the complex semantics of the construction is explored from dif ferent aspects. B ased on the establishment of the bei XX construction, I propose a f urther piece of e mpirical evidence for the motivation of the construction so as to investigate to what extent the construction exists and how it ex ists in the minds of the native speakers. The survey findings offer much more contributions to the understanding th e construction. While the novel bei expressions are explained in a unified and comprehensive way under the framework of construction gramm ar, the st udy substantiates the viable explanatory power of construction grammar.