Semantic And Grammatical Constraints On “n” In Chinese And English "NA_sp Estimation Construction": A Comparative Study

Under the guidance of the Profile-Base theory and Construction Grammar,this thesis takes “N” in Chinese and English “NA_sp Estimation Construction” as the research object by means of comparison,quantification and qualification,to discuss three questions in six chapters: the similarities and differences of semantic constraints on “N” in Chinese and English “NA_sp Estimation Construction”;the similarities and differences of grammatical constraints on “N” in Chinese and English “NA_sp Estimation Construction”;the cognitive motivations of the former two.The goal of the study is to reveal the semantic and grammatical characteristics of “N” in both Chinese and English “NA_sp Estimation Construction” as well as the cognitive properties behind them.In semantics,Chinese and English “N” is the same in that they share six semantic domains,the frequent grades of which?except the “plant” domain?are almost the same,‘human organ' > ‘natural thing' > ‘tool' > ‘building' > ‘animal';and they possess four semantic properties,including [+GENERALITY],[+SPATIALITY],[+FAMILIARLITY]and [+ESTIMATION].However,there are also some differences between the two languages: firstly,only English “N” has the semantic domains,‘region',‘micro thing' and‘road',embodying the semantic properties,including [+REGION] and[+INDIRECTNESS];secondly,in the condition of the same semantic domain,the referents in each semantic domain between English and Chinese sometimes are different.Furthermore,in the condition of the same referent,the “A_sp” combined with it can be different.As for grammar,there are mainly three similarities between Chinese and English “N” :first of all,they both can occur in the “common noun + A_sp” and “numeral + common noun+ A_sp”,which are the instances of the schematic construction “NA_sp Estimation Construction”;moreover,both have the grammatical meanings: [+SCALAR],[+COMPARISON] and [+DESCRIPTION];finally,they both take “N” as adverbial to modify “A_sp”,forming the adverbial-head relationship between “N” and “A_sp”.“N + A_sp” is the extension of “X + ADJ”,realized by the metonymy of “N”.On the other hand,the particularity is that Chinese “N” can occur in “numeral + quantifier + common noun + A_sp”construction and “common noun + auxiliary + A_sp” construction,which are unique to Chinese “NA_sp Estimation Construction”.Cognitive motivations are found behind the above findings.The semantic constraints on “N” mainly come from the embodiment cognition of human beings.The semantic similarities and differences of “N” in Chinese and English are related to the focus of people's attention which reflects on the profile of “N”.While the grammatical constraints can be divided into two aspects: one is the grammatical meaning,the other is the grammatical relationship.The former is based on the construction's pragmatic purpose which can be explained based on the source constructions.The latter shows the incompatibility of “N” and “A_sp”.The thesis reveals that the construction meaning overrides the prototypical meaning of “N”.Meanwhile,by means of metonymy,“N” acts as adverbial to modify “A_sp”,which transforms it from unbounded to bounded.