Construction Grammar Analysis On The Chinese Buzzword “Zhongguoshi X”

With the development of information technology,more and more Chinese buzzwords(or hot words)have widely spread on the Internet and in mass media.It's worth doing some researches on these buzzwords,which keep up with the tide of the times and demonstrate people's thoughts in today's China.Among all these buzzwords,“zhongguoshiX” is a typical one.However,after reading a great amount of literature,the author finds that there are some deficiencies existing in previous studies on this topic,including data collection,data analysis,theoretical framework,etc.This thesis chooses Construction Grammar,which focuses on "form and function pairings",as its theoretical framework,and qualitative approach supported by quantitative approach as its research methodology.It consists of four parts: firstly,forming a systematic collection of “zhongguoshiX” based on research and analysis;secondly,doing a literature review about Construction Grammar and explaining why “zhongguoshiX” can be regarded as a construction;thirdly,analyzing the syntactic,semantic and pragmatic features of “zhongguoshiX” from the perspective of Construction Grammar;fourthly,exploring its extension mechanism,i.e.how the construction take shapes and becomes popular,in three aspects: construction coercion,the mechanism of parody and the economy principle of language.Based on these researches,the thesis offers a more profound and comprehensive study on the Chinese buzzword “zhongguohsi X”.The findings of the research includes: first of all,clarifying the motivation of “zhongguoshiX” as a construction based on Construction Grammar.Secondly,making a comprehensive analysis of “zhongguoshiX” in aspects of syntax,semantics and pragmatics.Syntactically,“X” in “zhongguoshiX” can be a noun,a verb or an adjective.Semantically,“zhongguoshiX” can express commendatory,derogatory or neutral meanings.Pragmatically,“zhongguoshiX” has two pragmatic features: productivity and irony.Thirdly,the construction coercion theory illustrates the formation of this construction;the mechanism of parody shade lights on the developing process of this construction;and the economy principle of language explains why the construction becomes prevalent.Besides these findings,the research methods can be applied to studying other Chinese buzzwords.It's also a process to verify construction grammar and prove its applicability in studying Chinese constructions.