The Default Phenomenon Of The Postposition Of Frame Preposition In Chinese

The expressions of spatial relations in Chinese are mostly expressed by location sentences.In the location sentences,the most common expression is “NP / P Zai NP + L(NP 在+L)” where N and P represent nouns and pronouns,NP represents nouns or phrases,L represents the position word.And the expression “Zai + NP + L” which represents the spatial position is considered to be a typical frame preposition.There are many studies on location sentences and localizers,but few on the default of the postposition in frame prepositions.This paper mainly uses cognitive methods to analyze the configuration “NP / P Zai NP + L”.The purpose of this study is to find out the reasons leading to the omission of local words in the construction,and the factors that affect the existence of local words,which can explain the cause and operating mechanism of the construction and form a clear and comprehensive understanding of the construction.Through the research of the default phenomenon,the paper finds that the default of the postposition L is related to the location of NP,the tolerance of NP and the semantic abstraction of the preposition.The strength of its location,the degree of abstraction of prepositions,and the tolerance of NP determine the presence or absence of postposition.The spatial diagram formed by this configuration will also be due to the strength of the NP’s location.The difference in abstraction between prepositions and meanings is divided into different spatial relationships in the observer’s brain.Therefore,the analysis of the default phenomena of postpositions is inseparable from the study of the division of spatial relationships and the cognitive mechanisms.This paper mainly analyzes the default phenomenon of L in the structure of “NP / P Zai NP + L” from the following aspects:1.What is the default phenomenon and how to define the postposition?2.What effects do spatial division and cognitive mechanism have on the typical expression “NP/P 在 NP+L”,and what’s the function of the L?3.How do other semantic elements especially the semantic tolerance and abstraction affect the choice of localizer?As for these three aspects,this paper has got the following factors which affected the default phenomenon.First the framed preposition is composed of prepositions and postpositions,and they are both prepositions that the construction is called framed prepositions.The structure of framed prepositions is preposition + NP + L.“Zai + NP + L” is a typical Chinese frame preposition expression,which is widely used in Chinese.It is used to describe the specific position of the subject.The postposition is an important part of the frame preposition.It is generally expressed by localizers,and most of them cannot be omitted,but in specific use,due to the influence of various factors such as cognitive mechanisms,reference points and parts of speech,the phenomenon of localizers’ omission often occurs.The spatial system division in Chinese can be divided into three systems: direction,position,and shape.The expression of each system is related to the grammatical and semantic categories and part of the vocabulary.And people are used to using localizers to express the location.However,due to the limitations of localizers,scholars have different opinions on the existence of localizers.This study is more inclined to a proposal that it should be decided by the spatial system relationship in the specific context where the construction should highlight.And the cognitive mechanism of the observer will affect the choice of localizers.Whether it is a two-dimensional or three-dimensional cognitive mechanism,the localizer serves as a formal indicator of the spatial scope.The omission of the localizer should be based on the observer’s perspective.The understanding of the spatial scope is embodied as “points”,“lines” or “surfaces”.The wider the spatial scope is,the more specific the need for localizers will be.For example,denoting “point” does not require localizers.Affected by the cognitive mechanism,the spatial scope and location of the noun embodied in this configuration,the degree of semantic abstraction,and the degree of tolerance of the noun to the sentence will affect the choice of local words.People judge the degree of tolerance of the subject in the sentence according to the tolerance of NP.The degree of tolerance refers to the strength of the ability to accommodate the subject.The strength is different,and the degree of influence on“Zai”is different.If the tolerance of NP is high and enough to accommodate the subject,then the proposition of“Zai”is weakened at the same time,then NP itself indicates that the place is weaker,and the verb is stronger,indicating the state of the subject,then there is no need to add a certain verb phrase to make the sentence.The meaning is complete and reasonable.For example,the phrase“Ta Zai Cao Chang Shang(他在操场上he is on the playground)"can be established without adding the local word"Shang(上on)".Thus,this paper represents that different NPs,different cognitive mechanisms and cognitive tendencies are triggered,and it is found that when the nominal character of the NPs is strong in location,there is generally no need to add corresponding localizers to indicate specific spatial locations such as“Wo Zai Beijing(我在北京I am in Beijing)”.In terms of aspect,the degree of abstraction of current prepositions is greater than that of postpositional prepositions,that is,the smaller scope of postpositional prepositions is smaller.Prepositions can be omitted,and postpositions cannot be omitted.Besides,this study believes that NP in framed prepositions is the key to determining the default problem of postpositional prepositions.The strength of its tolerance will affect the existence of postpositional prepositions.When its tolerance is strong,the prepositional nature of prepositional prepositions is weak,and it is only used to express the spatial position relationship without a preposition.On the contrary,when the tolerance is low,the preposition is weak and the verb is strong.It is necessary to add a postposition and add a verb phrase to complete the sentence meaning.This paper provide a whole and universal explanation to the default of the postposition to make it reasonable and acceptable.