| Morphology is a fundamental branch of linguistics,studying the internal structures of composite words.Morphological derivation is the process of adding affixes to existing words to form new words,which is a major topic in morphology.A root is the part retained after all affixes are removed and cannot be further decomposed into smaller parts.Affixes are morphemes attached to the root or base.Affixes cannot be used alone in language;they must be attached to other morphemes to complete their meanings.Whereas,a root is a free morpheme that can appear as a separate word.Affixes can be divided into three types on their position to the root or base: prefixes,infixes and suffixes.Prefixes are attached to the front of free morphemes to form new words.While,suffixes are attached to the end of free morphemes to form new words.Infixes are relatively rare in English,inserted inside an existing word.Prefixes can be divided into positive prefixes and negative prefixes.This study focuses on English negative prefixes,specifically,on the frequently used polysemy negative prefixes de-/dis-/un-.English negative prefixes have long been a concern of linguists interested in language morphology.Previous researchers focused on the word formation rules,productivity,and differences between English and Chinese affixes.Previous studies need to strengthen the semantic study of English negative prefixes and systematically explore the semantic differences between various negative prefixes.This study focuses on constructing schematic representation models for English negative prefixes.The researcher aims to construct the schematic representation of semantic network for English negative prefixes de-/dis-/un-.The current study is unique in constructing the conceptual integration model for the negative prefixes above,visualised the intangible semantic processing and extraction.In addition,this study explores the semantic differences between derivatives when negative prefixes de-/dis-/un-added to the same root or base.Theoretically,this paper expands the application areas of cognitive linguistic theory.Cognitive linguistic theory helps clarify the internal relationship between multiple semantic representations of negative prefixes.Thus,language users can effectively distinguish the words’ meaning,derived from negative prefixes.Practically,this paper helps learners establish a mapping between reality,cognition and language.Besides,this study provides a reference for cognitive research of other prefixes.This study conducts semantic analysis based on the cognitive framework.Cognitive linguistics emphasises that human language is inseparable from specific experience.Human experience of the world largely restricts language structure and meaning.Human language is formed by experiential perception and subject-object interaction.Therefore,the study of language structure and meaning should start from human experience and cognition perspective.Category,domain,construal and conceptual integration theories are practical frameworks for analysing the morphological structure and semantic integration process of negative prefixes.In addition,this study use documentary,corpus,inductive,introspective and comparative methods to solve the following questions:(1)In what way are negative cognitive domains classified?(2)How to construct and construe the semantic networks for negative prefixes de-,dis-and un-? How the polysemantic interrelated network of the prototypical and peripheral members are determined?(3)What is the integration mechanism between the negative prefixes and roots?(4)What are the semantic differences between negative words derived from the same root or base? How to construe the semantic difference between pairs of words derived by negative prefixes?This study has four major findings:Firstly,this paper makes a tentative classification of English negative prefixes.In derivation,a negative prefix presents various meanings,depending on the nature of the root or base to which the negative prefix is attached.Defining a negative prefix is best placed within the negative cognitive domain to which it belongs.Each negative prefix occupies a specific facet in the cognitive domain.Negative prefixes are best distinguished by comparing them to other prefixes in the same cognitive domain.Secondly,constructing a semantic network for English core prefixes.A polysemous negative prefix could fall within more than one domains and thus form a network of interrelated meanings.Each node in the network marks one established meaning.Based on language user’s experience and judgment,the network’s form will be different.However,communication difficulties will not appear if language speakers share enough identical nodes.Thirdly,constructing a semantic integration mechanism with an English negative prefix.To visualise the lexical semantic processing process.This study further clarifies the semantic integration path of English roots and affixes,provided reference points for lexical semantics extraction.Lexical semantic derivation is the semantic elements’ mapping process in four mental spaces.Finally,Prototype-Domain-Construal method is suitable for constructing the semantic networks of prefixes de-,dis-and un-.Categories present multiple meanings of negative prefixes.A negative prefix has a most central meaning,called prototype.Others are peripheral meanings.The connection between between prototype and peripheral ones are chained.The less similar the peripheral meaning is to the prototype,the farther away it is from the most central meaning.Domain displays the distinct uses of negative prefixes.A domain is the background knowledge with respect to which lexical items can be characterised.Construal theory is applied to explain the mechanism of the semantic networks of English negative prefixes. |
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