汉英温觉词语义对比研究

【作者】 李丽虹；

【导师】 周国炎；

【作者基本信息】 中央民族大学 ， 语言学及应用语言学， 2012， 博士

【摘要】 汉英温觉词(包括基本温觉词和由基本温觉词扩展而来的词语)内部的系统性比较强,考察其语义表现的异同可以帮助我们认识汉英两种语言语义引申的规律,同时有助于我们更好地理解认知、文化和语言之间的互动关系以及中西方思维、文化的差异。本文选择以义域为对比的基本单位,以认知语言学、文化语言学和浑沌学等学科的相关理论为指导,在宏观和微观两个层面、从动态和静态两个角度对汉英温觉词的语义异同进行了深入分析,研究涉及两个方面的内容：一是汉英温觉词语义表现的异同；二是汉英温觉词语义异同背后的原因。通过研究,得出以下结论：(1)汉英温觉词的语义有同有异。汉英温觉词的语义在很多时候是对应的,某些义域是汉英温觉词都具有的,比如温度域；另外还有一些义域是相似的,如脾性域等。但另一方面,汉英温觉词的语义又有很大的差异：总体上看,“冷”族词语与“cold”族词语的差异相对较小,“凉”族词与“cool”族词的差异最大,其余两组(“热”族词与“hot”族词、“温／暖”族词与“warm”族词)则处于中间位置。汉英语的温觉词在语义引申方面存在一定的倾向性：汉语中的温觉词更倾向于直接由温度域引申到态度、环境、心理感觉等域,有时还可引申到药性体质域；而英语中的温觉词则喜欢沿着通感隐喻的方向发展：首先投射到听觉域、视觉域、味觉域,甚至嗅觉域,然后再由这些五觉域进一步向其他域投射。从语义色彩方面看,“冷”和“cold”类词语都偏贬义；“warm”词语大多数用于“褒义”的语境中,而“温”和“暖”几乎全部用于中性或褒义的语境中；汉语中的“热”类词语常用来表示人际关系,有相当一部分是褒义的,而“hot”的语义复杂,褒贬参半；汉语中“凉”类词语贬义居多,而“cool”则大多用作褒义。(2)对于汉英温觉词语义表现上的异同,可以从静态和动态两个角度进行解释。在静态方面,我们选择了认知、文化和语言本身三个解释角度。从认知的角度看,造成汉英温觉词语义表现相通的一个重要原因就是中西方具有着相似的主客观世界以及生理、心理机制。但是,由于中西方的自然环境也存在不小的差异,文化传统也很不相同,因此汉英语温觉词语义又表现出诸多差异。从思维方式的角度看,中国人更习惯于直觉性思维,而西方人则喜欢逻辑性思维；从哲学思想上看,东方文化重视二元统一,而西方文化则强调物我分离,这些都在一定程度上决定了汉英温觉词的语义存在诸多差异。此外,从语言角度看,汉英词语本义对引申义的“俯瞰”作用、汉语词语音节数量对词语组合的制约作用也都在一定程度上导致了汉英温觉词语义表现的差异。而另一方面,语言接触又会使汉英温觉词的语义表现呈现出一定的相似性。在动态方面,我们运用浑沌学理论对汉英温觉词语义发展的规律进行了必要的解释。浑沌学理论认为,语言是一个开放的复杂动力系统,其变化发展是线性与非线性、有序与无序、确定性与随机性的统一体。当以浑沌学理论来关照汉英温觉词时,我们可以清晰地发现分叉现象、语义演变顺序的浑沌序以及蝴蝶效应的影子。更多还原

【Abstract】 The Chinese and English temperature-sensation words (including the basic words and their extensions) are very systematic. Studying the similarities and differences between their semantic representations will help us understand the rules behind the semantic extension in both Chinese and English languages, casting new light on the interaction among cognition, cultures and languages, as well as on the cultural and ideological difference between China and western countries.This thesis, which takes semantic field as the basic unit for comparison and is based on the theories of cognitive linguistics, chaology, cultural linguistics and other relevant disciplines, makes an in-depth and macrocosm-to-microcosm analysis, dynamically and statically, of the semantic similarities and differences between the temperature-sensation words in Chinese and English. The study consists of two parts:one is to demonstrate the semantic similarities and differences between Chinese and English. Another is to explain the similarities and differences. The conclusions are as follow:(1) The temperature-sensation words in Chinese and English have both similarities and differences. Usually, they correspond to each other. There are a great number of similar semantic fields, for example, the semantic field of temperature, and temper. However, Chinese and English temperature—sensation words are sometimes very different semantically. Generally speaking, the difference between the“冷’’(leng)-constructions in Chinese and the cold-constructions in English is relatively small, while the one between the“凉”(liang)-constructions in Chinese and the cool-constructions are most obvious. In the other two groups of words‘热”(reconstructions and hot-constructions,“温/暖”(wen/nuan)-constructions and warm-constructions), the number of differences is in between, not too small nor too large. In the semantic extension of Chinese and English temperature-sensation words, there exists certain tendency, in which Chinese is more likely to extend the semantic field of temperature to the ones of attitude, environment, psychology or even the nature of medicines, while English to the ones of synaesthetic metaphor, e.g., extending firstly to the semantic fields of hearing, vision, taste and smell, and then to other semantic fields.In terms of semantic colors, words like“冷”(leng) and cold are more likely to be derogatory while words like warm are mostly commendatory. Most of the time, Chinese words such as“温”(wen) and“暖”(nuan) are used in neutral or commendatory context; Chinese words like re usually stand for interpersonal relationship, among which there are quite a few of commendatory, however, the English word hot is of complex meaning, thus being a neutral one. Chinese words like’‘凉”(liang) are often derogatory while in English the word cool are usually commendatory.(2)The explanation of the similarities and differences between the semantic representation of Chinese and English temperature-sensation words can be made dynamically and statically.Statically speaking, the explanation is based on three views which involve cognition, culture and language. From the view of cognition, the similarities can be explained by the fact that China and the Western countries are sharing common features and interlinking with each other, in both objective and subjective world where people are living with the alike physical and psychological systems. Nevertheless, China and the Western countries not only differ greatly with their own natural environments, but also with their own cultures and traditions. Thus, a good number of differences exist between semantic representation of Chinese and English temperature-sensation words. From the view of cultural psychology, Chinese people are inclined to think intuitively and introvertly, while Westerners are more used to the logical and extrovert modes of thinking. Such a difference in thought determines the differents way of using Chinese and English temperature-sensation words. From the view of philosophy, the oriental philosophy attach importance to the unity of mind and matter while the western philosophy to the contradiction. This is also a major reason for the semantic difference between Chinese and English temperature-sensation words. From the view of language, the number of syllables in both Chinese and English affect the formation of words. There is certain rule behind the semantic extension of words. A word’s basic meaning can supervise its semantic extension, e.g, the basic meaning prescribes and indicates its extension. Furthermore, language contact will affect the semantic representation of words.Dynamically speaking, the Chaos Theory can explain the rules behind the semantic extension of temperature-sensation words in Chinese and English. According to the Chaos Theory, language is an open and complicated system of dynamics, whose development is the unity of the linear and the non linear, of order and disorder, and of certainty and randomness. Based on the Chaos Theory, the study of the temperature-sensation words in Chinese and English will lead to the discovery of the phenomenon of bifurcation, the chaotic sequence of semantic evolution and the reflection of the Butterfly Effect.更多还原