Negation and underlying spatial cognition: The evolution of Chinese mei (you) as a case study

IF 0.4 3区 文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS
Yuanhuang Zhang
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

ABSTRACT Negation and spatial experiences are basic to human cognition. While both should be indispensable to the exploration of each other, the relationship between them has seldom been touched upon. This study takes the Chinese negative marker mei (you) as a case study by investigating its evolutionary path in relation to spatial cognition. Drawing on corpus-based data across three historical stages before Modern Chinese, the study yields the following findings. First, the original meaning of mei involves dynamic spatial movement, which can extend to abstract domains. Second, rich concrete meanings of mei trigger semantic schematization at the second stage, spatial cognition playing a fundamental role. Third, the negative marker use of mei combines with you at the third stage, which is attributed to the fact that the spatial existence of you fits with the semantic component of existence in mei. The significance of the study lies in three aspects: first, the division of historical stages accords with the key turning points in the evolution of Chinese; second, the exploration follows a diachronic development, instead of being based merely on static performance; and third, this perspective sheds light on the role of spatial cognition in the conceptualization of negation in both Chinese and other languages.
否定与潜在空间认知:以中国“媚”的演变为例
否定和空间体验是人类认知的基础。虽然两者对彼此的探索都是不可或缺的,但他们之间的关系很少被提及。本研究以汉语否定标记mei(you)为例,探讨其与空间认知的进化路径。基于现代汉语之前三个历史阶段的语料库数据,本研究得出以下结论。首先,梅的本义涉及动态的空间运动,它可以延伸到抽象的领域。第二,梅丰富的具体意义在第二阶段引发语义图式化,空间认知起着基础性作用。第三,“梅”的否定标记使用在第三阶段与“你”相结合,这是由于“你”的空间存在与“梅”中存在的语义成分相契合。研究的意义在于三个方面:第一,历史阶段的划分符合汉语发展的关键转折点;第二,这种探索是一种历时性的发展,而不是仅仅基于静态的表现;第三,这一观点揭示了空间认知在汉语和其他语言否定概念化中的作用。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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CiteScore
1.10
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10
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