本文是一篇语言学论文，笔者认为作为最常用的助词，“得”及其相关的语言事实非常有趣。它可能是不可或缺的，因为它的存在或不存在会影响汉语表达的结构和意义。因此，它的存在需要得到证明。
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
1.1 Research Orientation
This study is dedicated to examining what functions the Chinese structural particle de performs in the grammar of Chinese and how these functions are linguistically realized from the perspective of philosophy of language. As language expresses thought and represents the world, a philosophical study of it can help investigate its relationship with the world and reveal the world by nature thereafter. The studies of philosophy of language boil down to one essential element, i.e., meaning. In the grammar of Chinese, the structural particle de has a high frequency of use with distinct usages. For example, it can suggest modification or change a phrase both in the semantic and grammatical sense. Nevertheless, scholars have not reached a consensus on its functions and properties.
As far as philosophy of language is concerned, the structural particle de can change the word class of a phrase and assign a referent to it as in the phrase “开车的” (driver). Since reference, proposed by Frege, is a core concept in philosophy of language, the function of de can be analyzed from a philosophical view. Whether a Chinese phrase is a noun phrase or a verb phrase depends on its meaning, which can be altered with the presence and position of de. Once the word class of a phrase is settled, the phrase acquires a meaning. On this basis, this study adopts Saussure’s theory to interpret the function of the structural particle de. As Saussure rejects the traditional and analytic view of assigning meaning to a word by its referent, he develops his own philosophy of language in an ontological way. In Saussure’s eyes, language is a pure system with value being the core. Value is determined by its relations, either syntagmatic or associative, with other co-existing units in the language system.
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1.2 Rationale and Significance of the Research
The significance of this study can be justified from three perspectives.
Firstly, with de being the research object, this study can help explore the grammar of modern Chinese. In the study of the grammar of modern Chinese, function words have long been a heatedly discussed research topic, given their high frequency and distinct peculiarities. In recent years, there has been an increase in research on content words such as nouns and verbs, and on function words such as conjunctions and particles. As the most frequently used Chinese particle, de lies in the heart of modern Chinese grammar. As Wan (2016) points out, the properties and functions of de are core issues of the grammar of modern Chinese. Against such a backdrop, this study chooses the structural particle de as the research object. Given the fact that most previous studies concerning the functions of the structural particle de are conducted from the perspective of traditional grammar, syntax or cognitive linguistics, there is an inadequacy of language-philosophical study of it. Therefore, to fill such a research gap, this study will provide an explanation for the functions of de from the perspective of philosophy of language. In a broader sense, it can help build a philosophical ground for the studies of modern Chinese grammar, which focuses on the very essence of meaning itself.
Secondly, this study is based on great theoretical significance. It should be noted that Saussure’s philosophy of language has received an increasing attention. Given the prominent works of Course in General Linguistics (2011) and Writings in General Linguistics (2006), Saussure establishes a high reputation and is considered as the father of modern linguistics. Among his ground-braking ideas, his philosophy of language, especially his theory of meaning, deserves a closer examination. The basic concepts, such as sign, signifier and signified, syntagmatic and associative relations, value and system, paint a picture of how Saussure interprets meaning. Value is regarded as the core of the language system, which is determined by the opposition between one sign and others in the language system. In this study, it is proposed that the function of the Chinese structural particle de is to assign values to its neighboring elements, or to the whole sentence when necessary. In one sense, the structural particle de is indispensable in determining the word class of its related term, or the semantic relationship between the words and phrases it connects. In another, the meaning of a sentence can be different when added with the structural particle de to the final position. Once its meaning is confirmed, the value of a word or a sentence is generated. Hence, this study can contribute to the interpretation of the function of the structural particle de from a language-philosophical sense.
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CHAPTER TWO A BRIEF REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE
2.1 Previous Studies on the Structural Particle De
Marked with a limited number, high frequency of use and linguistic peculiarities, function words play a unique role in the grammar of modern Chinese. Unlike content words, function words bear no lexical meaning and cannot act as subjects, objects or predicates, and yet they play an indispensable role in our daily communication. Given the fact that the Chinese language is non-morphological, some grammatical features and semantic relationships have to be conveyed with the help of function words (Ma 2017). Of the approximately 700 function words, the structural particle de is the most frequently used one and has been studied thoroughly with various topics, such as the character de itself, de-constructions, de-sentences, the nominalization phenomenon and endocentric constructions. In this chapter, de itself is under the spotlight and the existing literature concerning it will be reviewed.
2.1.1 The Origin of De
In terms of diachronic studies, the origin of the structural particle de is explored. Since the 1980s, the topic has been discussed sufficiently and certain consensus has been reached. It is found that the structural particle de (“的”) was written as de (“底”) early in the Tang and Song Dynasties (Lü 1984), and thus the two are considered as the same morpheme. Lü (1984) proposes that de (“底”) is originated from the earlier structural particle zhe (“者”), given their similar pronunciation, distribution and function, while Wang (1958) regards zhi (“之”) as the original form. Jiang (2005) proposes that de (“底”) originated from the combination of both zhe (“者”) and zhi (“之”) based on phonetic analysis. However, Shi and Li (1998) argue that de (“底”) does not share the same origin with either of them. Instead, from the perspective of functional grammar and historical grammar, the grammaticalization of de is discussed and it is proposed that de (“ 底 ”) shares more grammatical features with a demonstrative pronoun. Furthermore, Su (2010) examines the motivation and mechanism behind the grammaticalization of the structural particle de. He agrees that de is derived from the earlier structural particle de (“底”), and it goes through a process of grammaticalization to acquire other functions apart from being a clitic in the first place.
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2.2 Saussure’s Theory of Values
2.2.1 Saussure’s Philosophy of Language
Philosophy of language mainly examines the relationship between language and the world, the meaning, and the mind. It is dedicated to finding out the nature of language, in particular, the nature of meaning. Since the twentieth century, many theories of meaning have been developed into shape, such as Frege’s Theory of Reference, Russell’s Theory of Descriptions, Donnellan’s distinction and so on (Lycan 2008).
Ferdinand de Saussure, considered as the founding father of modern linguistics, lays a foundation for the basic approaches to linguistic studies. In the famous works Course in General Linguistics (Saussure 2011) and Writings in General Linguistics (Saussure 2006), key elements of Saussure’s linguistic theories are put forward and they show a picture of his theories of meaning. In his manuscript and his lectures, Saussure rejects the extensional account of meaning, which considers language to be made up with names referring to objects. Instead, the relationship between an object and its name is arbitrary in Saussure’s eyes. He constructs his own theory of meaning based on the notion that language is a pure system.
Saussure’s philosophy of language has not been fully discussed in the analytic philosophy. And Yet in the Preface of Writings in General Linguistics (Saussure 2006), it is made clear that his work extends over three areas of knowledge:
The second area is that of analytic speculation (in the manner of Aristotle’s Analytica) about language-sometimes broadened to the more general question of human meaning systems. Saussure himself on many occasions called such speculation philosophical: in this context, we can speak, as he sometimes did, of a philosophy of language. (Saussure 2006:xii)
语言学论文参考
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CHAPTER THREE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ......................... 19
3.1 The Principle of Arbitrariness .................................. 19
3.2 The Notion of Linguistic Value ................................. 21
3.3 Value from a Conceptual, Material, and Totality View ............................. 22
CHAPTER FOUR RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................... 30
4.1 The Research Method ................................. 30
4.2 Data Collection and Analysis Procedures.................... 31
4.3 Summary .............................. 31
CHAPTER FIVE DATA ANALYSIS ............................... 33
5.1 De in Modification ..................................... 33
5.2 De in the “NP + De + VP” Construction .......................... 36
5.3 De in Referential De-Constructions.................................. 37
CHAPTER FIVE DATA ANALYSIS
5.1 De in Modification
The structural particle de is most often used for modifying a phrase. Semantically, it can help convey the semantic relations between content words. In addition, it can help add grammatical meaning to content words. Meanwhile, there is a freedom of choice when it comes to modifying phrases for de, meaning that de can connect words of different words classes. As modification can vary, different types of modification are presented with examples for discussion.
Example (19): “好看的女孩” (good-looking girl)
Example (19) is a case of the structural particle de constructing a de-construction, in which the properties or characteristics of an object is modified. In this case, the insertion of de enables the construction to have a modification reading. The word “好看” (good-looking) and de form an attributive phrase to modify the object “女孩” (girl), and this suggests that the girl is good-looking. Nevertheless, when standing alone, “好看” (good-looking) does not have such an attributive meaning. Only when the structural particle de is added after it can “好看” (good-looking) becomes an adjective. In other words, its meaning is not to settle without the presence of de.
Based on the theoretical framework, the value of a linguistic unit depends on its opposition to its surrounding units in the language system. In such a de-construction, words are arranged in a sequence, which forms a syntagma. According to the syntagmatic relations, a term in such a syntagma acquires a value due to its opposition to other terms standing before or after it. On the one hand, “好看” (good-looking) exists before de in the construction in the linear sense. On the other, its attributive meaning depends on the presence of de. It can be said that its value is dependent on de as a result. Therefore, the presence of de here is to assign a value to the word preceding it in such a construction. When acquiring a value, the word class of “好看” (good-looking) is settled, i.e., it is used as an attributive. It forms a modifying phrase with de to perform its function to modify the object “女孩” (girl) following them.
语言学论文怎么写
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CHAPTER SIX CONCLUSION
6.1 Major Findings of the Study
Guided by Saussure’s theory of meaning, this study is dedicated to finding out the function of the structural particle de in the grammar of modern Chinese. Saussure takes a different approach to examine the ontological meaning. His notion of value is an interpretation of meaning in its nature. Based on the core concepts such as arbitrariness, negativity, opposition, value, his philosophy of language can help us investigate features of the Chinese language from another perspective.
As the most frequently used particle, de and its related linguistic facts are more than intriguing. It can be indispensable due to the fact that its presence or absence can influence the structure and meaning of a Chinese expression. Thus, its presence needs to be justified. Based on the data analysis given above, it is found that de functions as a value marker in the grammar of Chinese.
The value-marking function of de is illustrated in detail. How this function is linguistically realized by de and its related elements is discussed based on four types of usages. They are the modification cases, the “NP + de + VP” cases, the referential cases and de-sentences.
In the modification cases, for the phrase to become attributive, its word class and meaning has to be determined in the first place. Only when de shows up can this be satisfied. When the meaning of a linguistic expression is settled, then it can be used for modifying other words or phrases. Thus, in the modifying “XP + de + YP” construction, de can mark the word class of XP and endow it with a value. This occurs when de assigns value to what stands before it in a de-construction. In cases like “这本书的出版” (the publication of this book), the word class of “出版” (publication) is also dependent on its opposition to de. The structural particle de will assign a meaning to it, which makes it perform as a noun. The value of the word is assigned once its class is settled. This occurs when de assigns a value to what stands after it in a de-construction.
reference(omitted)