副词“终于”的词汇化研究

Abstract

This study focuses on the process and lexicalization mechanism of the adverb “Zhongyu(终于)”, based on language historical materials from Qin Dynasty to the early Republic of China. It applies the process and lexicalization mechanism using the theories of grammaticalization and cognitive linguistics. The main conclusions are as follows: First, by examining the etymology, syntax, and semantic characteristics of “zhong” and “yu” before “Zhongyu” became an adverb, it is found that the various semantics of “finally” are mostly related to the meaning of “ending”. Second, the formation of the word “Zhongyu” has gone through a long process. In ancient times, “zhong+yu” had nouns, adjectives, verbs, and subject -verb phrases as its object. During the Six Dynasties period, the elements after “yu” gradually became more complex, but other elements could still be inserted between “zhong” and “yu”. During the Tang and Song dynasties, there was also a form of “zhong+yu” followed by a verb object structure, which this article believes can be seen as the beginning of the adverbization of “Zhongyu”. At this time, “yu” lost the authority to modify the verb -object structure. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the elements modified by “Zhongyu” were very diverse. Third, in the process of adverbization of “Zhongyu”, the reanalysis and metonymy mechanism play a crucial role. Compared to previous research, this paper has some breakthroughs. For example, It focuses on the origin of characters and captures semantic associations and connections. Additionally, by comparing the evolution of the usage of the antonym “Shiyu(始于)”, we explain the reason why, as a pair of antonyms, “Zhongyu” could be adverbized, but “Shiyu” couldn’t became an adverb.