基于语料库的动量词“遍”的历时性研究 ― 兼论“遍”与“次”的消长现象

Abstract

This paper examined “Bian(遍)” from diachronic perspective. Both the verb measure words “Bian(遍)” and “Ci(次)” in modern Chinese can measure times of actions, but their semantic functions are different. In the ontological research on “Bian(遍)” and “Ci(次)” and second language teaching research, scholars have noticed that the difference between the two verb measure words is that “Bian(遍)” not only counts the times of actions, but also highlights the entire process of the action. While “Ci(次)” only measures the times of action, and does not focus on the internal process of the action. Through the diachronic investigation of “Bian(遍)” and “Ci(次)”, we found that “Bian(遍)” can highlight the details of the action process and it is not limited to modern Chinese. This semantic function is closely related to the initial meaning of “Bian(遍)”. In documents from the Pre-Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the semantics of the main verbs that co-occur with “Bian(遍)” and the adverbial components that appear before the verb are consistent with the initial meaning of “Bian(遍)”. That is to say, most of the verbs that co-occur with “Bian(遍)” are highly procedural verbs. When these verbs co-occur with the verb measure word “Bian(遍)”, “Bian(遍)” can highlight the internal process and details of the action. In addition, most of the adverbial modification components before the verb mean “from beginning to end” or details. These components highlight the semantic function of the verb measure word “Bian(遍)”. At the same time, we also examined the initial meaning of the verb measure word “Ci(次)”. Since the initial meaning of “Ci(次)” only indicates ordering, when used as a verb measure word, it does not pay attention to the process and details of the action. We believe that the semantic difference between “Bian(遍)” and “Ci(次)” in modern Chinese originates from their initial meanings. Finally, through the investigation of the CCL ancient Chinese and modern Chinese corpus, we found that the frequency of use of “Bian(遍)” and “Ci(次)” has shown a regular increase and decrease from ancient times to the present. That is to say, from the pre-Qin to the Yuan and Ming dynasties, the frequency of use of “Bian(遍)” was greater than that of “Ci(次)”. By the Qing Dynasty, the gap between the two gradually narrowed. In modern Chinese, the use of “Ci(次)” has increased rapidly, far surpassing “Bian(遍)”, and eventually became the most frequently used verb measure word in modern Chinese. The growth and decline of two verb measure words in the diachronic evolution process presents a basic rule of the development of the verb measure words. That is to say, as the division of labor between the verb measure words becomes increasingly clear, “Bian(遍)” and “Ci(次)” also tend to perform their own duties. It can be said that the initial meaning of the two verb measure words determines their subsequent semantic functions and frequency of use. The initial meaning of “Bian(遍)” makes it less broad than “Ci(次)” when choosing a verb, so its frequency of use in modern Chinese is much lower than that of “Ci(次)”.