漢語簡單形容詞的量級分析和分類

Classification of Mandarin Chinese Simple Adjectives: A Scale-Based Analysis of Their Quantitative Denotations

本文是對現代漢語簡單形容詞的量級分析和分類，分析方法主要基於近年來英語形容詞的量級分析（scalar analysis）。多數前人研究認為所有漢語簡單形容詞都表達無界屬性（unbounded）。然而，本文認為應在等級性（gradability）的概念下討論形容詞的有界性（boundedness）。並指出一些前人認為是無界（unbounded）的簡單形容詞，實質為有界（bounded）。此外，根據每個形容詞所蘊含的量級結構特徵，本文將漢語簡單形容詞進一步分為五類：無量級形容詞、開放量級形容詞、起點閉合量詞形容詞、終點閉合量級形容詞，及全閉合量級形容詞。本文展示該五類形容詞可從語言學角度互相區分，同時為漢語形容詞的一些句法和語義特徵提供系統且統一的解釋。本研究同時也是從跨語言及跨詞類的角度，對量級分析法的再一次有效應用。

This work provides an analysis of the quantitative denotations of simple adjectives (base adjectival forms) in Mandarin Chinese following recent analyses of the ‘scale structure’ associated with English adjectives. Against a widely accepted assumption that simple adjectives unitarily denote an unbounded property, we assume that the property of boundedness in adjectives is situated in the notion of gradability, and identify a group of simple adjectives that are actually bounded. We further provide a finer-grained classification of Chinese simple adjectives based on the different scale structures associated with individual adjectives: non-scale adjectives, open-scale adjectives, lower-closed-scale adjectives, upper-closed-scale adjectives and totally-closed-scale adjectives. Each type is linguistically distinguishable in natural Chinese data. Our classification provides a unified account of the distinctive syntactic and semantic characteristics of individual adjectives that cannot be explained by previous studies. This study also demonstrates a cross-linguistic and cross-categorical application of the scale-structure-based analysis.