量詞與句式：語法項類與認知策略的互動

Classifier and Construction: The Interaction of Grammatical Categories and Cognitive Strategies

本文探討華語中量詞後面不跟名詞的句式。語料庫調查顯示，V-個-Comp這樣的句式表示 “達到一種非比尋常的情況”。這個句式的分析重點在於把補語當成名詞性的成分。量詞凸顯名詞在篇章中地位的功能，以及“個” 作為一個沒有語意限制的量詞，這兩者都是 “個” 後補語可當成名詞成分的機制，也幫助整個句式得到其特定的句式意義。我們的分析點出語法結構中兩項重要的認知基礎：典型與鄰近關係。我們的討論也顯示句型與片語是語言結構的本質，而在認知策略的主導下，語法項類常呈現彈性與不定性。

This paper examines a Mandarin construction that involves the general classifier, ge, when the element to its right is not a N(P). Through usage-based investigation, V-ge-Comp is identified as a construction in vernacular Mandarin that expresses the attainment of an unusual resultant state. It is argued that the meaning of the construction relies critically on a reanalysis of the Comp as a noun-like element. The foregrounding discourse function of classifiers in general and the special status of ge as a generalized classifier help motivate this reanalysis and render the meaning of the construction. Our account points to prototypicality and contiguity as two fundamental notions in the perceptual basis of linguistic structure. Our account also highlights the patterned and prefabricated characteristics of language as well as the flexibility and indeterminacy in linguistic categories.