對一詞多義現象的概念探索︰[V] – [UP] 與 [V] – [上] 的研究

Abstract

本文從認知語法 (Cognitive Grammar) 的理論角度出發，藉規則性多義 (Principled Polysemy) 在方法學上的輔助，分析英語的質詞 up 在動詞片語中的各種用法和意義，並且和中文的「上」一詞對比。在此研究中，我們關注的焦點是 [V] – [UP] 及 [V] – [SHANG] 兩個構式。 我們發現，英文的質詞 up 有三種基本語意︰ ‘vertically higher,’ ‘approaching,’ 和 ‘completive’，並且我們根據規則性多義的方法，判斷 ‘vertically higher’ 為原型語意。而這三種語意，在語境方面具有各自的共現字詞，語法表現也各自不同。這三類不同的語意和三組不同語境的區別，也反映在概念層次上。我們發現， ‘vertically higher’ 這個語意所凸顯的，是「來源 (SOURCE) - 路徑 (PATH) - 標的 (GOAL) 」這個影像基模的「路徑」元素， ‘completive’ 強調「標的」元素，而 ‘approaching’ 則是兩者轉移的中介點，既凸顯路徑，又凸顯標的。除此之外， ‘approaching’ 的語意，在概念層次還牽涉到一個舞台上的觀察者。 除了影像基模以外，我們也觀察 up 一詞和概念範疇 (conceptual domain) 的互動及種種隱喻義之間的關係。根據概念性自主 (autonomy) 和依存 (dependence) 概念，我們發現，對於 up 產生的幾個隱喻義來說︰ ‘accessible,’ ‘more,’ ‘happy,’ ‘good’， up會產生隱喻性的詞義延伸，都是受到鄰近上下文中的自主性概念 (autonomous predication) 的影響。這些自主性概念會引發抽象的概念範疇，使 up 的語意從具象的空間範疇轉移到抽象範疇。 中文的「上」一詞，則在語意、語境和概念這三個層次上都有和 up 不同的表現。首先我們根據規則性多義的方法，界定出六個語意︰ ‘vertically attained,’ ‘vertically higher,’ ‘forward,’ ‘attached,’ ‘completive’ 和 ‘inceptive’，其中以 ‘vertically attained’ 為原型語意。在語境方面，每個語意也都有各自的共現字詞和語法表現。在概念層次方面，「上」的影像基模會牽涉到表面 (SURFACE) 這個概念，而此特性也在 ‘vertically attained’ 和 ‘attached’ 的共現字詞上反映出來。 當我們對比這兩組構式及其所相應的語意及所引發的概念時，可以發現︰首先， up 和「上」這兩個詞的原型語意不同，且概念上是基於不同的概念原型 (conceptual archetype)。但是，語意和概念原型會逐漸的弱化 (attenuate)，逐步留下殘餘的痕跡，而這些語意和概念上的殘留就形成了我們所看到的抽象語意。隨著概念原型的弱化，概念化主體 (subject of conception) 的角色就顯得重要起來，而這也就是所謂的主觀化 (subjectification)。不論是具象意義或抽象意義，概念化主體都參與語意及概念的處理，但是在處理具象意義的時候，因為概念化客體 (object of conception) 的角色太過鮮明，因此掩蓋了概念化主體的參與。在概念原型弱化之後，概念化主體的角色才得以受到稍多的注意。 參照本研究的以上發現，我們認為︰要完整的研究一個字的詞義，必須首先建構出該字完整的語意網路，並且找出原型語意及相對應的原型概念。在研究比較抽象的語意時，語意弱化和主觀化是值得特別注意的一體兩面因素，因為這個因素會使原本具象的概念原型逐漸變得模糊，使語意進入抽象的概念範疇。

The present study investigates the interplay of polysemy with co-text, concept and construal, with the constructional schemas of [V] – [UP] and [V] – [SHANG] as illustrations. Working under the symbolic assumption of Cognitive Grammar and methodologically supplemented by Principled Polysemy, we identify three core senses for up, including the prototypical sense of ‘vertically higher,’ ‘approaching’ and ‘completive.’ Six core senses are found for shang, including ‘vertically attained’ as the prototypical sense, ‘forward,’ ‘vertically higher,’ ‘attached,’ ‘completive’ and ‘inceptive.’ We claim that a tight connection exists between the above semantic clustering and the underlying image-schematic structure prompted by the constructional schemas. In particular, up meaning ‘vertically higher’ profiles the PATH in the SOURCE-PATH-GOAL schema, whereas up meaning ‘completive’ profiles exclusively the GOAL, with the intermediate usage cluster of ‘approaching’ being partially PATH- and GOAL-prominent. A similar array of senses is found for shang, where ‘vertically higher’ is PATH-oriented and ‘forward’ both SOURCE- and PATH-oriented. In contrast, ‘vertically attained’ is GOAL- and PATH-prominent, with the rest of senses being exclusively GOAL-prominent. We in addition look at the metaphorical senses of up, including ‘more,’ ‘good,’ ‘accessible’ and ‘happy.’ We find that, in real usage, these metaphorical meanings can be found to co-exist with ‘completive,’ especially when the passive construction is involved, due to the GOAL-highlighting feature shared by up ‘completive’ and the passive construction. This suggests that research on semantic extension, the mechanism of metaphorical extension and that of image-schematic transformation should not be analyzed on a par, since they operate on different planes and may work in conjunction.

We furthermore observe that the gradual reduction of the PATH element in the core senses of up and shang reflects the phenomenon of semantic attenuation, which is symptomatic of subjectification due to a gradual fading away of the onstage conceptual content. We claim that for the highly attenuated senses of up and shang, semantic attenuation leaves behind only a remnant of their archetypes that can barely be identified with the archetypal concepts prompted by up and shang. In addition, a look at the array of the core senses shows how semantic attenuation lays bare the mental scanning by the conceptualizing subject, which is essentially imminent in all usages, and results in a less objective construal of the conceptual archetype due to the relatively more prominent role played by the conceptualizer in the construal. The present analysis first of all captures the play of co-text and concept in the description of the polysemy of up and shang. It furthermore explicates how conceptual archetypes and construal can help us make sense of the polysemy of up and shang. Our above observations finally point back to two main beliefs in cognitive linguistics: On one hand, meaning depends, to a large extent, on archetypal conception, which is a reflection of basic human cognitive capacities. Subjectivity, on the other hand, is a critical element in the study of lexical semantics, not only in the sense that the role played by the conceptualizing subject is imminent in all usages but in that subjective mental scanning is especially necessary in understanding highly attenuated senses.