Detailed Information on Publication Record
2021
The near-synonymy of classifiers and construal operation : A corpus-based study of ke and zhu in Chinese
DOSEDLOVÁ, Aneta and Wei-lun LUBasic information
Original name
The near-synonymy of classifiers and construal operation : A corpus-based study of ke and zhu in Chinese
Authors
DOSEDLOVÁ, Aneta and Wei-lun LU
Edition
Amsterdam, Corpus approaches to language, thought and communication, p. 115-132, 18 pp. 1, 2021
Publisher
John Benjamins
Other information
Language
English
Type of outcome
Kapitola resp. kapitoly v odborné knize
Field of Study
60203 Linguistics
Country of publisher
Netherlands
Confidentiality degree
není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství
Publication form
printed version "print"
References:
Organization unit
Faculty of Arts
ISBN
978-90-272-0983-2
Tags
Tags
International impact, Reviewed
Změněno: 27/12/2021 12:06, doc. Wei-lun Lu, Ph.D.
Abstract
V originále
This paper investigates the near-synonymy of classifiers, using Chinese ke and zhu as illustration. We find that in [QUANTIFIER] – [CLASSIFIER] – [NOUN], the two classifiers have overlapping semantic prototypes due to their similar behavioral profiles. However, despite a shared functional core, the two classifiers diverge in terms of which part of PLANT to profile. In particular, zhu highlights parts of PLANT that are small and vulnerable, such as flowers and seedlings. In addition, SMALL is another important conceptual characteristic exclusively associated with zhu, which gives it a distinctive set of peripheral members to include in that particular linguistic category, including MOLD, BACTERIUM, and even BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL SUBSTANCE. Another important difference is the quantifier that precedes, where ke tends to occur with lower numbers (typically under 10), while zhu with higher numbers (typically over 1,000). Accordingly, we conclude that [QUANTIFIER] – [ZHU] – [NOUN] tends to invoke a higher-resolution construal.