CC BY
2
Z0 гроппото
ISSN 2782-4543 (online) ISSN 1997-2911 (print)
Филологические науки. Вопросы теории и практики Philology. Theory & Practice
2023. Том 16. Выпуск 10 | 2023. Volume 16. Issue 10
Материалы журнала доступны на сайте (articles and issues available at): philology-journal.ru
RU
Грамматические структуры и метафорическое содержание в китайских идиомах
Цзя Цзюньвэнь
Аннотация. Цель данного исследования заключается в выявлении типологии и взаимодействия грамматических структур и метафорических выражений в китайских идиомах. В рамках исследования был собран корпус из 30000 китайских идиом из различных словарей идиом, из которых было отобрано 1000 идиом, после чего были аннотированы и категоризованы их внутренние синтаксические структуры, грамматические функции в предложениях, типы метафор и метафорическое содержание для проведения статистического анализа. Научная новизна данного исследования заключается в проведении количественного анализа распространенных грамматических структур и наиболее распространенных типов метафорического использования в китайских идиомах с применением корпусного анализа, а также в исследовании количественных взаимосвязей между ними. Полученные результаты указывают на то, что параллельная структура, атрибутивная структура и структура подлежащего-сказуемого являются наиболее распространенными внутренними синтаксическими структурами в китайских идиомах, в то время как структурная метафора представляет собой наиболее широко используемую концептуальную метафору. Тем не менее значительной корреляции между внутренней синтаксической структурой и метафорическим содержанием, грамматической функцией китайских идиом в предложениях выявлено не было.
EN
Grammatical structures and metaphorical content in Chinese idioms
Jia Junwen
Abstract. The aim of this research is to clarify the typology and relationship of grammatical structures and metaphorical expressions within Chinese idioms. In this study, a corpus of 30,000 Chinese idioms was compiled from various idiom dictionaries, and 1,000 idioms were randomly selected, annotated, and categorized based on their internal syntactic structures, grammatical functions in sentences, metaphor types, and metaphorical content for statistical analysis. The innovation of the research lies in employing a corpus to conduct a quantitative analysis of the prevalent syntactic structures and the most common types of metaphorical usage found in Chinese idioms, as well as to explore the quantified relationships between them. The findings reveal that Parallel Structure, Attributive Structure, and Subject-Predicate Structure are the most prevalent internal syntactic structures of Chinese idioms, while the structural metaphor is the most widely used conceptual metaphor. However, no significant correlation was observed between the internal syntactic structure of Chinese idioms and metaphorical content, grammatical function in sentences.
Introduction
The relevance of the study lies in clarifying the significance of exploring the typology and interaction of grammatical structures and metaphorical expressions within Chinese idioms by quantitative analysis in contemporary linguistics. Revealing the grammatical structures and metaphorical expressions not only deepens our understanding of language usage but also elucidates the intricate interrelationship between linguistic form and conceptual meaning. Chinese idioms, as repositories of cultural and linguistic heritage, offer a distinctive way for understanding how linguistic structures convey meaning and cultural nuances. The scrutiny of these linguistic intricacies can contribute to a broader comprehension of language as a means of communication and cultural representation. By unravelling the patterns of grammatical configurations and metaphorical usages, we gain insights into the cognitive processes underpinning language production and comprehension. Furthermore, given that idiomatic expressions are deeply embedded in cultural contexts, the implications of this research extend beyond linguistics, encompassing cross-cultural communication and the field of translation studies.
Научная статья (original research article) | https://doi.org/10.30853/phil20230532
© 2023 Авторы. © 2023 ООО Издательство «Грамота» (© 2023 The Authors. © 2023 Gramota Publishing, LLC). Открытый доступ предоставляется на условиях лицензии CC BY 4.0 (open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license): https//creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Research hypotheses. The hypotheses of this research are as follows: (1) the internal syntactic structures of Chinese idioms exhibit notable variation, with Parallel Structures accounting for the largest proportion; (2) structural metaphors, grounded in China's philosophical traditions, provide significant empirical support for the formation of Chinese idioms among the three conceptual metaphors; (3) correlations exist between the internal syntactic structure, grammatical function, and metaphors of Chinese idioms.
Research tasks. This study aims to (1) elucidate the structural characteristics of Chinese idioms and summarize their grammatical functions within sentences; (2) classify associated metaphors and clarify the metaphorical content of Chinese idioms; (3) investigate potential connections between their internal syntactic structure, grammatical functions, metaphorical types, and content.
Research methods:
1. Corpus Source
Over 18,000 Chinese idioms from the Chinese Idiom Dictionary, and more than 50,000 idioms from the electronic dictionary "Hanci Net" (http://www.hydcd.com/), were compiled to establish a large corpus of 30,000 Chinese idioms.
Dictionaries:
Printed dictionary 18,000 Chinese idioms Wang Tao. Chinese Idiom Dictionary. Shanghai: Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House, 2007.
Online electronic dictionary 50,000 Chinese idioms Hanci Net. http://www.hydcd.com/
2. Data Collection and Quantitative Analysis
a. Random Selection of Corpus: using simple random sampling, 1,000 idioms were selected from this established corpus.
b. Annotation of Corpus: 1,000 Chinese idioms classified based on their internal syntactic structure, grammatical function in sentences, and metaphorical types of Chinese idioms.
c. Categorization and Statistical Analysis of Corpus Data: frequency and correlation statistics were conducted using SPSS 26.
Theoretical Framework. Idiomatic expressions have been the focus of research for many linguists, encompassing both their literal and figurative meanings (Estill, Kemper, 1982; Glass, 1983; Gibbs, 1985; Fraser, 1970), as well as their structural composition (Gibbs, Gonzales, 1985; Gibbs, O'Brien, 1990) and associated metaphors (Gibbs, Bogdanovich, Sykes et al., 1997). However, while much attention has been paid to English idioms, relatively little research has been conducted on Chinese idioms, metaphorical content classification in particular. Currently, there exists no comprehensive inventory of the types of metaphors used in Chinese idioms, nor is there data available that would ascertain the most commonly employed metaphor in Chinese. Furthermore, the relationship between the internal syntactic structure of Chinese idioms and the associated metaphors remains ambiguous.
Chinese idioms are a focal point and a challenge for learners of Chinese language, as they contain cultural information that is conveyed through their distinct content and form. To better comprehend and utilize these expressions, it is crucial to elucidate the relationship between their form and content.
Practical Significance. The research findings can be applied in humanities departments of universities for specialized courses and seminars on theoretical, practical, and comparative analysis of grammatical construction and semantic content of Chinese idioms. The obtained data can be utilized in educational and methodological activities for the development of textbooks, teaching materials, and the organization of classes focused on translating Chinese idioms.
Results and Discussion
Idioms are multiword expressions with a figurative meaning that differs from the literal meaning of their constituent words (Feeney, 2020). Their syntactic structure is relatively fixed, resulting in a high information density and effective expression, which makes them purposefully used in First Language (L1) interactions (Pitzl, 2018; Kovaliuk, 2022). Idioms exist in almost every language, including Chinese idioms known as "Chengyu", and they are widely used in various discourses (Li, 2023).
These long-standing stereotyped phrases or short sentences have received less research attention than English idioms, especially on the cognitive level. Understanding idioms involves recognizing context, predicting new information and relies on conceptual metaphor understanding (Barreto, Marcilese, Oliveira, 2018; Gibbs, 2013), where comprehension skills influence idiom comprehension (Levorato, Nesi, Cacciari, 2004).
Metaphor serves not only as a linguistic mode but also as a fundamental cognitive mechanism (Lakoff, Johnson, 2003; Kovecses, 2005; Gibbs, 2017). Interestingly, the study of metaphors comes from the study of idioms, and the production of new idioms is recreated based on the metaphorical cognition of "standardized" idioms (Naicker, 2019; Gibbs, 1992). While some scholars argue that idiom metaphor comprehension entails reorganizing the semantic content of idioms, it should be noted that metaphorical cognition is distinguished and predicated on semantics and grammar, reproducing semantics based on previous meanings with no significant difference (Burbules, Schraw, Trathen, 1989).
This multi-information encompasses not only semantic information but also sociocultural context (Fairclough, Jes-sop, Sayer, 2002). The high information density of idioms complicates their comprehension in Second Foreign Language learning, with experiments demonstrating that the emotion field in brain is motivated while learning idioms (Citron, Cacciari, Funcke et al., 2019; Zempleni, Haverkort, Renken et al., 2007). However, this emotional response, combined with the complexity of comprehending idioms, presents a challenge for Second Language (L2) learners (Baldo, 2020).
Research on the meanings and grammatical analysis of Chinese idioms remains underdeveloped (Wang, Luo, 2021), especially regarding the clarity of idiom semantics, which is more critical for second language learners than frequency of use (Carrol, Conklin, 2014) and is closely related to the structure of idioms.
Furthermore, understanding metaphor of Chinese idioms becomes a research issue that warrants further attention as it is a difficult point for Chinese idiom readers (Li, Lewis, 2019). This gap in knowledge impedes the development of comprehensive and systematic approach to teaching Chinese idioms, as the full range of metaphorical meanings conveyed by these expressions and grammatical structures is not fully understood.
The current research focuses primarily on comparative analysis of Chinese and English idioms (Chen, 2010) as well as the implementation of multimedia teaching methods (Wong, Chin, Tan et al., 2010; Yang, Xie, 2013; Ku, Huang, Hus, 2015) for Chinese idioms. Addressing this issue through targeted empirical investigation and pedagogical intervention could hold great promise for improving the acquisition of Chinese idioms. Therefore, this research aims to analyse Chinese idiom grammatical construction (internal syntactic structures), grammatical functions in sentences, metaphorical content and metaphorical types based on Lakoff and Johnson's (2003) conceptual metaphor theory.
Internal syntactic structure of Chinese idioms The most prevalent types of lexemic idioms in Standard American English have been categorized as follows: Phrasal Verb Idioms, Tournure Idioms, Irreversible Binomial Idioms, Phrasal Compound Idioms, Incorporating Verb Idioms, and Pseudo-Idioms (Makkai, 1972). While English idiom composition is not limited to four-character phrases like Chinese idioms, there are several similarities in the structure of the two languages' idioms, such as Phrasal Compound Idioms and the use of prepositions like "up-down" and "in-out" ("^MAl^h"; "^iAT").
According to the "Study of Chinese Idioms", the internal syntactic structure of Chinese idioms can be divided into seven categories: Subject-Predicate Structure, Predicate-Object Structure, Attributive Structure, Parallel Structure, Verb-Adverb Structure, Correlative Structure (predicate-object(subject)-predicate), and Predicate-Compliment Structure 2009, p. 43). Additionally, "The Nine Chapters of Idioms" (US.%, 1990) suggests that the structural types of Chinese idioms can be roughly divided into nine types, including Subject-Predicate Structure, Predicate-Object Structure, Predicate-Compliment Structure, Attributive Structure, Parallel Structure, Correlative Structure (predicate-object(subject)-predicate), Verb-Adverb Structure, Compact Structure, and Compound Sentences Structure. Based on these two classifications, Chinese idioms can be broadly divided into Subject-Predicate Structure, Predicate-Object Structure, Predicate-Complement Structure, Attributive Structure, Parallel Structure, Correlative Structure (predicate-object(subject)-predicate), Verb-Adverb Structure, Predicate-Compliment Structure, Compact Structure, and Compound Sentences Structure in research.
• Subject-Predicate Structure
Composition II Examples
This category of Chinese idioms comprises a subject and a predicate verb. The subject may encompass individuals, animals, objects, or even abstract concepts. (A grieving army is bound to triumph); BsmffiA (A hidden arrow wounds a person); (Hundreds of birds are paying homage to a phoenix), etc.
• Predicate-Object Structure
Composition Examples
This structure typically comprises predicate verbs and objects, i&iiMS (Have experienced many hardships);
lacking a subject. (Stir up enmity; carry tales);
Bd^Q(Forgive somebody's past misdeeds);
BsiM^M (Make eyes at a man [woman] (while others are not
looking); leer at), etc.
• Verb-Adverb Structure
Composition Examples
Adverbial content offers a description of verbs, usually indi- MAAM (Push too hard);
cating measure and degree. Muffin (Laud ... to the skies);
(Chatter without stop; chatter [rattle] away);
(Abandon oneself to grief; deeply lamentable);
AB^i (Fly into a rage; burst into a fury), etc.
• Attributive Structure
Composition Examples
This structure is a common pattern in Chinese idioms, typically composed of modified elements and modifiers. The modified elements can either be a noun or an event. MM^S (Sb. crying out in hunger); (An inexperienced youth); W^ff— (A harmonious union lasting a hundred years);
(An incidental acquaintance).
• Parallel Structure
Composition Examples
The structure consists of two similar components, both sharing identical grammatical structures and conveying similar or contrasting semantic content. (Half cooked; half raw); (Stumble; bumpy); epW/Sj^(Keep one's head high and march ahead);
fiTMfflffl (Cats and dogs; tun town), etc.
• Predicate-Compliment Structure
Composition Examples
This type of idiom is composed of two parts, encompassing a predicate and a complement, with the complement indicating purpose, result, or other additional meanings. (Swiftly assist; take up the cudgels against an injustice); ffliJW^ (Bid farewell to guests by shutting the door; shut one's door to chance visitors);
—AM'b (Strike up an acquaintance at once); (Shrink back from [before] difficulties), etc.
• Correlative Structure (predicate-object(subject)-predicate)
Composition Examples
This is a complex structure, formed by the combination of a predicate-object structure and a subject-predicate structure. (Wait for rice to cook; await urgently the necessary condition), etc.
However, the preceding object transitions into the subsequent subject, sharing the same semantics but assuming different grammatical roles.
• Compact Structure
Composition 1 1 Examples
The type of idiom originates from a sentence and is condensed into a concise four-character expression. MMi.№ (Love without the power to help); (Gain an immediate victory);
i^^M(Be all-conquering), etc.
• Compound Sentences
Composition 1 Examples
This type of idiom consists of compound sentences, but due to their fixed expression, they are treated as idioms. tt-t^M> tk~FW& (Less than the top, more than the bottom); TM T> SPMSP (Apples are apples and oranges are oranges), etc.
Grammatical structures of Chinese idioms In our investigation of the internal structure of 1,000 Chinese idioms, we discovered a diverse range of structural patterns. Specifically, our analysis revealed that Parallel Structure was the most prevalent (39.23%), followed by Attributive Structure (18.45%) and Subject-Predicate Structure (18.20%) (as shown in Table 1).
Table 1. Internal syntactic structure of Chinese idioms
Structure Frequency Percentage
Parallel Structure 470 39.23%
Attributive Structure 221 18.45%
Subject-Predicate Structure 218 18.20%
Predicate-Object Structure 107 8.93%
Correlative Structure 68 5.68%
Compact Structure 38 3.17%
Compound Sentences 32 2.67%
Verb-Adverb Structure 31 2.59%
Predicate-Compliment Structure 13 1.08%
In this study, we conducted a grammatical analysis of idioms in sentences and classified them based on their functions. Specifically, we statistically derived the distribution of each function and assigned a binary value of 1 or 0 to each idiom depending on whether it exhibited the given function or not (Table 2). Our findings indicate that idioms primarily function as predicates and attributives in sentences (Table 2; Figure 1). However, we also observed many idioms that exhibit multiple functions in sentences, with the most common being the role of both an object and an attributive (Table 3).
Table 2. Grammatical function of Chinese idioms in sentences
Grammatical function in sentences Value Frequency Percentage
Subject 0.0 1113 92.90%
1.0 85 7.10%
Predicate 0.0 288 24.04%
1.0 910 75.96%
Object 0.0 709 59.18%
1.0 489 40.82%
Attributive 0.0 366 30.55%
1.0 832 69.45%
Adverbial 0.0 991 82.72%
1.0 207 17.28%
Complement 0.0 1162 96.99%
1.0 36 3.01%
Clause 0.0 1126 93.99%
1.0 72 6.01%
subject predicate obiers attributive adverbial comblement clause
Figure 1. Grammatical function of Chinese idioms in sentences
Table 3. Multi-functions of Chinese idioms
Combination Frequency
Object + Attributive 106
Attributive + Adverbial 29
Subject + Object + Attributive 28
Metaphor types of Chinese idioms
Metaphor is not just a rhetorical device, but rather a fundamental cognitive mode (Lakoff, Johnson, 2003, p. 1). The concept of conceptual metaphor has gained significant importance in the fields of cognition and linguistics. Lakoff and Johnson's classification of metaphors consists of three types.
Structural metaphors, where "one concept is metaphorically structured in terms of another" (Lakoff, Johnson, 2003, p. 15). Chinese idioms provide numerous examples of structural metaphors, such as (steadfast as Mount Tai) and " Sffi^^" (inexperienced youth; pale-faced scholar).
Orientational metaphors, it is a type of conceptual metaphor that helps us understand abstract concepts by mapping them onto spatial or directional experiences (Lakoff, Johnson, 2003, p. 15). Common examples of orientational metaphors in Chinese idioms are 'MSA—(inferior to others) and (without distinction of rank or status).
Ontological metaphors, where understanding of abstract concepts occurs through actions, experiences, and sensations (Lakoff, Johnson, 2003, p. 27). Examples of ontological metaphors in Chinese idioms include "^{a^S" (half in doubt) and (undergone hardships).
Chinese idioms exhibit extensive use of metaphors, and it is apparent from the data (Table 4) that structural metaphors have become the dominant form of metaphorical expression in Chinese idioms.
Table 4. Metaphorical types of Chinese idioms
Metaphors Frequency Percentage
Ontological 320 26.71%
Orientational 38 3.17%
Structural 840 70.12%
Our study reveals that structural metaphors are the dominant type of metaphorical expression among idioms in Chinese, with more than half of all metaphorical types falling into this category (Table 4). These results underscore the importance of structural metaphors as a primary mechanism for generating metaphorical meaning in Chinese.
Table 5. The proportion of the source domain in structural metaphors in Chinese idioms
Structural metaphor Frequency Percentage
Nature 133 15.83%
Item 120 14.28%
Number 115 13.69%
Organ 115 13.69%
Location 88 10.48%
Animal 61 7.26%
Character 50 5.95%
Time 34 4.05%
Structural metaphor Frequency Percentage
Color 34 4.05%
Behavior 30 3.57%
Concept 30 3.57%
Food 19 2.26%
Substance 4 0.48%
Legend 4 0.48%
Art 3 0.36%
Figure 2. Source domain of structural metaphors in Chinese idioms
As indicated by Table 5 and Figure 2, structural metaphors in Chinese idioms frequently draw upon nature, item, number and organ as source domains for metaphorical expression. This tendency reflects the Chinese philosophical thought the unity of nature and humanity, highlighting the ways in which cultural and intellectual traditions shape language use.
Table 6. Ontological metaphors in Chinese idioms
Ontological Frequency Percentage
Specialization 173 54.06%
Container 76 23.75%
Measure 60 18.75%
Personification 11 3.44%
Table 7. Orientational metaphors in Chinese idioms
Orientational Frequency Percentage
Up-Down 19 50.00%
Front-Back 8 21.05%
High-Low 5 13.16%
Horizontal Line 3 7.90%
Deep-Shallow 2 5.26%
Left-Right 1 2.63%
Based on Table 6 and Table 7, it is evident that the ontological and orientational metaphors in Chinese idioms frequently employ the concepts of "specialization" and the spatial orientation of "up-down", respectively.
Correlation between the content and forms of Chinese idioms As indicated by Table 8-1, there appears to be no apparent correlation between the grammatical function of Chinese idioms within sentences and their internal structure (p > 0.05). Additionally, it can be inferred with 95% confidence that the adverbial function of idioms in sentences is not significantly associated with their internal structure
(correlation coefficient: 0.081; p < 0.01). Furthermore, the types of metaphors and metaphorical content featured within idioms demonstrate no significant correlation with their internal structures (p > 0.05), suggesting that there may be little relation between metaphorical types and idiom internal structures (Table 8-2). To sum up, the resulting data reject the null hypothesis, indicating that the internal structure of idioms does not exhibit an evident link with the grammatical function in sentences or the metaphorical types of the idioms.
Table 8-1. Correlation between the internal structure of Chinese idioms and grammatical function in sentences
Pearson correlation
Grammatical function Internal structure
Subject correlation coefficient 0.014
P 0.616
Predicate correlation coefficient -0.013
P 0.657
Object correlation coefficient -0.024
P 0.398
Attributive correlation coefficient 0.070*
P 0.015
Adverbial correlation coefficient 0.081**
P 0.005
Complement correlation coefficient 0.015
P 0.597
Clause correlation coefficient -0.04
P 0.165
* p < 0.05 ** p < 0.01
Table 8-2. Correlation between the internal structure of Chinese idioms and metaphorical types
Pearson correlation
Structure
Metaphor correlation coefficient Q.Q33
p Q.253
* p < Q.Q5 ** p < Q.Ql
In summary, the present study utilized simple random abstraction and data statistics to yield the following results: among the nine types of internal syntactic structures within Chinese idioms, Parallel Structure (39.23%), Attributive Structure (18.45%), and Subject-Predicate Structure (18.20%) were most prevalent. This can be attributed to the characteristics of ancient Chinese, which featured a greater number of monosyllabic words. As such, a two-character structure like 'adverbial (one character) + noun (one character)' became an important information unit in ancient Chinese. To convey more information with cognitive economy, pairs of information (four characters) emerged, with similar structure and content to form a structure metaphor. These pairs of information without perfect symmetry appeared as an attributive structure.
Additionally, structural metaphors were found to be more commonly employed in Chinese idioms than ontologi-cal and orientational structures, with concepts such as "nature", "item", "number". The Chinese language is replete with idiomatic expressions that encapsulate the philosophical wisdom of multiple generations and embody a distinct mode of cognition specific to Chinese people. These expressions are rich in metaphors, which can be found throughout the vast array of Chinese idioms. This is consistent with Chinese philosophy and cognitive thinking. Compared to Western philosophy, the transcendental world of Chinese philosophy they construct derives from the empirical world and can be corroborated in the empirical world. Therefore, nature becomes one of the ways of philosophical reflection. Numerical symbols are closely related to the study of Chinese philosophy, such as I Ching, and influence people's perception. Chinese idioms are also an embodiment of national culture, with idioms featuring the word "dragon" frequently appearing in Chinese. In contrast, in English, "dragon" often has a pejorative connotation and can refer to an "aggressive woman". Furthermore, both Chinese and English idioms contain many concepts about location "up-down" and numbers, suggesting their inherent nature in human cognitive thinking.
Findings from the study indicate that there is no discernible association between the internal structure and metaphorical content of Chinese idioms, the types of metaphors employed, and the grammatical function of Chinese idioms within sentences. Given this lack of correlation, it is essential to teach the content and structure separately in the teaching of idioms in L2 and idiom translation practice. Misplaced Chinese idioms are often the result of structural errors (more or fewer words) and content errors (semantic incomprehension), which are related to the internal structure of Chinese idioms, the function of Chinese idioms in sentences, and the understanding of the metaphorical content of Chinese idioms. The learning process can only be organized separately because of the absence of an apparent connection between these aspects, making the teaching of Chinese idioms more challenging. In-depth understanding of the internal structure of Chinese idioms and the metaphorical types and content of Chinese idioms makes it easier for second language learners of the subject language to master Chinese idioms.
The teaching of Chinese idioms presents a formidable challenge in Chinese language education and is regarded as an advanced level of mastery for foreign students. The study of Chinese idioms can be approached from two perspectives: semantics and grammar. Semantics involves the connotations of metaphors, with Chinese idioms being replete with rich metaphors where a single word may hold diverse meanings (Chen, 2010; Li, 2010). It is thus crucial to classify the metaphors of Chinese idioms. Corpus-based classification offers a relatively comprehensive approach that yields valuable insights for pedagogical purposes. Furthermore, examining Chinese idioms from a grammatical perspective poses difficulties due to their condensed structure. A thorough grasp of the structural classification of Chinese idioms promotes a deeper understanding of their underlying meanings and practical applications. Many studies have examined Chinese language education from the perspective of instructional materials. However, the author contends that the crux of Chinese language education lies in comprehending Chinese idioms. While teaching materials undoubtedly play a role in instruction, the focus of research should first be on achieving a comprehensive understanding of Chinese, conducting cross-linguistic comparative studies, and enhancing the comprehension of learners from diverse linguistic backgrounds.
Conclusion
The present study draws the following conclusions.
The discerned outcomes reveal that within the gamut of diverse structural attributes, the most conspicuous internal syntactic constructions exhibited by Chinese idioms encompass Parallel Structure, Attributive Structure, and Subject-Predicate Structure. Remarkably, Parallel Structure and Attributive Structure are commonly used in Chinese idioms due to their adherence to ancient Chinese syllable characteristics and lower syntactic constraints.
The prevalence of structural metaphors in Chinese idioms, which surpasses 70% of the corpus, outpaces the prevalence of alternative ontological and orientational metaphors. The incorporation of such conceptual domains as "nature", "location", and "number" within structural metaphors is intricately intertwined with the tenets of traditional Chinese philosophical thought.
In contrast to initial suppositions, our findings underscore the absence of a discernible nexus between the syntactic structure of Chinese idioms, their metaphorical content, the types of metaphors employed, and the grammatical functions these idioms undertake within sentences.
Through the analysis of the grammatical structure and metaphorical content of Chinese idioms, we intend to further investigate the function of idiomatic expressions as cohesive lexical units within discourse, as well as their reflection of social and cultural variations. This paper has certain limitations. Specifically, as our study only utilized a sample of 1,000 idioms for testing purposes, it will be necessary to obtain a larger sample size for future studies.
Источники | References
1. Baldo A. Expressoes idiomáticas á luz dateoria cognitiva da metáfora: evidencia de pesquisa // Linguagem em (Dis)curso. 2020. Vol. 20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-4017-200202-2619
2. Barreto S. O. G., Marcilese M., Oliveira Á. J. A. Idiomaticidade, familiaridade e informagao prévia no proces-samento de expressoes idiomáticas do PB // Letras de Hoje. 2018. Vol. 53. https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-7726.2018.1.28680
3. Burbules N. C., Schraw G., Trathen. W. Metaphor, idiom, and figuration // Metaphor and Symbol. 1989. Vol. 4 (2). https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327868ms0402_2
4. Carrol G., Conklin K. Getting your wires crossed: Evidence for fast processing of L1 idioms in an L2 // Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. 2014. Vol. 17 (4). http://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728913000795
5. Chen P. A cognitive study of "anger" metaphors in English and Chinese idioms // Asian Social Science. 2010. Vol. 6 (8). http://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v6n8p73
6. Citron F. M. M., Cacciari C., Funcke J. M., Hsu C.-T., Jacobs A. M. Idiomatic expressions evoke stronger emotional responses in the brain than literal sentences // Neuropsychologia. 2019. Vol. 131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuro-psychologia.2019.05.020
7. Estill R. B., Kemper S.Interpreting idioms // Journal of Psycholinguistic Research. 1982. Vol. 11 (6). https://doi.org/ 10.1007/BF01067612
8. Fairclough N., Jessop B., Sayer A. Critical realism and semiosis // Alethia. 2002. Vol. 5 (1). https://doi.org/ 10.1558/aleth.v5i1.2
9. Feeney W. Idiom // The International Encyclopedia of Linguistic Anthropology / ed. by J. M. Stanlaw. John Wiley & Sons, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118786093.iela0166
10. Fraser B. Idioms within a transformational grammar // Foundations of Language. 1970. Vol. 6. No. 1.
11. Gibbs Jr. R. W. Does conceptual metaphor emerge from metaphoric language? // Journal of Cognitive Science. 2013. Vol. 14 (3).
12. Gibbs Jr. R. W. What do idioms really mean? // Journal of Memory and language. 1992. Vol. 31 (4). https://doi.org/ 10.1016/0749-596X(92)90025-S
13. Gibbs Jr. R. W., Gonzales G. P. Syntactic frozenness in processing and remembering idioms // Cognition. 1985. Vol. 20 (3). https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(85)90010-1
14. Gibbs Jr. R. W., O'Brien J. E. Idioms and mental imagery: The metaphorical motivation for idiomatic meaning // Cognition. 1990. Vol. 36 (1). https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(90)90053-M
15. Gibbs R. W. Metaphor wars. N. Y.: Cambridge University Press, 2017.
16. Gibbs R. W. On the process of understanding idioms // Journal of Psycholinguistic Research. 1985. Vol. 14. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01666721
17. Gibbs R. W., Bogdanovich J. M., Sykes J. R., Barr D. J. Metaphor in idiom comprehension // Journal of Memory and Language. 1997. Vol. 37 (2). https://doi.org/10.1006/jmla.1996.2506
18. Glass A. L. The comprehension of idioms // Journal of Psycholinguistic Research. 1983. Vol. 12 (4). https://doi.org/ 10.1007/BF01067624
19. Kovaliuk Y. Idioms in cognitive linguistics: Is it all about conceptual metaphor theory? // B.A.S. British and American Studies. 2022. Vol. 28 (28). https://doi.org/10.35923/BAS.28.29
20. Kovecses Z. Metaphor in culture: Universality and variation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
21. Ku D. T., Huang Y. H., Hus S. C. The effects of GBL and learning styles on Chinese idiom by using TUI device // Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. 2015. Vol. 31 (6). https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12085
22. Lakoff G., Johnson M. Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
23. Levorato M. C., Nesi B., Cacciari C. Reading comprehension and understanding idiomatic expressions: A developmental study // Brain and Language. 2004. Vol. 91 (3). https://doi.org/10.1016Zj.bandl.2004.04.002
24. Li K., Lewis M. Understanding metaphors: Problems for Chinese readers // Journal of Asia TEFL. 2019. Vol. 16 (2). http://dx.doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2019.16.2.23.743
25. Li L. Quadri-syllabic schematic idioms in Chinese: Description and acquisition. Singapore: Springer Nature, 2023.
26. Li X. A comparative analysis of English and Chinese idioms - from the perspective of conceptual metaphor of "happiness" // Journal of Language Teaching and Research. 2010. Vol. 1 (4). http://dx.doi.org/10.4304/jltr.L4.473-476
27. Makkai A. Idiom structure in English. Berlin - Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, 1972. https://doi.org/10.1515/ 9783110812671
28. Naicker S. An analysis of metaphorical idioms in South African Indian English // Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus. 2019. Vol. 56 (1). https://dx.doi.org/10.5842/56-0-784
29. Pitzl M. L. Creativity in English as a lingua franca: Idiom and metaphor. Berlin - Boston: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2018.
30. Wang S., Luo H. Exploring the meanings and grammatical functions of idioms in teaching Chinese as a second language // International Journal of Applied Linguistics. 2021. Vol. 31 (2). https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12334
31. Wong L. H., Chin C. K., Tan C. L., Liu M. Students' personal and social meaning making in a Chinese idiom mobile learning environment // Journal of Educational Technology & Society. 2010. Vol. 13 (4).
32. Yang C., Xie Y. Learning Chinese idioms through iPads // Language Learning & Technology. 2013. Vol. 17. No. 2
33. Zempleni M. Z., Haverkort M., Renken R., Stowe L. A. Evidence for bilateral involvement in idiom comprehension: An fMRI study // Neuroimage. 2007. Vol. 34 (3).
34. . Mlt: Mlt^, 2009 (Zhao Likun. Research on the modern Chinese idiom grammatical function. Hebei: Hebei University, 2009).
35. »BK. W'l'l: 1990 (Ni Baoyuan, Yao Pengci. Chenyu Jiuzhang. Hangzhou: Zhejiang Education Press, 1990).
Информация об авторах | Author information
RU
EN
Цзя Цзюньвэнь1
1 Российский университет дружбы народов, г. Москва Jia Junwen1
1 Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Moscow
1 verajourney01@gmail.com
Информация о статье | About this article
Дата поступления рукописи (received): 16.08.2023; опубликовано online (published online): 09.10.2023.
Ключевые слова (keywords): китайская идиома; концептуальная метафора; синтаксическая структура; грамматическая функция; корпус; Chinese idiom; conceptual metaphor; syntactic structure; grammatical function; corpus.
