The Temporality of Chinese from the Perspective of Semantic Relations

• 作者: Xiang Li
• 来源期刊: 语言与符号学研究
• 学科: 文学
• 关键词: CHINESE word order TEMPORALITY iconicity of sequence
• 年，卷（期）: 2020,（3）
• 页码范围: 28-50
• 页数: 23页
• 分类号: H31

摘要

The concept of time is encoded in language in different ways,which is reflected in temporal expressions,tenses,aspects and word order in languages.Some scholars claim that Chinese is a language characterized by temporality.This paper aims to explore what the temporality of Chinese refers to in both its narrow and broad senses,and the classification of temporality under the guidance of the iconicity of sequence as well as the word order principles.Moreover,some scholars hold a seemingly opposite view that Chinese is a language of spatiality—whether the two views are contradictory to each other is also discussed in the current study.The research mainly adopts the methods of literature analysis and retrospection.It is found that the temporality of Chinese mainly refers to the correspondence between the sequence of linguistic units and the temporal order of events or states represented in the conceptual world,and that temporality can be classified into natural temporality,cognitive temporality,and functional temporality.Then,this paper concludes that the viewpoint that Chinese is a language of temporality does not conflict with the opinion that Chinese is characterized by spatiality,as these two traits are concerned with two irrelevant aspects of language.However,it will posit that whether the property of temporality is consistent at every linguistic level in Chinese,even including characters,needs further exploration.