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Article published In: Chinese Language and Discourse
Vol. 6:2 (2015) ► pp.162–182

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Conceptual autonomy and dependence in Chinese lexical semantic analysis

The role of image-schema, conceptual domains and co-text in [v]–[shang]

 | Masaryk University
Published online: 28 January 2016
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https://doi.org/10.1075/cld.6.2.03lu
The present study addresses the rate of conceptual autonomy and dependence in Chinese lexical semantic analysis, presenting an analysis of how image-schema, domains and co-text interact in the [v]–[shang] construction as an example. Following a Principled Polysemy methodology, I identify the semantic prototype and four metaphorical senses of the construction. I also show the co-textual characteristics associated with each sense, which opens up further discussion of how image-schema and conceptual domains collaborate to produce the various senses. Based on these findings, I further establish a hierarchy of influence from co-text, where the semantics of an RVC depends first of all on its collocating verb and secondarily on a collocating noun phrase. This paper aims to show in some detail how image-schema, conceptual domains and patterns of co-text co-contribute to the polysemy of RVCs. It moreover proposes a novel way of analyzing Chinese lexical semantics in terms of conceptual autonomy and dependence.
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