In example(4a),English relative clause is followed by the head noun peoplewhile in its Uyghur equivalence example(4b)the relative clause precedes the headnoun ad?ml?r.Greenberg?s study provides theoretical frame for the positionalsimilarities and differences of many languages and in this study it is one of thetheoretical frameworks,too.While Greenberg?s typology aims at establishinguniversal patterns of word order,it does not intend to explain why the relative order ofthe verb and the object correlates with the order of phrasal categories,such as thenoun and its modifier.With the further development of cognitive linguistics,there occurred sometheories such as figure and ground theory and heaviness hierarchy that explainreasons for the positional differences of the modifiers between different languages.This paper adopts these two theoretical frameworks to give reasonable explanationsfor the differences and similarities in using modifiers between English and Uyghurlanguage.
1.2 Aims and Significance of the Study
The aim of this study is to discover structural and positional commonalities anddifferences in using modifiers between English and Uyghur language and to offerreasonable arguments under the relevant theoretical frameworks of LanguageUniversals and Cognitive Linguistics.Therefore,this paper attempts to answer thefollowing questions:
1.3 Organization of the Thesis
The thesis consists of five chapters.The first chapter is the general background,aims and significance and organization of the thesis.In the second chapter,thetheoretical background and previous studies on English and Uyghur modifiers fromdifferent angles will be introduced.In chapter three,comparison will be held betweenEnglish and Chinese modifiers.The fourth chapter will offer reasonable explanationfor the differences of modifiers structure and positional relations with the head noun.In chapter five,general findings will be summarized and the limitations of the studywill be discussed.
3 A Comparison of Modifiers between .......... 35-66
3.1 The Comparison of Similar ............ 35-55
3.2 Particular Modification .............. 55-57
3.3 Particular Modification............. 57-59
3.4 Commonalities of Multiple ............. 59-61
3.5 Differences of Multiple ............... 61-66
3.5.1 Stable Order of Numerals .............53 62-63
3.5.2 The Different Ordering of.............. 63-64
3.5.3 The Different Ordering of.............. 64-66
4 Reasons for the Differences............. 66-74
4.1 Explanation from the .............. 66-68
4.2 Explanation from the................68-74
5 Conclusions ..............74-78
5.1 Summary ................74-76
5.2 Implications for Language..............76
5.3 Limitations of the Study............. 76-78
................
5 Conclusions
5.1 Summary
Although English and Uyghur language belong to different language systems,the language phenomenon---the existence of modifiers in both languages---gives usstimulus to hold comparison to find out similarities
