2.2 Previous Studies of“xiang+X”Construction
Because the previous study of reciprocal constructions itself mostly arrived fromcertain single perspective,while with the lack of practical support and diachronicperspective in Chinese reciprocal constructions.As one of the representatives ofreciprocal constructions,domestic scholars mainly focus on the syntactic andsemantic functions of“xiang+X”construction.
2.2.1 Morpho-syntactic Research of“xiang+X”Construction
Scholars tend to contrast and analyze syntactic collocation of“xiang+X”construction.
Yuan Bin&He Xiaowan(2007)adopted the diachronic analysis methodology,starting from the semantic and grammatical features of the“xiang V”structure to seekthe formation motivation of passive sentence of“P...xiang V”structure,where Prefers to passive preposition,“xiang”should be regarded as modal adverb.Thesyntactic function“xiang”in the passive sentence of“P...xiang V”structure is mainlyreflected in the following two aspects:(1)“xiang”is placed in front of verb,so thatverb cannot take the patient object after it,and its action refers back to the patientsubject at the beginning of the sentence(the subject can be omitted according to thecontext);(2)“xiang”with the passive preposition before it forms“P...xiang V”structure to express passive semantic meaning.Wei Haiping(2015)considered“xiang”as an reciprocal marker that combines the morphemes with the basic monosyllabicmorphemes to form a two-syllable reciprocal vocabulary.It has strong productivityand wide semantic coverage.In addition to this kind of word formation,the reciprocalmorphemes“xiang”can also be associated with some disyllabic words to build anreciprocal meaning structure.Not all basic words can be combined with“xiang”,andthe restriction conditions of collocation between them is a point of view worthstudying.
Chapter Three Theoretical Framework..............................29
3.1 Constructional Competition in Diachronic Construction Grammar...............29
3.2 Cognitive Prominence.............................33
Chapter Four Methodology............................37
4.1 Data Collection.............................37
4.2 Data Encoding................................40
Chapter Five Results and Discussion......................47
5.1 The Definition of“xiang+X”Construction........................47
5.1.1 The Constructional Meaning of“xiang+X”Construction....................49
5.1.2 The Morpho-syntacic Types of“xiang+X”Construction.....................55
Chapter Five Results and Discussion
5.1 The Definition of“xiang+X”Construction
Due to the polyphonic factor of“xiang+X”construction(It can be pronounced as“xiāng”and“xiàng”),the research object of this thesis is named as“xiang+X”construction.“xiang+X”construction refers to situations with at least two participantswhich are in the one of the following three relations:(a)identical reverse relation toeach other and perform two semantic roles;(b)equal relation and perform onesemantic role;(c)unidirectional relation and perform two semantic roles.
(5)自汉初定以来七十二年，吴越人相攻击者不可胜数。
zìhìn chúdìng yǐlāi qīshīér niān,wūyuèrén xiāng gōng jīzhěbùkěshèngshǔ.
Since Han Dynasty first establish 72 years,Wuyue State people reciprocallyfight too much.
‘Since the establish of the Han Dynasty 72 years ago,the people of WuyueState have attacked each other in countless numbers.’
(Eastern Han Dynasty History of the Han Dynasty)
In example(5),there are more than two participants in the action of fight.Asexplained by the example above,the participants are in the identical reverse relationto each other,and perform two semantic rol
