汉英否定的词法对比研究——以《红楼梦》及其英译本为例

A Contrastive Study of Chinese and English Negation—A Case Study of A Dream of the Red Mansion and Its English Version

摘要: 本研究在结构主义语言学背景下，以《红楼梦》及其英译本为例，聚焦汉英否定结构的词法对比。研究发现，在否定词缀方面，汉语否定词缀多为前缀，虚化程度低，词根词缀界限模糊，去缀后多不能独立成词；英语否定词缀有前缀和后缀，体系完备、数量多，虚化程度高，词根去缀后多可独立成词。在否定词方面，汉语常用“不”与“没”，“不”为副词，可修饰多种词组但不能修饰名词与句子，“没”词性有争议且用法多样；英语否定词词类丰富，包括副词、介词等，其中no和not常用，no主要修饰名词，not用途广泛且位置灵活。总体而言，英语否定词在词汇丰富度上占优，汉语否定词功能更强。本研究有助于加深人们对汉英两门语言特点的理解，从而为汉英语言教学、汉英语言翻译工作者在否定句的处理上提供借鉴与参考。

Abstract: This research, within the context of structuralist linguistics and taking A Dream of the Red Mansion and its English version as examples, focuses on the contrastive analysis of the morphological aspects of Chinese and English negative structures. The findings show that in terms of negative affixes, Chinese negative affixes are mostly prefixes with a low degree of grammaticalization and blurred boundaries between roots and affixes. After removing the affixes, the remaining parts usually cannot stand as independent words. English negative affixes include both prefixes and suffixes, with a complete system, a large quantity, and a high degree of grammaticalization. The roots can often be used as independent words after the affixes are removed. Regarding negative words, in Chinese, “不” (bù) and “没” (méi) are commonly used. “不” is an adverb that can modify various phrases but not nouns and sentences. The part of speech of “没” is controversial and its usages are diverse. In English, negative words have rich lexical categories, including adverbs, prepositions, etc. Among them, “no” and “not” are frequently used. “No” mainly modifies nouns, and “not” has a wide range of uses and flexible positions. Generally speaking, English negative words have an advantage in lexical richness, while Chinese negative words have stronger functions. This research helps to deepen people’s understanding of the characteristics of Chinese and English languages, thus providing references for Chinese and English language teaching and for translators in dealing with negative sentences.