英语非常规形名构式的认知构式语法探究

A Cognitive Construction Grammar Approach to Unconventional “Adjective + Noun” Constructions in English

摘要: 英语中存在大量如“deafening silence”、“loud tie”等非常规形名组合，其意义生成无法由传统的组合原则解释。本文以认知构式语法为理论框架，聚焦此类非常规形名构式研究，在反思传统“压制”说基础上，采用构式与词项双向互动的动态压制观，进而探讨其形成的深层认知机制，分析概念凸显与背景知识及隐喻、转喻在意义构建中的核心作用。研究发现，非常规形名构式并非语言的特例或反常现象，而是形名构式所提供的抽象语义框架与具体词项的丰富概念结构动态互动的结果。在此过程中，构式为整个组合的语义解释提供了框架和引导，词项的“内因”即其语义潜能是构式得以构建非常规意义的关键，概念的凸显转移则揭示了意义选择的心理基础，而隐喻与转喻机制为意义的延伸和转移提供了路径。

Abstract: Unconventional adjective-noun combinations, such as “deafening silence” and “loud tie”, are pervasive in English, the meaning construction of which cannot be accounted for by the traditional principle of compositionality. This paper, grounded in the framework of Cognitive Construction Grammar, focuses on these unconventional “adjective + noun” constructions. It begins by adopting a dynamic and interactive view of “coercion”, moving beyond the traditional one-way interpretation to emphasize a mutual negotiation between the construction and lexical items. Based on this perspective, the paper delves into the profound cognitive mechanisms underlying the formation of such constructions, with a particular focus on the core role of concept profiling, base knowledge, metaphor and metonymy in meaning construction. The study reveals that non-conventional adjective-noun constructions are not linguistic anomalies, but rather systematic products of the dynamic interaction between the abstract semantic frame provided by the “ADJ + N” construction and the rich conceptual structures of specific lexical items. In this process, the construction provides the guiding framework for the semantic interpretation of the entire combination. The “internal cause” of lexical items, that is, their semantic potential, is key to the construction’s successful generation of unconventional meaning. The shift in conceptual salience, in turn, reveals the psychological basis for meaning selection, while metaphorical and metonymic mechanisms offer the pathways for such extension and transfer of meaning.