基于COCA语料库的动词Foster扩展意义单位研究

A Corpus-Based Study on the Extended Unit of Meaning of the Verb “Foster” in COCA

摘要: Sinclair提出的扩展意义单位理论，为语料库驱动的词汇语义研究提供了科学的分析框架。本研究以该理论为框架，借助美国当代英语语料库(COCA)，以英语动词foster为研究对象，从语域分布、搭配词、类联接、语义倾向及语义韵维度，系统分析其扩展意义单位的共时特征；同时梳理该词搭配的历时演变规律，并借鉴Fairclough的三维话语模型，进一步解读其扩展意义单位背后蕴含的以价值取向为核心的文化内涵。研究发现，foster的扩展意义单位呈现出鲜明搭配倾向性、较为稳定类联接结构与典型语义特征，其历时演变与社会发展有关联性，并呈现出个体培育、发展主义进取与协作互动等价值取向。该研究丰富了扩展意义单位理论在动词研究中的实证案例，拓展了其社会文化阐释维度，为英语词汇教学提供一定参考，也能帮助学习者更准确理解和掌握动词foster。

Abstract: Sinclair’s theory of extended unit of meaning establishes a scientific analytical framework for corpus-based investigations into lexical semantics. Grounded in this theoretical framework, this study employs the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) to examine the verb “foster”, with a systematic analysis of its synchronic properties concerning register distribution, collocation, colligation, semantic preference and semantic prosody. It further traces the diachronic evolutionary trajectory of the verb’s collocational patterns and, drawing upon Fairclough’s three-dimensional discourse model, explores the value-oriented cultural connotations embedded within its extended unit of meaning (EUM). The results indicate that “foster” manifests salient collocational preferences, structurally stable colligations and representative semantic profiles, whose diachronic shifts are associated with social developments, manifesting value orientations of individual cultivation, development, and collaborative interaction. This research not only enriches the empirical foundation of the extended units of meaning theory in verb studies, but also expands its socio-cultural interpretative dimension, offering instructive implications for English lexical pedagogy and enabling learners to achieve more precise comprehension and a deeper grasp of its cultural underpinnings.