现代汉语“告诉”的传信分化与责任转移

Evidential Differentiation and Responsibility Transfer of “Gaosu” in Modern Chinese

摘要: 本文以现代汉语动词“告诉”为研究对象，基于传信范畴理论，区分“告诉₁”与“告诉₂”两种功能类型。文章从句法编码、传信策略、话语角色三个方面展开分析，并结合历时材料与英语“tell”类用法作简要参照。研究发现，“告诉₁”以人类施事传递具体事件信息，可信度系于个体经验，责任主体较为明确；“告诉₂”以非人实体承担施事角色，传递抽象命题，依托感官证据、事实材料或集体经验实现客观化效果，完成个体责任向抽象体系的转移。历时与跨语言考察表明，“告诉₂”并非孤立的修辞偶发，而是言说动词在客观化表达中产生的功能扩展，体现了汉语传信系统的策略性与开放性。

Abstract: This paper examines the modern Chinese verb “Gaosu” from the perspective of evidentiality and distinguishes two functional types: gaosu₁ and gaosu₂. It analyzes their differences in syntactic encoding, evidential strategies, and discourse roles, with brief reference to diachronic materials and comparable uses of English tell. The study finds that gaosu₁ conveys concrete event information with a human agent, with credibility tied to individual experience and responsibility clearly assigned. By contrast, gaosu₂ employs a non-human entity as the agent to convey abstract propositions, relying on sensory evidence, factual materials, or collective experience to create an objectifying effect and transfer individual responsibility to an abstract system. The diachronic and cross-linguistic observations suggest that gaosu₂ is not an isolated rhetorical phenomenon, but a functional extension of speech verbs in objectifying expressions, reflecting the strategic and open nature of the Chinese evidential system.