基于COCA语料库的动词Break的扩展意义单位研究

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

摘要: 在二语词汇学习过程中，高频动词由于其多义性、复杂搭配关系以及语境依赖性，往往成为学习者掌握和使用的难点。作为英语中的高频核心动词，break不仅具有“打破、破坏”等基本意义，还可与不同搭配词和语法结构结合，衍生出“违反、崩溃、突破、分离”等多样语义。因此，仅从词典释义层面理解break的意义，难以全面把握其实际语言使用规律。基于Sinclair的扩展意义单位(Extended Units of Meaning, EUM)理论，本文以COCA (Corpus of Contemporary American English)语料库为数据来源，对动词break的搭配、类联接、语义倾向及语义韵展开研究。研究发现：break的高频搭配主要包括小品词、身体部位名词及抽象名词，其类联接主要表现为BREAK + NOUN、BREAK + ADV. + PREP. + NOUN 等七种模式；在语义倾向上，主要表现为物理破坏、情感崩溃、违反规则、突破限制、分离分散以及突然开始等六类；在语义韵方面，break以消极语义韵为主，同时呈现混合与中性语义韵。研究表明，扩展意义单位分析有助于揭示高频动词的意义生成机制及其语用特征，为英语词汇教学和词汇学习提供新的视角。

Abstract: In second language vocabulary learning, high-frequency verbs often pose challenges for learners due to their polysemy, complex collocational patterns, and context dependency. As a high-frequency core verb in English, break not only conveys its basic meaning of “to separate” or “to damage”, but also develops diversified meanings such as “to violate”, “to collapse”, “to overcome”, and “to separate” through different collocations and grammatical patterns. Therefore, understanding break merely through dictionary definitions is insufficient for comprehending its actual usage patterns. Based on Sinclair’s theory of Extended Units of Meaning (EUM), this study takes the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) as the data source to investigate the collocations, colligations, semantic preferences, and semantic prosody of the verb break. The findings show that the high-frequency collocates of break mainly include particles, body-part nouns, and abstract nouns, while its major colligational patterns can be categorized into seven types, such as BREAK + NOUN and BREAK + ADV. + PREP. + NOUN. Semantically, break demonstrates six major semantic preferences, including physical damage, emotional or mental collapse, violation of rules, interruption or breakthrough, separation or dispersion, and sudden initiation. Regarding semantic prosody, break is predominantly associated with negative semantic prosody, while also exhibiting mixed and neutral prosodies in different contexts. The study suggests that EUM analysis helps uncover the meaning-making mechanism and pragmatic features of high-frequency verbs, thereby offering useful implications for English vocabulary teaching and learning.