情态词“可能”的语法化和主观化演变考察

An Examination of the Grammaticalization and Subjectivization of the Modal Word “Keneng”

摘要: “可能”作为现代汉语中表示推测估计类的情态词，因为其自身语义所表现出的主观性、模糊性、委婉性的特点，使其在动态语言环境中被高频使用，从而出现了非常规化的趋势。本文从语料库中选择动态的语言进行定性分析，发现“可能”出现了去范畴化特征，说话人的使用逐渐出于一种语用目的。即它可以帮助句子施事告知说明、反驳拒绝、解释澄清、提醒强调、情感评价等言语行为，特别是经常出现在表示否定、拒绝、讽刺等表示负面语义内容的句子里，委婉地传递出确定的信息内容。在此基础上，还对“可能句”出现分化的原因进行了分析，分别从交互主观性、礼貌原则、可能自身所蕴含的委婉性语义三个方面入手，做出了较为合理的解释。

Abstract: “Keneng”, as a modal word in modern Chinese, expresses the content of conjecture or estimate. Because of its own semantic characteristics of subjectivity, ambiguity and euphemism, it is used frequently in a dynamic language environment, resulting in an unconventional trend. In this paper, we select the dynamic languages from the corpus for qualitative analysis, and found that “keneng” has a categorization feature. Speakers use it for a pragmatic purpose gradually. That is to say, it can help sentences to complete the speech act, such as information, rebuttal or rejection, explanation or clarification, reminder or emphasis, emotional evaluation and so on. For this reason, it often appears in the sentences that express negative semantic content, like negation, rejection, and satire, euphemistically convey the content of the definite information. Based on this, the reasons for the “kenengju” are also analyzed, and a more reasonable explanation is made from three aspects respectively: inter-subjectivity, the politeness principle, and euphemistic semantics that “keneng” contains.