Author(s)

Qiuhong Xing

School of Foreign Studies, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, China.

The construction “N₁ you V guo N₂” pervasively visible in China has demonstrated its typical cog-pragmatic features. It is pointed out that “you” and “guo” in this construction are the results of notional verbs’ grammaticalization. Grammatical features and cognitive motivation of it have been discussed based on the project theory and de-categorization theory. In its grammaticalization and pragmaticalization process the pragmatic markers contribute the most. Considering the integrated meaning from social, pragmatic and cognitive perspectives, it is found that the construction is out of the speaker’s particular intention, also the results of pragmaticalization.

N₁ you V guo N₂, Semantic Grammaticalization, Pragmaticalization, Pragmatic Marker

Xing, Q. (2018) Semantic Grammaticalization in the Construction “N₁ you V guo N₂” from Neo-Cognitive Pragmatic Perspective. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 8, 221-230. doi: 10.4236/ojml.2018.86019.