汉语句法的灵活性和句法理论

Abstract

汉语句法的灵活性可以从不同的角度加以阐述。将其归结为不受形式限制的意合性，或者容许变通的柔性，都不失为形象的描述。但要解释这一特性的本质，顾及灵活性所受到的各种限制，则需要更为严谨的理论和方法。本文借助现代形式句法的基本观点和论证理念，从句法与语义、话语以及语用的相互关系未探讨灵活性的根源。汉语句活规则本身十分严密，但句子结构提供了较多的空位，让某些成分在一定条件下移入。句法又提供了较多的所指或指向关系，由上下文或语用因素来决定句子的实际意义。这就形成了汉语句法的灵活性。 It is often claimed that the syntax of Chinese is more flexible than that of other languages because it is based on hypotaxis or has a soft rule system. Such an approach can provide an adequate description of certain characteristics of Chinese, but fails to provide a reasonable explanation for the flexibility or necessary constraints to prevent illegitimate structures. This paper is an attempt to use theories of formal syntax and the methodology of modern linguistics to seek an alternative account for the issues. The essence of this approach is that the Chinese syntax system provides more adjunct positions for nominals to move in from their original position. It also sets up more coreferential or predicative possibilities to be determined by discourse or pragmatic factors. The result of the interface interaction is a seemingly flexible syntactic system.