The Prototypical Meaning of the Chinese Directional Verb 上 Shàng
https://doi.org/10.22162/2619-0990-2018-38-4-122-127
Abstract
Chinese characters — ideograms — represent a mental picture conceptualizing the notion of the surrounding world, that is, they represent an image-schema of the situation which is reflected in the semantics of the sign. The article describes components of the prototypical situation of the Chinese verb and determines its motivating significance with evidence from analysis of diachronic data. The paper reveals that the prototypical situation of the verb 上 shàng is motivated by the meaning of the pictogram from divinatory inscriptions containing the meaning of direction towards the higher power ― the sky (Heaven). A hypothesis set forth that components of the prototypical situation contained in the basic meaning of the verb are also explicitly represented in the graphic form of the 上 shàng sign, and the components of the prototypical situation contained in the basic meaning of the verb are also explicitly represented in the graphical form of the sign where the lower horizontal sign indicates the starting point of the movement ― point A; the vertical line is the route towards the background ― point B, which is above the starting point of the movement and is indicated by a short horizontal line in the hieroglyphic sign. This explains the purpose of moving the figure along the given route – to take a position higher than the position of the starting point of the movement.
About the Author
Aleksandra A. Shakhaeva
Moscow State Linguistic University
Russian Federation
Ph.D. in Philology (Cand. of Philological Sc.), Associate Professor, Department of English Lexicology, Faculty of English Language,
Russian Federation
Ph.D. in Philology (Cand. of Philological Sc.), Associate Professor, Department of English Lexicology, Faculty of English Language,
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Review
For citations:
Shakhaeva A.A. The Prototypical Meaning of the Chinese Directional Verb 上 Shàng. Oriental Studies. 2018;11(4):122-127. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22162/2619-0990-2018-38-4-122-127
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