阿美語的比較句結構

Comparative Constructions in Amis

郭政淳(Cheng-chuen Kuo)

指導教授 ： 宋麗梅

國立臺灣大學/文學院/語言學研究所/碩士(2008年)

https://doi.org/10.6342/NTU.2008.00039

摘要

本論文主要探討阿美語的比較句結構，以及與比較句相關的議題。
長久以來，比較句的引起學者很大的興趣，因其所觸及的層面涵蓋語言學的許多不同面向。除了語意、句法及它們的介面外，類型學研究也嘗試建立界定比較句的範疇。在這些跨語言的比較句探討上，由於缺乏文獻記載，台灣南島語的比較句並未被放入語言樣本之中。本研究首要目標即在於蒐集阿美語有關比較句的相關用法。
阿美語表現比較概念的方式非常多元。我們透過重要的構詞句法特徵將其區分為四種結構：(1)「並列 (juxtaposition)比較句」利用二個對比的命題句來產生比較概念；(2)「名物(nominal)比較句」透過等同句結構 (equational construction)，將比較者放在名詞謂語的地位；(3)「-ki-比較句」使用帶有「超越」語意的特殊詞綴來產生比較概念，其特殊之處在於具備及物性而容許不同的焦點變化；(4) 「ikaka/isafa比較句」則是由親屬詞演變而來的比較結構。除了檢視「物件比較」(entity-comparison)之外，我們也調查了阿美語對於「事件比較」(event-comparison)的呈現方式。研究發現，除了並列比較句之外，代表比較事件的動詞必須進行一個「去動詞化」的過程。
我們也利用阿美語料檢視一些比較句相關的議題。例如Stassen (1985)所提出的比較句類型學的架構，其範疇是建立觀察「比較基準」的格位標記。這樣子的範疇有其重要的句法意義，因為它反映出跨語言上二個比較項的句法關係為何。然而，透過阿美語的檢驗，以及其他語言的佐證，我們認為這樣的架構有其實用面上的限制：共時性的資料顯示，在許多比較句結構之中，二個比較項之間的句法關係有時候是模糊不清的。對於此現象我們提出了認知角度的解釋，結構是「概念化」的具體呈現，在可以允許模糊句法關係的比較句結構中，比較句的功能往往可以透過別種特殊的構詞句法設施來維持。
本研究也檢視了Klein (1991)，他利用「並列」/「從屬」及「子句式」/「片語式」這二個句法特徵來歸納比較句的類型特徵。套用此模式描述英文及阿美語比較句式的異同，我們主張詞類系統可能可以作為類型差異的決定因子：具備獨立形容詞類的語言(例如：英語)允許「並列片語式」(Paratactic Phrasal)和從屬子句式(Hypotactic Clausal)比較句的出現。阿美語是一個缺乏獨立形容詞類的語言。這樣的詞類系統限制了「並列片語式」和「從屬子句式」的比較句，因為在阿美語的比較句中，「比較特性」(the property of comparison)需要佔據主要謂語的位置。此現象正好呼應先前的觀察：阿美語中比較事件必須強制進行一個「去動詞化」的程序。

關鍵字

比較句結構 ； 類型學 ； 「超越」型(比較句) ； 去動詞化 ； 詞類系統

並列摘要

This thesis explores comparative constructions in Amis, as well as the related linguistic issues concerning comparison.
The comparative construction has long aroused scholars’ interests for it touches upon various aspects of linguistics. In addition to semantics, syntax, as well as their interface, there are also typological surveys which attempt to establish the criterion for cross-linguistic classification of comparatives. Among these cross-linguistic studies, due to the absence of documentation, comparatives from the Formosan family are excluded from the language sample. The primary goal of this research, thus, is to collect the Amis usages concerning comparison.
Amis has a variety of constructions for comparison. Based on their unique morphosyntactic characteristics, four major constructions are identified: 1) Juxtaposition Comparatives, which employ parallel clauses with contrastive propositions; 2) Nominal Comparatives, whose comparee occupies the nominal predicate position by means of the equational construction; 3) -ki- Comparatives, which employ a specific morpheme -ki-, denoting the ‘exceed’ sense, and for its transitivity, permit different ‘focus’ expressions (i.e. AF and PF). 4) ikaka/isafa Comparatives, whose construction derives from a pair of kinship terms. In addition to entity-comparison, event-comparison in Amis is also incorporated in the thesis. It is discovered that the action words responsible for the compared events must undergo a deverbalization process in all comparative constructions, except the juxtaposition comparatives.
Amis data are used to explore some syntactic and typological issues regarding comparatives. For example, Stassen (1985) proposed a typological framework of comparatives, and established a criterion based on the case marking of the standard of comparison. The criterion has its syntactic significance in that it reflects cross-linguistically the possible syntactic relations between the two compared objects. However, Amis, as well as some other languages, suggests that Stassen’s model has some empirical concern: synchronic data show that the syntactic relations between the two compared objects might be ambiguous or vague in many comparative constructions. For this phenomenon, we provide a possible account from a cognitive perspective. In some comparative constructions, the syntactic relations might be ambiguous, since the function as comparatives remains consistent with the aid of certain morphosyntactic device.
The thesis also investigates Klein (1991), who employed two sets of syntactic features ‘paratactic/hypotactic’, ‘clausal/phrasal’ altogether as typological characteristics of comparative expressions. By applying this model to English and Amis comparatives, we argue that the parts-of-speech system might serve as a determinant factor for Klein’s cross-linguistic classification: languages with an independent adjective category allow their comparative expressions to have Paratactic Phrasal (PAP) and Hypotactic Clausal (HYC) patterns. Amis is a language without an independent adjective category. This parts-of-speech inventory prohibits PAP and HYC comparative expressions, since the property of comparison must occupy the predicate position. This is verified by the previous observation: in Amis, the action words responsible for the compared events must undergo a deverbalization process.

並列關鍵字

comparative construction ； typology ； deverbalization ； parts-of-speech system

參考文獻

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