An Investigation into the Source of the Degree-expressing Function of “zhe/na”

Abstract

On the basis of a synchronic corpus analysis this paper claims that the degree-expressing function of “zhe/na” is a result of constructive analogization from “zhe/na + NP” to “zhe/na + VP”, i.e., similarity in the form and meaning of these two constructions triggers a metaphorical mechanism, which, referring to the abstract syntactic structure “modifier + head”, promotes the analogic process from basic construction “zhe/na + NP” to the target construction “zhe/na + VP”. “zhe/na” starts to be used to express degree after getting a syntactical position as an adverb through constructive analogization, and this function is strengthened in linguistic context.