Abstract:

Oppositional collocation is a particular pragmatic phenomenon that operates by contrasting positive and negative meanings to highlight a certain positive sense. This structure can achieve certain semantic and emotional effects that cannot usually be achieved through consistent semantic collocations. Both Chinese and English have such semantically-oppositional collocations; that is, a commendatory adjective plus a derogatory adverb means something extremely positive, such as 帅呆了 (handsome+dumb+le = extremely handsome), 好得要死 (good+de+wanting to die = extremely good), or damn good, terribly glad. This paper first presents a working definition that confines the research to the collocation between an adverb and an adjective. The formal features of this type of collocation in Chinese and in English are then compared. A key point is the analysis of degree adverbs in the two languages, which are believed to have undergone a certain degree of grammaticalization, together with the collocational features. The conclusion provides a three-dimensional interpretation of the collocation’s expressive mechanism, involving the discourse context, usage conventions, and expressions of emotion.

Keywords: oppositional collocation; commendatory; derogatory; Chinese-English contrast

摘要：

逆向性搭配是一种非常特殊的语用现象，通过褒贬语义的对立来对某一褒义进行渲染或强调，往往能够获得一致性搭配无法获得的某种语义和情感表达效果。汉英语中都存在将褒义形容词与贬义副词进行搭配来表达褒义的逆向性搭配结构，如“帅呆了”“好得要死”和“damn good”“terribly glad”等。本文对逆向性搭配的概念作了界定，把研究范围限定在程度副词与形容词相搭配的情况，比较了汉英语逆向性搭配的形式特征，重点分析了汉英语程度副词的语义虚化现象及搭配特征，最后从话语语境、使用规约和情感表达3个维度对其表达机制进行了阐释。

关键词: 逆向性搭配, 褒义, 贬义, 汉英对比