事件融合理论视角下初始因果关系与持续因果关系的语言表征

This study argues that onset causation and extended causation are two subtypes of direct causation. It investigates the Chinese representation of onset causation and extended causation from the perspective of event integration theory. The findings of elicited narrative data indicated: (1) While situations involving extended causation are represented by different types of monoclausal structures, situations involving onset causation are represented by both single clauses, which are more various than those of extended causation, and two clauses in form of coordinate sentences and complex sentences. (2) Due to the juxtaposition of the components in “V+resultative”, single clauses of macro-events can represent both onset and extended causation. (3) Because of the telicity of causal co-event expressed by the first clause, four types of constructions in compound or coordinate sentences, namely, “VP1+ le+ yi+ verbal classifier, VP2”, “yi+verbal classifier+V1+DVP, RVC”, “yi VP1, (jiu)VP2” and “V1+le+yi+ noun quantifiers+O, RVC” are special forms to represent onset causation. The present study is not only of great theoretical importance to the categorization of ‘direct causation’ notion and the extension of causation theory, but also of essential linguistic value to the research on causal events.