从数学角度看三个语言现象的底层原理  

The Mathematical Nature of Three Phenomena in Chinese and Beyond

作　　者：谭丹丹 李亚非 Tan Dandan;Li Yafei(College of Foreign Language,Central South University of Forestry Technology,Changsha Hunan 410004;Language Sciences,University of Wisconsin,Madison Wisconsin 53706)

机构地区：[1]中南林业科技大学外国语学院,湖南长沙410004 [2]威斯康辛大学麦迪逊分校语言学系,威斯康辛州麦迪逊53706

出　　处：《语言科学》2023年第6期584-593,共10页Linguistic Sciences

基　　金：湖南省哲学社会科学基金青年项目(21YBQ056);中南林业科技大学科研启动基金项目(2021YJ0061)的资助。

摘　　要：用离散数学中的图论、集合论和形式逻辑来表述自然语言的组合方式、语法规则及基本语义是现代语法理论的常态。本文通过三个具体的语法现象,说明语言机制的数学性质并不限于使用数学工具。容器量词在受到形容词修饰时被凸显出来的歧义性,与连动式所特有的语法行为,都可以被看做是语义和结构关系之间的同构投影,而数词后面的“多”在解读和使用上限制和可能性都可以通过对数运算加以简单的表述。和其他自然现象一样,数学方法在自然语言内在机制的揭示和精准表述的研究方面大有可为。It is widely accepted to capture the combinatorial and restrictive rules of language as well as its basic semantics with discrete math such as graph theory,set theory and formal logic.The goal of this article is to demonstrate,with three specific case studies,that the mathematical nature of lan-guage needs more than the familiar math tools above.We show that the adjective-enhanced ambiguity of the container classifiers and the unique cluster of grammatical traits of the serial verb construction are both accounted for via the isomorphism between semantic and/or structural relations,and that the use and interpretation of the post-numeral"duo"(多,more than)are most straightforwardly explained logarithmically.The understanding of the human language faculty is expected to widen and deepen with the help of mathematics.

关 键 词：数学性质 同构 联动结构 形-量歧义 “多” 

分 类 号：H272[语言文字—少数民族语言]