时间与情态的内在一体性——以英语过去时的情态功能为例  

The Merging of Time and Modality:Evidence from the Epistemic Function of English Past Tense

作　　者：刘正光[1] 吴辉[1] 余毅[1] LIU Zhengguang;WU Hui;YU Yi(Hunan University)

机构地区：[1]湖南大学,湖南省长沙市410082

出　　处：《现代外语》2024年第5期614-627,共14页Modern Foreign Languages

基　　金：国家社科基金重点项目“时空认知差异下的汉英句法语义关系对比研究”(19AYY012)的支持。

摘　　要：根据爱因斯坦的相对论,时间并非一个绝对概念,而是由观察者所处状态引发的主观幻觉。时间认识的主观性必然导致时态的多义性和主观性。时态在履行认知定位功能时会涉及到说话人的认识与判断,这就为时间情态一体性奠定了基础。更为激进的观点是,时态表达的意义本质上不是时间而是情态。本文以英语一般过去时的多义性阐明时态情态的内在关联,由此证明一个基本观点,即句法-语义的动态互动关系本质上产生于句子本身的时间性。本研究也有利于解释为何汉语语气词是完句的重要手段。According to Einsteins theory of relativity,time is not an absolute concept but a subjective illusion induced by the observers state of mind.This subjective nature of time perception and conceptualization is crucial for the polysemy and subjectivity of tense.Since the grounding of events by tense depends on the relationship between the content of the utterance and the viewpoint of the speaker in the speech situation,the semantics of tense is of both time and modality,or even more radically,more of modality than of time.This paper examines the merging of time and modality of the English past tense which is polysemous,thereby confirming the view that the dynamic interaction of syntax and semantics results from the temporality inherent in the utterance.This research also helps to illuminate the modal particlesfunction of sentence completion in Chinese.

关 键 词：时间 情态 一体性 英语过去时 

分 类 号：H314[语言文字—英语]