摘要
本研究基于600万词次,时间跨度近50年的三代英、美英语语料库,考察英语现在进行体在形式分布及意义演变方面的历时变化。数据显示,20世纪60年代以来,英语现在进行体的使用总体持续增长,增速在21世纪初显著加快;在语体、语态方面,除了表现出总体增长趋势外,也存在一些变异。英语现在进行体表达将来义和主观态度的情况也持续增长。研究还表明,书面语中的英语现在进行体存在明显口语化趋势;同时,英语现在进行体也表现出语义虚化的语法化倾向,这与英语语法的整体演变趋势一致。
Based on the three generations （six million words spanning some 50 years） of the American and British English corpora, Brown （1961）, Frown （1992）, Crown （2009）, LOB （1961）, FLOB （1991）, and CLOB （2009）, the present study explores the diaehronie changes of the distribution patterns and semantic shift of the English present progressive. The re- suits show that, overall, frequencies of the English present progressive have increased significantly since 1960s, with the growth being more conspicuous at the beginning of the 21st century; as to the genre and voice, the progressive instances exhib- it some variability in addition to the general growing tendency; the frequencies of the non-present progressive uses （ the futurate and attitudinal meanings） of the present progressive have also increased dramatically. All these findings imply that the English present progressive in written English has a distinct tendency of colloqualization, and in the meantime, the increasing uses of semantically shifted ＂be V-ing＂ patterns seem to indicate the usage of the aspect is becoming more diversified and subjeeti- fled, suggesting that it is in a process of grammaticalization, which is in concordance with the overall evolving tendency of English grammar.
出处
《外语教学》
CSSCI
北大核心
2013年第1期42-47,共6页
Foreign Language Education
基金
教育部人文社科研究一般项目“中国大学生英语现在完成时习得研究:动态系统理论视角”(项目编号:12XJA740014)
国家社科基金项目“基于双语语料库的汉语复杂动词结构英译研究”(项目编号:12CYY060)的资助
关键词
现在进行体
布朗家族语料库
口语化
语法化
英语语法
present progressive
Brown family corpora
colloquialization
grammaticalization
English grammar
