漢語時間表達中的運動隱喻

Movement Metaphor in Chinese Temporal Expressions

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.

漢語中，“前”既可指未來（如“前途”）又可指過去（如“前世”）是令人困感的現象；而與“前”相反的“後”卻與“前”不對稱，“後”（如“後世、後人”）只能指未來，不能指過去，又引起更多困惑。前者學者多以“個體移動——時間移動”隱喻去解釋“前”的矛盾義，後者則傾向以“前、後”在空間認知上的不對稱去解釋在時間表達的不對稱。但“個體移動——時間移動”隱喻其實缺乏主動的解釋力，而“前、後”認知上不對稱如何限制“後”對時間的表達亦欠缺具體準確的説解。本文指出“個體移動——時間移動”隱喻的缺失，顯示時間表達所採用的其實是運動隱喻。在運動中認知主體有兩種著眼取向：一、本身作爲運動體的途程。二、其他事物相對於自身所在位置的運動。從這個視角切入可以妥當解釋何以“前”（及類似字詞）能表達矛盾的時間意涵及“前、後”的不對稱如何限制“後”的時間表達。

In Chinese, the word “front” paradoxically conveys the meanings of both future and past; whereas its antonym “back” asymmetrically only conveys “future”. Scholars tend to account for the paradoxical phenomenon with the metaphors “moving ego vs moving time”, and the asymmetry in human cognition. This article first reveals that the metaphors “moving ego vs moving time” are deficient in explanatory power and a concrete and precise explanation on the constraint of asymmetry is still wanting; and then moves on to construct a Movement Metaphor. It is discovered that the cognitive subject has two concerns in movement: 1. itself being a moving thing, the path of its movement; 2. how other things move in relation to its position (absolute point, reference). Studying from this approach can neatly answer the intriguing questions.