The Constructional Path of Sinicization for Chinese Loanwords

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2025.06.017

Abstract

Abstract:

Constructional morphology emphasizes “form-meaning pairings”, a characteristic that highly aligns with the research needs of loanwords. Construction grammar offers a new perspective for the study of loanwords, enabling an in-depth analysis of their constructional features, formation mechanisms, and localization processes in Chinese through the pairing relationship between form and meaning. This paper, taking construction grammar as the framework, discusses the word-formation mechanisms of Chinese loanwords from several aspects, including constructional wholes, constructional schemas, constructional coercion, and constructional pragmatics, providing a new perspective for loanword research. This research indicates that Construction Grammar provides a universal analytical framework that can uniformly explain the Sinicization mechanisms of different types of loanwords, including transliteration, free translation, semi-transliteration and semi-free translation, and loan shapes.

Key words: Construction Grammar, loanwords, constructionalization

CLC Number:

H0-0

WEI Zaijiang. The Constructional Path of Sinicization for Chinese Loanwords[J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2025, 25(6): 150-159.

Figures/Tables 1

References 22

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构式机制	具体内容	具体表现
整体构式化	外来词作为整体形式与意义配对,而非单个汉字组合。	如“沙发”“咖啡”。
类推扩展	通过已有构式模板生成新词。	如“X门”“X族”“X控”。
语义压制	构式环境改变外来词原有意义。	如“晒”从“日光照射”演变为“分享”。
语用色彩	外来词在语用上的特征,如其适用场合、交际功能、语体色彩。	如“浪漫主义”“AA制”。
社会认知驱动	构式流行反映社会文化需求,体现对社会生活的标签化表达。	如“血拼”“酷”。