A Semantic /Historical Study on the Semantic Network and Isolated. Usages of So Called "Function Words" in English

本研究从认知、语言和历史的角度考察了英语介词的多义性。具体涉及的介词有by、as、for和with。以下是我们对每一项研究的总结。我们发现，在OE时期，这个词的中心意思是&lt；周围的某个地方，但到了ME时期，这个词的中心意思已经变成了&lt；到&gt；。这一结论可以解释为什么by的孤立用法，如白天和夜晚，只能作为固定短语存在。因为这个词是从OE(全部)演变而来的，所以X(现在的翻译就像X一样丰富)。从句中的so演变为PE so，主句中的so演变为PE as。连词as似乎具有相反的理性和让步的意思，但我们得出的结论是，这种现象的出现是因为(I)并不是这样的，但(Ii)人类倾向于将两个并列的从句解释为原因或让步(这种现象也可以在…一词中看到更多的是and，分词结构等等)，所以这些意义是人类的认知造成的。对于这个词来说，这个词在OE时期之前的意思是&lt；，但它经历了语义的变化，在OE之前，(by+for)取代了它的位置。因为在OE时期已经有了非空间意义，这是因为如果A在B之前，B也在A之前，因此在方向上存在歧义。&lt；持续时间&gt；和&lt；Goal&gt；的意思来自法语Pour。此外，对for的这一研究也成为我们在对by的研究中发展起来的孤立用法和固定短语理论的支持。这个词的显著特点是它不指定空间中的任何一点，它有许多看似无关的意义：它有伴奏的意思；它有反对&gt；的意思，这与&lt；伴奏&gt；的意思相反；它还有&lt；情景&gt；，&lt；工具的意思；，这似乎与其他意思无关。这种特殊性只能通过以下假设来解释：这些意义不是来自with本身的意义，而是人类倾向于进行的认知。最后，我们还对日语后置介词de和ni的语义进行了研究，以推动我们对比较语言学的研究。这一比较语言学的结果将在我们在日本英语语言学会第22届全国会议上的演讲中得到发展和展示。较少

This research has investigated the polysemy of English prepositions from a cognitive linguistic and historical perspective. The specific prepositions dealt with are by, as, for, and with. The followings are the summary for each study■ by We have found that in the OE period, the central meaning of this word was <Somewhere Around>, but this has changed to <Through> by the ME period. This conclusion can explain why isolated usages of by, such as by day and by night, survive only as fixed phrases.■ as This word evolved from OE (all) so rich so X(present translation as rich as X). The so in the subordinate clause evolved into PE so, and that in the main clause evolved into PE as. The conjunction as has seemingly the opposite meaning of REASON and CONCESSION, but we concluded that this phenomenon occurs because (i) it is not as that has these meanings, but (ii) human beings tend to interpret two clauses that are juxtaposed as REASON or CONCESSION (this phenomenon can also be seen in the case … More of and, the participial construction, and so on), so it is the human cognition that make these meanings.■ for This word meant <In front of> before the OE period, but it has experienced semantic change, and by OE, before (by + for) took its place. For already had non-spatial meanings in the OE period, and this is because if A is before B, it is also true that B is before A, hence there was ambiguity in direction. The meaning of <Duration> and <Goal> came from French pour. Also, this research on for has become the support for our theory on the isolated usages and fixed phrases developed in the research on by.■ with The significant characteristic of this word is that it does not designate any point in space, and it has many meanings that seem unrelated: it has the meaning of <Accompaniment>, <Agreement>; it also has the meaning of <Against>, which is opposite from the meaning of <Accompaniment>; it also has the meaning of <Situation>, <Instrument>, which does not seem to be related to other meanings. This peculiarity can only be explained by positing that these meanings do not derive from the meaning of with itself, but from the cognition that human beings tend to make.Lastly, we have also carried out research on the semantics of Japanese postpositions, de and ni, in order to advance our research into comparative linguistics. The result of this comparative linguistics will be developed and demonstrated in our presentations in the workshop of 22^<nd> National Conference of the English Linguistic Society of Japan. Less