Проблемы китайского и общего языкознания. К 90-летию С. Е. Яхонтова

 607  Analysis of “full” words in Classical Chinese based on the Book of Laozi   4. np (stative word in function of a nominal element of sentence) 是謂惚 恍 “This is what I call ‘unclarity’.” (XIV.) 3.7. Locatives (LOK) Locatives are words which serve for expressing the spatial and temporal relations between things or actions. Locatives are a closed word class, both Yakhontov and Nikitina agree on their amount of 15 members. Locatives can seemingly carry out a great number of nominal and predicative syntac- tic functions, in my understanding, nevertheless, from locatives are often derived words of word classes, e. g. adjectives, which in turn are used in ac- cordance to the adjectival functional characteristics. Cf.: 下 xi LOK “below” > n “the lower part” 下 xi ADJ “be low” > n “something low” or “the low one”, figuratively “the inferior one” 上 sh ng LOK “above” > vt “place himself above somebody” 上 sh ng ADJ “be located at a high position” or “be located at the highest position” > putative vt “regard somebody as located at the highest position”, figuratively “give the highest priority to something” The idea of lexicalization of 上 sh ng as adjective may be supported by its occasional writing with the character 尚 . Such lexicalization according to my view explains, why the form 上 sh ng in function of a transitive verb could have been used in two completely different meanings. Syntactic function which is typical for locatives, although not necessarily the most frequent one, is the function of so-called “postposition”. Postposition is an element which is formally determined by the preceding nominal expression, but semantically it serves for specification of the position of the given noun in space or time. Nikitina writes: “We analyse the function of locative as postposition separately from other nominal functions of the locatives, because the construc- tion of a locative with a noun behaves in the sentence in a different way from the locative undetermined by a noun. Such construction cannot function as subject, predicative verb or adverbial modifier of a predicative verb, but it can function as attribute of a nominal head or as a determination of place or time.” Syntactic functions of locatives attested in the text of Laozi : 1. lok (locative in nominal function without change of its categorial mean- ing) 是以聖人處上而民不重 “And so the sages had their position above, but the people did not regard it as heavy encumbrance.” (LXVI)