词义联想与汉语二语量词习得

Numeral classifiers, as one of the major lexical categories in Chinese is a crucial but elusive concept for Chinese as Second Language (CSL) learners to fully understand and completely grasp. According to the theories of iconicity in language, semantic association, the Hierarchical Network Model and the Spreading Activation Model of semantic memory, we do believe that there should be some semantic information which can be employed to associate between the Chinese numeral classifier and the related noun or verb. To facilitate the process of classifier acquisition for CSL learners, this paper tries to dig into the principles governing Chinese classifier acquisition and to find out the critical relationship between Chinese classifiers and their particular usage by summing up four kinds of lexical association strategies, including prototypical association, image association, metaphorical association and metonymical association. To test the validity of these strategies, a questionnaire, which is composed of the subject's background information and three tests, was completed by 40 international students at Zhejiang University. By means of analyzing the results of the questionnaire, the essential role that lexical association plays in the acquisition of Chinese classifiers is verified. On the basis of the analysis, it is summarized in the paper that the four lexical association strategies are helpful for us (1) to construct a spreading activation model of semantic memory for the collocation of Chinese numeral classifiers, (2) to promote the direct connection between the Chinese numeral classifier and the related noun or verb, and (3) to facilitate the teaching of Chinese numeral classifiers to CSL learners. It is still unclear at this point whether it is the use of lexical association that improves the CSL learners' acquisition of Chinese numeral classifiers or it is the CSL learner's higher proficiency of Chinese numeral classifiers that inspires the application of lexical association strategies. Whatever it is, the results of the survey indicate that there does exist a close relationship between the acquisition of Chinese numeral classifiers and the lexical association. Based on the research results, we are convinced that the spreading activation model of semantic memory for the collocation of Chinese numeral classifiers constructed by lexical association can help us find out the laws for taking the Chinese numeral classifiers into our memory and that this model should be an effective approach to the acquisition of Chinese numeral classifiers for CSL learners. In addition, with the combination of the lexical association strategies, the CSL learners will more easily collocate and activate a particular Chinese numeral classifier and the related noun or verb and improve its deep processing so as to gradually build a cognitive system of Chinese numeral classifiers for CSL learners.