This study, grounded in the framework of prototype theory and the analytical approach of verb-object constructions,employscorpus linguistic techniques to conduct a comprehensive and systematic investigation of “V(e.g.,shuā) + N” structures.It thus constructsa more complete semantic network model,addressingthe theoretical and methodological gaps in existing research.
The ‘shua+N(brush/scour+noun)’ pattern involves eight types of object semantic roles : Patient, Target, Result, Instrument, Location, Temporal, and Agent roles, consistent with prior research showing that patient roles dominate in verb-object phrase semantics. The semantic evolution of ‘shua+N(brush/scour+noun)’ extends from its original patient role to these seven additional semantic roles. The derivation path of ‘shua’ fully aligns with the collocation patterns of object semantic roles.
The verb ‘shua’ initially denoted concrete physical actions(e.g., ‘shuaxie-brush shoes’) and gradually expanded to other physical domains(e.g., ‘shuaxiaoyuan-sweep across campus’), then extended to virtual spaces(e.g., ‘shuaji-jailbreak devices’), further evolved temporally(e.g., ‘shuaye-pull all-nighters’), and finally abstracted into psychological spaces(e.g., ‘shuacunzaigan-seek attention’). Through metonymy, it also developed nominal usages like ‘shuashou-professional click-farmers’). This progression reaffirms the semantic derivation pattern from physical actions → physical space → virtual space → temporal domain → psychological space.
As a polysemous verb accommodating diverse semantic roles, ‘shua’ demonstrates extensive semantic extensions far removed from its prototype meaning, exhibiting high abstraction. The semantic network reveals that ‘shua’ has evolved into a verb with rich semantic role collocations, increasing learning difficulty for Chinese L2 learners.
Furthermore, this analysis reaffirms from the perspectives of prototype features and object semantic roles that semantic derivation is motivated by prototype semantics and cognitive mechanisms. Polysemy is not arbitrary but grounded in human cognitive categorization and conceptualization processes. The development of word meanings reflects the results of human cognitive organization and conceptual mapping.