Analysis of the Linear Order of Adjective Modifiers to Nouns from a Cognitive Aspect

沈瑩瑩

Abstract：Nouns modified by several adjectives is common in English. On the basis of previous researches and COCA findings， this paper aims to illustrate the linear order of adjective modifiers from a cognitive aspect—from the subjective to the objective.

Key words：adjectivemodifiers； linear order； cognitive aspect

1. Previous Research on Linear Order of Adjective Modifiers

Quirks （1985， 1338） and Praninskas（1975， 13） explanation and viewpoint of the linear order of adjectivepremodifiers are wildly accepted.

Quirk divides the territory between the determinative and the headword into four premodification zones. Adjectives are put into these zones separately according to their adjectival degree. Praninskass classification seems more detailed. The order of adjectives are decided by whether they are descriptive adjective， evaluative adjective or functional adjective. They both require people to classify the adjectives according to their own nature. The cognition of people is not involved in the explanation.

2.Illustration from a Cognitive Aspect

Quirks andPraninskassexplanation are called general principles in follows. Based on my COCA findings， some practical uses correspond to general principles， however， some conflict with general principles. In this part， I will analyze these two kinds of examples from a cognitive aspect—from the subjective to the objective.

2.1Cases correspond to general principles

1） There is no doubt that the traditional high-quality Chinese meal is a seriousmatter， fastidiously prepared and fastidiously enjoyed.

On one of the dirty buff-colored wallswere a couple of shelves.

In the phrases-“traditional high-quality Chinese meal” and “dirty buff-colored walls”， “traditional” and “dirty” are relatively matters of opinion， for the criteria for judging “traditional” or “dirty” differs from different observer. “High-quality” and “buff-colored” are compound adjectives that can describe the quality of the headword， and “high-quality” is comparatively subjective. “Chinese” indicates the nationality， which is objective.

2） thefamous delicious Italian pepperoni pizza

In this phrase， “peperoni” is an intrinsic composition of pizza. It should be closest to the headword. “Italian” represents the source area and is an objective property. “Delicious” is an adjective relates to gustatory sense. It belongs to the continuous region between subjective and objective. “Famous” is an evaluative adjective with strong subjectivity， therefore， it should be put at the first place.

2.2Cases conflict with general principles

1） “young+adj. +people”&“adj. +young+people”

According to the COCA findings， there are many collocations， like “young black people”， “young homeless people”， “young working people”， “other young people”， “bright young people”， “talented young people”， etc.

1.Many young homeless peopleare initially exploited in their families.

2.Homeless young people view drug and alcohol use as a valuable coping strategy.

Among these none phrases， I find that both “young homeless people” and “homeless young people” are acceptable， as well as “young black people” and “black young people”， which seems to do not comply with general principles.

According to the main idea of the first sentence， the underlined phrase refers to homeless people who are young. And “young” helps to divide “homeless people” into young group and old group.

From the cognitive aspect， in the phrase “young homeless people”， “young” is the most impressive trait on observers head and thats what he wants to emphasize. Comparing to “young”， “homeless” is more like a trait that can be easily recognizable to him. Its same in the phrase “homeless young people”. When adjectives all carry subjectivity， the stronger the degree is the farer it is from the headword. And when its difficult to distinguish which one is more subjective， the order of them should refer to the context and observers emotional inclination.

2） They hold their Christmas dinner at this blue round table.

In the general principles， the adjective describing “shape” should be placed before adjective describing “color”， however， it puts “blue” in front of “round” here. “Blue” and “round” both are physical properties. In this context， “blue” carries some personal emotion. The observer is a little depressed in that situation. Therefore “blue” is somewhat subjective. So this phrase still corresponds tosubjective-objective rule.

3. Conclusion

Apart from Quirksand Praninskasgeneral principles of the leaner order of adjective modifiers， we can see it from a cognitive aspect—from the subjective to the objective. That is， adjectives concerned with what is relatively a matter of opinion， precede the adjectives relating to properties which are relatively inherent in the headword. Sometimes the context will influence the observers emotional inclination. Therefore， context is another crucial clue to judge the order of adjectives.

References：

[1]Quirk. R. et al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language [M] London： Longman， 1985.

[2]Praninskas. J. Rapid Review of English Grammar [M]. N.J： Prentice-Hall， 1975.

[3]Ungerer F.&Schmid. H. JAn Introduction to Cognitive Linguistic[M]. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press， 2013.

[4]Biber， D. et al. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. London： Longman， 1999.