A Study on the Constructional Semantics of ‘DA+X’ in Modern Chinese

This study analyzes the constructionalization process of emerging Chinese degree adverb constructions ‘DA+X’ formed by ‘超’, ‘巨’, and ‘爆’. Based on data extracted from the BCC corpus, we examined usage frequency, three-dimensional indicators of productivity-schematicity-compositionality, and semantic network structures through quantitative analysis and semantic network analysis. The results confirm that each construction develops along different constructionalization pathways. The analysis reveals that the ‘超’ construction achieved successful establishment as a general-purpose degree adverb with an overwhelming 85.3% share, while the ‘巨’ construction(9.5%) demonstrated expanding constructionalization based on the SIZE IS INTENSITY metaphor, and the ‘爆’ construction(5.2%) exhibited specialized constructionalization through bifurcated semantic development. Semantic network analysis revealed that ‘超’ shows a multi-nuclear structure, ‘巨’ displays a hub-and-spoke pattern, and ‘爆’ exhibits a bifurcated structure, confirming that each construction secures distinct ecological niches for coexistence. This study empirically demonstrates that emerging degree adverb constructions undergo systematic constructionalization processes as language change phenomena.