A Study on the Multiple Correspondences of the Referential Category of “Zheme+X” and “Name+X” in Modern Chinese

This paper, based on the “Prototype-Exemplar Continuum” theory, explores the internal relationship between prototype usage and specific linguistic exemplars through MCA (Multiple Correspondence Analysis). It examines the multiple correspondences of “這麼+X” and “那麼+X” under the referential category, including their variability and interchangeability. The results show that the prototype construction usage and linguistic exemplars exhibit significant correlations in terms of grammatical structure, semantic roles, and pragmatics. “這麼+X” and “那麼+X” show a strong asymmetry in usage; their core variables are entirely different. When both encode the variable features of “psychological distance” and “repetition”, the probability of conceptual overlap is high, indicating some interchangeability. This paper aims to provide a new quantitative method for the study of modern Chinese constructions and offer strong evidence for the further application of prototype theory.