Encoding Chinese metaphorical motion: a typological perspective

Abstract Physical motion is a key source domain for structuring abstract concepts, giving rise to metaphorical motion. Previous studies have produced varying conclusions about whether the typological properties of physical motion apply to metaphorical motion. This discrepancy underscores the need for investigations that consider different target domains and genres. Additionally, the focus has been on typical S- or V-languages, while serial-verb languages like Chinese remain under-explored. To address the gap, this study uses a constructional approach to examine the typological properties of Chinese metaphorical motion across target domains and genres. The findings reveal significant intra-linguistic variation, influenced by factors such as the semantic properties of target domains, the pragmatic context, and the structural characteristics of Chinese.