CHAPTER 1 Introduction
1.1 Research background
1.2 Research objectives and research questions
1.3 Research significance
1.4 Structure of the book
CHAPTER 2 Literature review
2.1 Break verbs in classical linguistics
2.2 Generative studies on break verbs
2.2.1 Generative derivational studies on break verbs
2.2.2 Jackendoff‘s generative decompositional study on break verbs
2.2.3 Levin’s generative decompositional study on break verbs
2.2.4 Interim summary
2.3 Developmental psycholinguistic studies on break verbs
2.3.1 Adult-child variations in the categorization of break verbs
2.3.2 Cross-linguistic variations in children‘s categorization of break verbs
2.3.3 Interim summary
2.4 Cognitive linguistic studies on break verbs
2.4.1 Cognitive semantic extensionalist studies on break verbs
2.4.2 NSM studies on break verbs
2.4.3 Frame semantic studies on break verbs
2.4.4 Causal chain studies on break verbs
2.4.5 Talmy’s cognitive semantic study on breaking events
2.4.6 Interim summary
2.5 Diachronic Chinese linguistic studies on break verbs
2.5.1 Diachronic syntactic studies on break verbs
2.5.2 Diachronic constructional studies on break verbs
2.6 Diachronic Chinese linguistic studies on lexical semantic change
2.7 Summary
2.7.1 What has been done
2.7.2 What needs to be done
CHAPTER 3 Research methodology and design
3.1 Theoretical framework
3.1.1 From classical theory to prototype theory
3.1.2 From prototype theory to DPS
3.1.3 From DPS to revised DPS
3.2 Research design
3.2.1 Research target
3.2.2 Research design
3.3 Research methods
3.3.1 Multivariate methods
3.3.2 MCA, Ctree, and Random forest
3.4 Data retrieval, annotation and analysis
3.4.1 Data retrieval
3.4.2 Data annotation
3.4.3 Data analysis
3.5 Summary
CHAPTER 4 Diachronic conceptual variation of extensional pò
4.1 Category member variation
4.1.1 Research findings
4.1.2 Prototypical member variation