2 Literature Review 

2。1 Markedness theory

2。1。1 Key term definition 

Markedness phenomenon refers to the asymmetric phenomenon in a linguistic category。 Since first proposed by Prague School in 1930s, markedness theory has been enriched and elaborated by many scholars of almost all linguistic fields。 So the markedness concept has already deviated from its initial definition of binary opposition。 At present, there is no unified definition for markedness theory in linguistic circle。 According to Routledge Dictionary of Language & Linguistics (Bussmann, 2000), markedness is used to distinguish a neutral or an expected item (unmarked item) and a deviating-from-neutral item (marked item) which is under the effect of certain parameters。 In other words, a natural common item is often considered to be unmarked item, and the item that is not so natural or common is regarded as marked。 Xi (2005) defined unmarked item, compared with marked item, as more neutral, more common, more widely-distributed and more frequently-used。 This paper adopts Xi’s definition, considering unmarked item to be more common and more fundamental than marked item。文献综述

2。1。2 Studies on markedness theory abroad

Prague School first proposed the concept of markedness in 1930s。 Trubetzkoy, one of Prague scholars, came to a conclusion after studying phonological constructions that “in a pair of phonological correlation, one phoneme possesses a certain mark while the other doesn’t。” (Jakobson & Pomorska, 1983, p。 95) In The Principles of Phonology, Trubetzkoy first elaborated markedness concept that in a group of phonological opposition, one element was characterized by a certain mark, but the other one did not possess that mark (1969, p。 67)。 Jakobson further studied Trubetzkoy’s distinctive features theory and then raised formal non-equivalence rule, considering that the general meaning of unmarked category can cover the meaning of marked category (Chen, 2002)。 Later in 1970s, Chomsky developed markedness theory on the basis of universal grammar, holding that markedness was universal, bidirectional, relative, and dynamic and that whether a linguistic element had some certain mark or not was totally arbitrary (Chomsky & Halle, 1968, p。404)。 Lyons (1977) explored markedness concept and its judgment standards from semantic perspective, breaking down the formal limitations of Prague School。 He deemed that when analyzing markedness from semantic view, the degree of markedness should be taken into account。 Eckman (1977) applied markedness theory to linguistic typology。 Givon (1995) approached markedness phenomena of language from the pragmatic view, concluding that markedness was a kind of phenomenon that depended on context, which meant a linguistic construction was marked in one context but it could be unmarked in another context。