A Study on the Evaluative Semantics of the “méi X yìng Y” Construction and Its Pedagogical Pathways in Chinese Teaching

Abstract

The internet-popular construction “méi X yìng Y” has emerged with high frequency in recent years, and its holistic meaning exhibits non-compositionality, meeting the defining criteria of constructions in Construction Grammar. Drawing on Goldberg’s Construction Grammar theory, this paper systematically analyzes the formal features, component functions, and syntactic distribution of the “méi X yìng Y” construction. On this basis, it introduces Appraisal Theory to reveal the nature of its evaluative semantics, its evaluative meaning is not a simple positive-negative dichotomy, but rather forms an attitudinal continuum ranging from criticism, ridicule, helplessness and affirmation, with the shift in evaluative orientation constrained by contextual factors, speaker stance, and communicative intent. Finally, grounded in the Sān-Yī Yǔfǎ (Form-Function-Context) approach, this paper proposes a four-step pedagogical pathway for Chinese learners, form recognition, function understanding, contextual judgment and productive application, and designs specific teaching plans with typical contexts, providing a reference for the teaching of internet-popular constructions in L2 Chinese education.