1 Introduction

Emotional linguistics examines the semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic features of emotional vocabulary, revealing the interaction between emotional expression and linguistic structure. Research on emotional predicates focuses on semantic role theory, cross-linguistic comparisons of emotional semantics, and theories from the Moscow Semantic School. This paper takes Russian and Chinese "joy"-related emotional predicates as its subject, employing comparative analysis to uncover how typological differences influence the syntactic representation of emotional predicates, thereby providing theoretical support for cross-linguistic emotional semantic research.

2 Thematic Alignment Comparison of радоваться1 / обрадоваться1 and "高兴1"

This section explores the differences in thematic alignment between Russian and Chinese predicates expressing "joy." Emotional verbs typically involve two situational participants: the experiencer (the person feeling the emotion) and the stimulus (the cause of the emotion). The Russian "joy"-related verbs радоваться/обрадоваться incorporate both emotional state and speech act semantics, whereas the Chinese "高兴" functions dually as an adjective and a verb. Using methods from the Moscow Semantic School, the paper comparatively analyzes the semantic and syntactic features of these two sets of "joy"-related predicates, revealing how typological differences affect syntactic realization.

In Russian, the emotional subject (experiencer) typically appears as the syntactic subject, expressed by a nominative noun or personal pronoun, and sometimes by the experiencer's sensory organ. In Chinese, "高兴" as a psychological adjective fills the experiencer role with a noun phrase or pronoun, often occupying the subject position, modified by degree adverbs, and capable of taking an object. In Russian, the emotional cause (stimulus) may be represented by a person, object, or situation, realized through dative noun phrases, among other forms. Stimulus situations can also be expressed via adverbial participle phrases or clauses introduced by conjunctions. In Chinese, the stimulus often appears in the object position, and "高兴" can function as a greeting with the subject omitted. In indirect speech, third-person pronouns introduce the reported clause, whereas in direct speech, they may be replaced by first-person pronouns.

The paper emphasizes the necessity and relevance of thematic roles semantically, syntactically, and logically. Even if certain elements are formally adjuncts, their logical causal relationship with the emotional verb qualifies them as thematic roles. The stimulus may be an actual cause or condition or implied in the preceding context. Through comparative analysis, the paper demonstrates how Russian and Chinese typological differences influence the syntactic realization of identical semantic roles, as well as the interplay between the semantic roles of emotional verb participants and their syntactic positions.

3 Thematic Alignment Comparison of радоваться2 and "高兴2"

This section examines the differences in thematic alignment between the Russian "радоваться2" and the Chinese "高兴2," both expressing "joy." In Russian, "радоваться2" derives a speech act meaning from the emotional state, often collocating with sound adverbs to emphasize the verbal manifestation of emotion. In Chinese, "高兴2" functions as an emotional attitude verb, with its typical structure being "X + 高兴2 + VP," approximating the meanings of "like" or "willing," encoding subjective attitudes through negative forms and serial constructions. Russian emphasizes direct emotional expression, while Chinese focuses on indirect volitional expression.

4 Conclusion

Comparing the thematic alignment patterns of "joy"-related predicates in Russian and Chinese reveals differences in the syntactic mapping of semantic roles, the influence of linguistic typology, and the functional divergence of speech acts. In Russian, the experiencer of the verb радоваться is fixed in the subject position, while the stimulus is encoded through case marking. In Chinese, the experiencer of "高兴1" can flexibly appear via topicalization, and the stimulus is realized through prepositional structures, allowing multiple syntactic projections. Russian employs morphological means to distinguish aspectual categories, whereas Chinese uses analytic methods for semantic refinement. "радоваться2" achieves semantic shift through co-occurring sound adverbs, while "高兴2" grammaticalizes into an emotional attitude verb, forming constructional expressions in negative contexts. This paper validates the cross-linguistic heterogeneity of emotional predicates, deepens the understanding of the interface mechanism between semantic roles and syntax, and provides insights for teaching Russian-Chinese emotional predicates and machine translation. Future research could extend to other emotional categories, exploring the interaction between linguistic typology and emotional cognitive models.