1. Introduction

Explored the constraints and limitations of reflexive pronouns in English and Chinese, and pointed out the limitations of classical constraint principle A in explaining the distribution and interpretation of reflexive pronouns. Generative grammar researchers have conducted in-depth research on English reflexive pronouns through syntactic and semantic analysis methods, but the problem of long-distance constraints and restrictive conditions on Chinese reflexive pronouns has not yet been solved. Pan Haihua and Hu Jianhua (2002) used a comprehensive syntactic and semantic analysis method to extract constraints and restrictive conditions and rank them to analyze the differences between English and Chinese reflexive pronouns, but the explanatory power is still insufficient. This study combines distributed morphology to analyze the morpheme composition of English and Chinese reflexive pronouns, compare the differences in constraints and limitations between the two, and explain relevant syntactic phenomena.

2. Distributed morphology

Distributed morphology divides the lexicon into syntactic terminal lists, vocabulary lists, and encyclopedic knowledge lists, emphasizing the combined role of morphology, syntax, and semantics. At the level of word formation, morphemes are divided into root morphemes and categorical morphemes. Root morphemes have abstract semantics, while categorical morphemes assign specific syntactic categories. The root classification hypothesis suggests that the merging of roots and functional morphemes determines word classes and basic meanings. Cheng Gong proposed the introduction of categorical morphemes to form language segments, triggering a fixed interpretation of phonology and semantics. Marantz believes that word roots and categorical morphemes are combined through merging, following the principles of synchronous generation and interpretation. The merging of roots and categorical morphemes is the beginning of syntactic operations and affects subsequent operations. The English pronoun 'he' and idiom 'kick the bucket' demonstrate the importance of determining basic word meanings and parts of speech for structure generation. From the perspective of distributed morphology, the constraints and limitations of English and Chinese reflexive pronouns can be re examined to explain relevant syntactic phenomena.

3. morpheme analysis of reflexive pronouns in English and Chinese

In depth analysis of the morpheme evolution process of English and Chinese reflexive pronouns. Ariel (2008) explored the development of the English reflexive pronoun himself through pragmatics and grammaticalization theory, pointing out that it gradually evolved from an unmarked form to a marked grammatical reflexive form. In ancient Chinese, reflexive pronouns initially appeared in monosyllabic form and later developed into polysyllabic forms, such as "self". In modern Chinese, compound reflexive forms such as' he himself 'have emerged. Although both English and Chinese reflexive pronouns have developed specialized reflexive markers, the self in English has been fully grammaticalized, while the "self" in Chinese is still in the transitional stage. The theory of distributed morphology will be used to further explore the constraints and limitations of English and Chinese reflexive pronouns.

4. Analysis of Constraints and Restrictions on English and Chinese reflexive pronouns

Deeply analyzed the syntactic constraints and limitations of English and Chinese reflexive pronouns. In English, reflexive pronouns such as "himself" are composed of the root "√ him" and the categorical morpheme "self0", and must be promptly marked with a reference within the clause to ensure legal integration with "self0". The article explains this process through example sentences, pointing out that the timeliness at the syntactic level is not related to linear distance, but rather to the closest structural distance. Meanwhile, distributed morphology provides a reasonable explanation for the phenomenon of reflexive pronouns, emphasizing that phonological content is matched only after syntactic deduction, and explaining the legitimacy of reflexive pronouns.

5. Conclusion

An in-depth analysis was conducted on the constraints and limitations of English and Chinese reflexive pronouns based on distributed morphology. Research has shown that there are syntactic and semantic differences between "himself" in English and "he himself" in Chinese. The self in himself, as a categorical morpheme, requires the completion of referential labeling and categorical merging within the shortest structural distance, thereby determining the locality limitation of English reflexive pronouns. And the Chinese word 'self', due to the merging of p0, only needs to meet the semantic implementation conditions and is not limited by locality. For 'he himself', the subject position is a compound reflexive phrase, and the object position is a compound reflexive pronoun, where 'he' follows locality restrictions. In addition, the study also examined syntactic constraints such as person, sex, and number, as well as semantic constraints such as self referential and semantic salience. Compared with previous studies, research based on distributed morphology can better explain English Chinese reflexive referential syntactic examples and improve the consistency of interpretation.