英汉身体词“脑”的隐喻认知对比研究

Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction (1)

1.1 Background of the Study (1)

1.2 Objectives and Significance of the Study (2)

1.3 Definitions of the Related Concepts (2)

1.4 Methodology (3)

1.5 Structure of the Thesis (4)

Chapter 2 Literature Review (5)

2.1 Studies of Metaphor Abroad (5)

2.2 Studies of Metaphor in China (6)

2.3 Metaphorical Cognitive Studies of Human Body Words Abroad (7)

2.4 Metaphorical Cognitive Studies of Human Body Words in China (9)

2.5 Summary (10)

Chapter 3 Contrastive Analyses of Metaphorical Formations of “Brain”（脑） (12)

3.1 Meanings of “Brain” in English and Chinese (12)

3.1.1 Semantic Processes of the English Word “Brain” (13)

3.1.2 Semantic Processes of the Chinese Word “脑” (13)

3.1.3 Contrastive Analysis of the Meanings in English and Chinese (14)

3.2 The Metaphorical Formations of “Brain” (16)

3.2.1 Compounding (16)

3.2.2 Derivation (17)

3.2.3 Conversion (18)

3.2.4 Idioms (18)

3.3 The Metaphorical Formations of “脑” (19)

3.3.1 Coordination (19)

3.3.2 Modification (19)

3.3.3 Subject-predicate Form (19)

3.3.4 Verb-object Form (19)

3.3.5 Complement Form (20)

3.4 Similarities and Differences (20)

3.5 Summary (22)

Chapter 4 Contrastive Analyses of Metaphorical Cognitive Types of “Brain”（脑）23 4.1 Metaphorical Cognitive Types of the English Word-group “Brain” (23)

4.1.1 Structural Metaphor of “Brain” (23)

4.1.2 Orientational Metaphor of “Brain” (25)

4.1.3 Ontological Metaphor of “Brain” (26)

4.2 Metaphorical Cognitive Types of the Chinese Word-group “脑” (27)

4.2.1 Structural Metaphor of “脑” (27)

4.2.2 Orientational Metaphor of“脑” (29)

4.2.3 Ontological Metaphor of“脑” (31)

4.3 Similarities and Differences (31)

4.4 Summary (32)

Chapter 5 Contrastive Analyses of Metaphorical Cognitive Modes of “Brain” （脑）34 5.1 Originated From Personal Feelings (34)

5.1.1 Personal Feeling Metaphors of the English Word-group “Brain” (34)

5.1.2 Personal Feeling Metaphors of the Chinese Word-group “脑” (34)

5.2 Originated From Daily Life (35)

5.2.1 Daily Life Metaphors of the English Word-group “Brain” (35)

5.2.2 Daily Life Metaphors of the Chinese Word-group “脑” (36)

5.3 Originated From Social Experiences (37)

5.3.1 Social Experience Metaphors of the English Word-group “Brain” (37)

5.3.2 Social Experience Metaphors of the Chinese Word-group “脑” (38)

5.4 Similarities and Differences (39)

5.5 Summary (41)

Chapter 6 Conclusion (43)

6.1 Major Findings of the Study (43)

6.2 Limitations of the Study and Suggestions for Future Research (44)

Bibliography (45)

Acknowledgements (47)

Chapter 1 Introduction

In this chapter, the research background, objectives, significance, methodology and the related concepts of the study will be introduced. Meanwhile, the structure of the thesis will be presented.

1.1 Background of the Study

In ancient times, great significance was attached to metaphor and Aristotle once maintained that “the greatest thing, by far, is to be a master of metaphor. It is the one thing that cannot be learnt and it is also a sign of genius.” [1] In traditional studies, metaphor is considered as a rhetorical device. However, in recent research, especially in cognitive linguistics, metaphor is not only a kind of figure of speech, but also a way of cognizing and a mode of thinking. People always acquire new concepts through things they are familiar with. Richards pointed out that there may appear a metaphorical expression in every three sentences.[2] Therefore, metaphor is one of the most significant ways for people to recognize the new things and to perceive the unknown world and metaphors can be found in both languages and thoughts.

In fact, if there is no metaphor in languages, there will be two results: the number of expressions in a language is very limited, and they can only convey the concrete objects; or the number of expressions is astonishingly large, for one word can only convey one object or phenomenon. However, this kind of language dose not exist, because people’s brains cannot grasp such a great number of expressions. Therefore, taking advantage of metaphor to extend the meanings of words is of great significance. Then, as a common way of thinking, metaphor is widely used in people’s daily life.

There is a common way for people to cognize the world, which is called “embodiment”. “Embodiment” means that people map different parts of their bodies onto the external world, forming a special kind of metaphor named human body metaphor. Through this kind of metaphor, people can have a better understanding of the unknown world on the basis of their