（外国语言学及应用语言学专业论文）英语典故语理解的认知语言学研究.pdf

华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 iii 摘摘 要要 典故语是语言系统中的一支奇葩，它是漫长历史长河中形成的文化的精华的提 炼。丰富的语言文化造就了典故语丰富多彩的内容和形式。典故语的多样性同时还 表现在口语性、变异性、高雅性、艺术性和民族性等特征。 以前对于典故语的研究主要集中在语言学角度，尽管很少从认知语言学角度探 讨典故语，但是作为一个新兴的学科，它对于典故语的研究是非常有价值的。认知 学将典故语看成一种特殊的隐喻，它利用过去的事件来描述当下的事件。 对于隐喻 性典故语的理解被看作是字面意思之下的认知过程，很难从其字面意义理解其内涵 意义，尤其是对于二语或者外语学习者而言。 为了解决这个难题，本研究在认知语言学的注意观和 fauconnier 的概念整合理 论的基础上从认知角度讨论了英语典故语，试图找出典故语的构成特点和其概念整 合网络类型。 该研究以李先诗编著的英语典故精选英汉对照和华泉坤等人所编著的英 语典故词典以及其他来源的典故语共计四百三十条为研究对象，结合演绎、归纳 分析和认知阐释，通过对典故语构成的分析，发现典故语是通过凸显历史事件的一 个或者多个部分比如事件的参与者、事件本身、对象、场景、事件或者特征来建构 的。根据 fauconnier 的概念合成整合理论，典故语的整合类型主要包括四个类型： 单一框架网络、框架网络、单向网络和双向网络。对于个体典故语的理解呈现出特 定的整合网络。此外，典故语的理解还与其存在的语境密切相关，这主要包括言内 语境和言外语境，尤其是其文化语境。 关键词关键词：典故语 注意观 典故语结构 合成理论 合成网络 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 i abstract allusions are a unique branch of language system that concentrates the distillate of culture which has been formed in the long history. the abundance of linguistic culture leads to diversifications in the contents and forms of allusions. this variety reflects such features of allusions as colloquialism, variability, refinement, artistry and nationality. previous studies on allusions mainly focus on linguistic perspectives. cognitive theories are rarely related to discussing english allusions. this research tries to study allusions from the perspective of cognitive semantics out of the consideration that cognitive linguistics is a newly rising discipline and will add new dimensions to the research of allusions. according to cognitive view, allusions are historical metaphors which describe the current affairs by referring to historical event. the comprehension of allusions is treated as a cognitive process which underlies but goes beyond the literal meaning. therefore, it is difficult to understand the connotative meaning of allusions, especially for second/foreign language learners (sll/fll). to deal with such difficulty, this research discusses english allusions from cognitive perspective based on attentional view of cognitive semantics and fauconniers blending theory (bt), aiming to find out the characteristic of allusion construction and the blending patterns of allusions. this research has surveyed 430 english allusions mainly from li xianshis the omnibus of comparison between english allusions and its chinese translation, hua quankuns a dictionary of english allusions and other sources. the research methods used in this study is a combination of deductive and inductive analysis coupled with cognitive explanation. through an analysis of allusion construction, it is found that allusions are constructed 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 ii by emphasizing one or more parts of an event such the participants, event itself, objects, scene, time or feature of them. based on fauconniers blending theory, the blending patterns fall into four major blending networks: single framework, frame network, one sided networks and two-sided networks. as for individual allusion, their understanding processes present specific network. in addition, the understanding of allusions has close relationship with their contexts, which mainly include the linguistic context and extra-linguistic context, especially the context of culture. key words: allusions attentional view allusion construction blending theory blending networks 独创性声明独创性声明 本人声明所呈交的学位论文是我个人在导师指导下进行的研究工作及取得的研 究成果。尽我所知，除了文中己经标明引用的内容外，本论文不包含任何其他个人 或集体己经发表或撰写过的研究成果。对本文的研究做出贡献的个人和集体，均己 在文中以明确方式标明。本人完全意识到，本声明的法律结果由本人承担。 学位论文作者签名 日期: 年 月 日 学位论文版权使用授权书学位论文版权使用授权书 本学位论文作者完全了解学校有关保留、使用学位论文的规定，即:学校有权保 留并向国家有关部门或机构送交论文的复印件和电子版，允许论文被查阅和借阅。 本人授权华中科技大学可以将本学位论文的全部或部分内容编入有关数据库进行检 索，可以采用影印、缩印或扫描等复制手段保存和汇编本学位论文。 保密口，在-年解密后适用本授权书。 本论文属于 不保密口。 (请在以上方框内打“”) 学位论文作者签名: 指导教师签名: 日期: 年 月 日 日期: 年 月 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 1 introduction reasons for this research allusions are a unique branch of english language system that concentrates the distillate of english culture which has been formed in the long history. they have reflected the thinking patterns of people in a certain culture. even for a native speaker, it is difficult for him or her to grasp the associative meaning only through its literal meaning. therefore, it is extremely difficult for a foreigner to make clear the implied meaning of allusions. there are many researches at home and abroad on allusions, but merely in such linguistic fields as rhetoric, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics etc. their research mainly cover such aspects as the exact definition of allusions, the differentiation between allusions and proverbs and idioms, the symbolized meaning and metaphorical meaning of allusions, and the relationship between allusions and culture, allusions dictionaries as well as their pragmatic and functional characteristics. however, allusions can not just be treated as the central ingredient of linguistic activity in everyday life; the ability to recognize, process and understand allusions is an important part of reader or listeners cognitive competence. allusions, in this view, are not to be treated as a literary device, but a reflection of humans cognitive mechanism through everyday linguistic facts. this study aims to discuss allusions from the perspective of cognitive semantics. to be more specific, this research tries to examine the characteristics of english allusions construction under attentional view and analyze the blending patterns of english allusions based on fauconniers blending theory. blending theory has been proposed by fauconnier. conceptual blending is a general cognitive operation. it can be used to explain the following linguistic phenomena: conceptual change, grammatical constructions, construal and rhetoric, metaphor, 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 2 counterfactuals (fauconnier, 1997). summary of the thesis in addition to introduction and the ending chapter conclusion, the core of this thesis is composed of the following three chapters. the main points of these three chapters are as follows: in chapter 1, this research reviews theories related to the study of allusions. it mainly includes two sections. the first section introduces the study of allusion from linguistic perspective and the second section focuses on the cognitive frame work for analyzing allusions. the different definitions of allusions are brought in, that are not only from linguistic respective, but also in particular, from cognitive aspect. in addition, the basic characters and classifications are also interpreted and related study on allusions is summarized. whats more, the theoretical basis of this research bt is introduced. chapter 2 introduced the objective in form of research questions, the source of data collection, and research methods. in chapter 3, allusions are connected with the conceptual blending theory. firstly, the blending process of english allusions is illustrated. in succession, the characteristics of allusion construction are analyzed with reference of attentional view of cognitive semantics. finally, based on the blending networks of bt, the blending patterns of english allusions are introduced and illustrated. chapter 4 is a discussion of allusion comprehension. the comprehension of allusions depends on their contexts. the contexts mentioned in this research mainly focuses on the linguistic contexts and extra-linguistic contexts in input i1 and/or input i2. both of them play an important role in the comprehension of allusions. 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 3 1 literature review 1.1 traditional studies of allusions studies of allusions can be traced back to very ancient times. at that time, the research on them mainly proceeded from the phenomenal angle, such as the research of peoples attitudes towards the use of allusions, i.e., whether the use of allusions are approvable or not, and the right way to use allusions, i.e., when and where an allusion can be used. with the development and rise of many new theories, the theoretical research on allusions mainly proceeded from linguistic and cultural aspects, such as the exact definition of allusions, the differentiation between allusions and proverbs and idioms, the symbolized meaning and metaphorical meaning of allusions, and the relationship between allusions and culture, dictionaries of allusions and so on. 1.1.1 definition of the allusions in traditional sense in terms of definitions of allusions, there is no identical saying. “new oxford english dictionary” (march, 2007) gives the definition of allusions: “an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.” feng cuihua (1995) defines allusions in writing as “references to well-known persons, things, or events that writers assume are familiar to their readers. this assumption is based on the knowledge or belief that their readers share with them a common historical, cultural and literary heritage, which enables the readers to understand the significance of the allusion.” in other words, allusion is the act of not speaking of something in an open manner or something spoken of without directness. it might include literary quotations, idioms, proverbs, maxims, colloquialisms, etc. when a writer uses it to explain, illustrate or reinforce his points, he or she just picks the key words or phrases without indicating their 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 4 sources, the writer used allusions not only to save time, but also to give you the pleasure that comes from seeing similarities or hearing echoes of ideas. from the above traditional definitions of allusions, we are seized of the basic two characteristics of allusions. one is its indirectness, i.e. one can hardly figure out the connotative meaning of an illusion from its literal meaning. the other is their cultural color which results from their various sources such as historical events, fairy tales, myths, legends and fables, religious works such as the old testament, the new testament and christs parables, social customs and proverbs, literary works, and modern and contemporary sources. take the allusion “robert” as an example. in written english, “robert” refers to police; while in oral english, it tends to be called as “bobbies”. in 19th century, there is an english politician named sir robert peel who was nominated as the interior ministry by duke willington after he defeated napoleon and became the english prime minister. afterwards, in the period when he worked as the interior ministry, he constituted the capital policemen. with the times goes by, the common people are gradually used to call the policemen bobbies. peel has ever been the prime minister of ireland in which he innovated the policemen system, so that formerly people also called the policemen as peelers. however, the peeler has been cast aside, while bobby is still very popular. the formation of “robert” and “bobbies” goes with cultural color in britain. moreover, the using of them reflects the indirectness. for instance, “ask the bobby for directions to the station.” from those literal words, we can get the meaning that “ask someone named bobby for direction to the station”, instead of “ask the police for directions to the station.” it is difficult for sll to make sense of the connotative meaning of “bobby” owing to its indirectness. actually, without explicit mentioning the term “police”, it conveys an easy atmosphere between the addresser and the addressee. moreover, its profound cultural flavor is reflected in its origin that particularly exists in 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 5 britain english. 1.1.2 sources of allusions allusions can be classified according to different standards. allusions inevitably refer to something in the past which is their sources. according to their sources, allusions can be classified into the following 6 categories: (1) historical events many of the events happening during the long history of human beings, and even the figures or the places of the events or the events themselves have been alluded. therefore, historical allusions come into being. for instance, “born to the purple” (born in royalty or grand kin; from the ancient event that the emperors tend to wear purple grown in ancient greece and rome), “rich as croesus” (very rich; from an event that king croesus of lydia, whose earns legendary wealth in b.c.6th century), “all roads lead to rome” ( the different ways may lead to the same result; from the battle of cannae in b.c. 216), “fiddle while rome burns” ( be indifferent to the great event; from “the great fire of rome” in a.d.64), “homers sometimes nods” (it is hard to avoid errors; from the ancient event that a wise roman poet named homer even drowsed), “meet ones waterloo” (be totally defeated; from the battle of waterloo in which napoleon met his final defeat on june 18, 1815), etc. (2) fairy tales, myths, legends and fables there are abundant allusions from this source. the fairy stories in western countries are known as world wide fortune, such as cinderella, the snow white, the sleeping beauty, the emperors new clothes, the ugly duckling, etc. the goddesses of greek mythology and the fables, especially aesops fables, are known world wide, far away from where the fables are born. such as “achills heel” (deadly weakness; from an ancient greek fairy tales which talked about a hero named achill whose heel was not dipped in the river of promise where 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 6 bring invulnerability to him), “the stone of sisyphus” (fruitless job; from a greek legend that a cruel king of corinth condemned forever to roll a huge stone up a hill in hades only to have it roll down again on nearing the top when he was in hell), “helen of troy” (a terrible disaster brought by somebody or something you like best; from helen is the cause of troy war ), “a gordian knot” (a knot difficult or impossible to unite or the difficult problem or task; from gordius express his gratitude by knotting the carriage to fane), “pandoras box” (a source of extensive but usually unforeseen troubles or difficulties; from pandoras curiosity could not resist the temptation to know the contents of box that contains evil), “the bed of procrustes” (an arrangement or plan that produces uniformity by violent and arbitrary measures; from the story of procrustes that he stretches or shorten the passersbys body), etc. (3) religious works such as the old testament, the new testament and christs parables religions have played a very important role in the development of human civilization. in english, the religious works especially the holy bible have great affection on western thinking. there are a large number of english allusions derived from the holy bible has been passed down by their simple forms. for example, “fig leaf” (nominally acknowledge and then excuse or pretext; from old testament) , “in abrahams bosom” (go to heaven, from new testament), “sell ones birthright” ( be actuated by mercenary views; from old testament, genesis), “grain in egypt” (prolificacy and fecundity, from old testament, genesis), “golden calf” (money as an object of worship or mammon, from old testament, exodus), “wash ones hands” ( shift off the responsibility; from new testament, matthew), “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (a punishment as severe as the injury that was suffered; from old testament, exodus), “bone of the bone and flesh of the flesh” (intimate kindred and mental accordance, from old testament, genesis),and so on. (4)social customs and proverbs there are also various allusions derived from social customs and proverbs. for 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 华 中 科 技 大 学 硕 士 学 位 论 文 7 example, “a bird of ill omen” (unlucky sign; from the western custom that there are such birds as owls and carbides that are thought as birds of ill omen), “a feather in your cap” (something that one is pride of; from a custom of american indians), “a black sheep” (undesirable or disreputable person in a family or group; from the proverb of “there is a black sheep in every flock”) etc. (5) literary works in english, there are also some allusions stemmed from several literary authorities such as famous writers shakespeare, milton, etc and the authoritative works such as time, washington post, u.s. news from shakespeares “the merchant of venice”), “the milk of human kindness” (the emotional depth and range; from shakespeares works), “whats done is done/ whats done cannot be done” (something that has already been done cannot be changed; from macbeth), “in ones minds eye” (in ones imagination; from shakespeares works) and so on. (6) modern and contemporary sources under this heading we include persons, things, or events that attained fame or notoriety in contemporary times that they are known world-wide through the medium of print, film, television or radio. for instance, “pull a pearl harbor on somebody” (swoop somebody; from pearl harbor event during the ii world war), d-day (the due time when the action starts; from the legal date when the algorism was applied in britain coinage), maginot line (illusive security; from second world war), quisling (a traitor; from the head of norways government during the nazi occupation), coca-cola (beverage of famous brand; from a carbonated soft drink), cadillac (high-class brand article; from saloon car of high-class american brand), yo-yo (something swing; from a toy with string that is spun down and then reel up) and others. with time goes by and the advance of our society, more and more allusio