1、概念隐喻和隐喻教学基于英语专业学生隐喻学习的调查2004 级硕士研究生：赵振华 导 师： 刘迎教授学科专业：外国语言学与应用语言学 研究方向： 跨文化交际中文摘要隐喻在传统理论中被视为是一种特殊的修辞格，是对常规语言的一种偏离。随着Lakoff和Johnson的隐喻学专著我们赖以生存的隐喻的发表，一个科学、系统的概念隐喻理论开始形成并展现在我们面前。Lakoff和Johnson(1980: 3)指出：“ 隐喻渗透于日常生活，不但渗透在语言里，也渗透在思维和活动中。我们借以思维和行动的概念系统在本质上基本是隐喻的。”在日常生活中 ,人们往往参照他们熟知的，有形的，具体的概念来认识、思维、经历、对
2、待无形的、难以定义的概念，形成了一个不同概念之间相互关联的认知方式。在外语学习中，隐喻也一直都是教学的难点。隐喻教学不仅仅是修辞学习，更是一种目的语认知和思维模式的培养。但隐喻教学受传统隐喻观影响，长期来在教学中仅把它当作一种语言现象，而忽视了从认知的角度分析隐喻所蕴涵的深层次的概念系统。这一弊端就造成了外语学习者缺乏以目标语的概念进行思维的能力，或者说，外语学习者以目标语的形式结构说话，但却仍然以其母语的概念结构思维。这对学习者掌握地道英语造成了障碍。为了进一步改进隐喻教学，本文对英语专业学生的隐喻学习情况进行了调查，并提出一些可行性的建议。论文第一部分简要回顾了隐喻研究的历史并简明阐述La
3、koff当代隐喻理论：认知语言学中概念隐喻的定义、分类及其特点。第二部分论述了概念隐喻理论与外语教学的促进关系，概念隐喻对隐喻能力、概念流利的影响及隐喻教学的现状和探索新的隐喻教学途径的必要性；第三部分是有关英语专业学生隐喻学习的调查研究。本调查通过对英汉间概念隐喻和隐喻表达的对比，将收集到的隐喻分成4组，选取70名英语专业学生为调查对象，旨在调查学习者学习不同类型隐喻的困难和概念隐喻对目的语中不同类型隐喻学习的影响。第四部分讨论了调查结果对隐喻教学的启示，并对隐喻教学提供可行性建议，如基于概念隐喻和深层次概念系统的分类学习，加强中英概念对比及将概念隐喻理论融入教材编写等。目前国内从概念隐喻的
4、角度调查学生隐喻学习难点的研究还不是很多。本调查为今后的隐喻教学探索提供一些实证依据，对隐喻教学的建议有利于将认知语言学的研究成果与外语教学的结合，使得语言学研究中的前沿理论能较快地应用到教学实践中去。关键词：概念隐喻；概念系统；跨语言对比；隐喻教学iConceptual Metaphor and Metaphor Teaching- A Survey on English Majors Metaphor LearningPostgraduate: Zhao Zhenhua Grade: 2004 Supervisor: Liu YingMajor: Foreign Linguistics a
5、nd Applied LinguisticsResearch Focus: Cross-cultural CommunicationAbstractMetaphors are regarded as figurative language for ornament and deviance from literallanguage in traditional theory. With the publication of Lakoff conceptual system; cross linguistic analysis; metaphorteachingiii论文独创性声明本人郑重声明：
6、所提交的学位论文是本人在导师的指导下进行的研究工作及取得的成果。除文中已经注明引用的内容外，本论文不含其他个人或其他机构已经发表或撰写过的研究成果。对本文的研究作出重要贡献的个人和集体，均已在文中以明确方式标明。本人承担本声明的法律责任。研究生签名： 日期：论文使用授权声明本人完全了解广西师范大学有关保留、使用学位论文的规定。广西师范大学、中国科学技术信息研究所、清华大学论文合作部，有权保留本人所送交学位论文的复印件和电子文档，可以采用影印、缩印或其他复制手段保存论文。本人电子文档的内容和纸质论文的内容相一致。除在保密期内的保密论文外，允许论文被查阅和借阅，可以公布（包括刊登）论文的全部或部分
7、内容。论文的公布（包括刊登）授权广西师范大学学位办办理。研究生签名： 日期：导 师签名：2日期：IntroductionIn the year of 1980, with the publication of Metaphors We Live By (Lakoff the same conceptual metaphor but different linguistic expression; differentconceptual metaphor and different linguistic expression; different metaphorical meaning and
8、similar linguistic expression. Most items in comprehension tasks are quoted from the conceptualmetaphor home page (http:/cogsci.berkeley.edu/lakoff/) and The Contemporary Theory ofMetaphor: A Perspective from Chinese by Ning Yu. Most of items in the production tasks arequoted from A New English Cour
9、se (2, 5, 6) by Guanyi Li.The survey indicates that the metaphor comprehension and production of EFL learners mustbe constrained by conceptual metaphors. The conceptual metaphors in learners native languagehas significantly influenced on successful acquisition in the target metaphors. So the degree
10、ofdifficulty in metaphor learning depends on the underlying conceptual metaphor. A shared orsimilar conceptual metaphor in subjects native language and foreign language facilitates thelearning and a different and absent conceptual metaphor poses difficulty for language learners tolearn the expressio
11、ns based on it. To some extent, the differences lead students to over-generalizesome conceptual metaphors, which in return, to over-generalize cross-linguistic andcross-cultural differences. If language teachers are aware of the contrast and the overlap of theunderlying conceptual metaphors of two l
12、anguages, they are able to predict the problems learnerswill face and understand that sometimes learners errors are not linguistic or grammatical, butconceptual in nature. Therefore, students might need to be taught about the notion of conceptualmetaphors in an explicit way, before they can use the
13、strategy of employing metaphors anddiscovering new ones in the foreign language.In order to enrich students metaphorical comprehension and production in foreign language,some feasible suggestions are recommended based on the conclusion of this research in the last2chapter, such as teaching metaphor
14、grouped by conceptual metaphor and based on underlyingdeep conceptual system in English, cross-linguistic conceptual metaphor comparison, embeddingconceptual metaphor in test books, as well as applying conceptual metaphor in improvinglanguage output. It hopes to illustrate about metaphor and foreign
15、 language teaching from aspectof conceptual metaphor to arouse students awareness of the metaphorical feature of languageand differences between conceptual systems, so that they can gain a native-like conceptualfluency in the target language.Finally, some limitations in the survey and future studies
16、 are pointed out in the conclusionpart.3Chapter 1 Relevant Literature Review1.1 The Brief History of Metaphor StudyThe earliest study on metaphor can be traced back to Aristotle who enabled metaphor toobtain its positive value and who was thought to undervalue metaphor as no more than anornament to
17、language. As Ortony (1993:6) stated, “any serious study of metaphor was almostobliged to start with the works of Aristotle.” Truly, his two well-known books the Poetics and theRhetoric offer access to his complete systematic study on metaphor. Aristotle stated that“metaphors are pleasing words that
18、make us learn something” and “a command of metaphor isthe mark of genius” (Aristotle, 1458: 22 in Cameron & Low, 2001:72). This constrained himfrom further discovery of the genuine nature of metaphor. However, the definition of metaphorcontributed by Aristotle has dominated the mainstream of metapho
19、r study for long time andcomparison view and substitution view were the manifestations and the further development ofAristotles theory on metaphor. It was not challenged until the 1930s with the publication of ThePhilosophy of Rhetoric by Richards. He proposed interaction theory improved by Black in
20、 1960.Richards was the first who studied the cognitive function of metaphor. He (1967: 94) emphasizedthat “thought is metaphorical” and “we cannot get through three sentences of ordinary fluiddiscourse without metaphor”. Now the role of metaphor has been shifted from a matter offigurative device to
21、a matter of language and a matter of idea and thought.Over the years, more and more western scholars have focused their attention on metaphorstudy from the new perspective-cognition and thinking. In 1980, Lackoff and Johnson publishedMetaphors We Live By, which was hailed as the beginning of cogniti
22、ve linguistics. The study ofmetaphor of cognitive linguistics goes beyond the linguistic level, and probes the cognition ofmetaphor. (束定芳，2000). In brief, the core of conceptual metaphor theory is that “metaphor isnot just a matter of language, that is, of mere word, we argue that, on the contrary,
23、humanthought processes are largely metaphorical.”(Lakoff & Johnson, 1980:4) This theory elaborateshow human conceptual system is metaphorically structured and defined. Conceptual metaphor,or metaphorical concept is of virtual importance, so what will be discussed in the following partare its definit
24、ion, classification and features.1.2 Definition of Metaphors in Cognitive LinguisticsSince Richards, metaphor has been studied in terms of its cognitive function more than itsrhetoric function. While interaction theory is a bud of cognitive metaphor study, conceptualmetaphor theory is a flower of it
25、. Cognitive metaphor theory, in particular conceptual metaphor4theory, is more pervasive and acceptable in that it asserts metaphor is not merely a matter oflanguage, but a matter of thought. In conceptual metaphor theory, Lakoff and Johnson hold thatmetaphor is not a concept used outside of our nor
26、mal conventional meaning to express a“similar” concept, but “in essence, a means of understanding and experiencing one kind of thingin terms of another” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980:42). And they hold that “metaphor is pervasive ineveryday life, not just in language but in thought and action”, that “our
27、ordinary conceptualsystem, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature” andthat “our conceptual system is largely metaphorical, then the way we think, what we experience,and what we do everyday is, to a larger extent, a matter of metaphor.” (ibid:3). In accordanc
28、ewith Lakoff and his colleagues, concepts are essential to us because they govern our thoughtsand our everyday functioning as well. It challenges the basis of traditional notion that metaphorsare figurative language for ornament, especially in literary contexts. Metaphors are systematicstructure map
29、pings from one domain of experience to another. Thus, language and thought isvirtually metaphorical (Richards, 1967:90).1.3 Conceptual Metaphors and Its MechanismCognitive linguists distinguish two levels of metaphors: conceptual metaphors and linguisticmetaphors. A conceptual metaphor is a metaphor
30、 which is considered deeply entrenched in ourcognition and consists of two conceptual domains, in which one domain is understood in termsof another. This paper will focus on the discussion of conceptual metaphor. Linguistic metaphors,also called metaphorical expressions, are motivated by conceptual
31、metaphors, which are therealizations in everyday written and spoken forms and the surface realization of such across-domain mapping (Lakoff, 1992: 211). They refer to a linguistic expression (a word, phrase,or sentence) that is the surface manifestation of such a cross-domain mapping. Conceptualmeta
32、phor is claimed to be fundamental to help us understand the basic idea and is used to refer toa connection between source domain and target domain at the level of thought, not linguisticexpressions. In most cases they are fairly general, occurring at a superordinate level rather thanthe basic level.
33、 Conceptual metaphor plays important roles in motivating the linguistic meaningof words or expressions and peoples use or understanding of them.Lakoff (1992:214) adopted a strategy for naming such mappings, using mnemonics thatsuggest the mappings. Mnemonic names typically have the form: TARGET-DOMA
34、IN A ISSOURCE-DOMAIN B, or alternatively, TARGET-DOMAIN A AS SOURCE-DOMAIN B. Thebasic contexts and situations based on cultural experience are called source domain. Theconceptual domain that we try to understand is called the target domain. It is clear, sourcedomain is simply structured, and concre
35、te, whereas the target domain is more abstract and5complex contexts. This systematic identification of source and target domain is expressed by theterm metaphorical mapping. There is a set of systematic correspondences between the source andthe target in the sense that constituent conceptual element
36、s of B correspond to constituentelements of A. It links two different domains, thus structuring our experience and everydaylanguage. To know a conceptual metaphor is to know the set of mappings that applies to a givensource-target pairing. These mappings provide much of the meaning of the metaphoric
37、allinguistic expressions that make a particular conceptual metaphor manifest.As part of cognitive and metaphorical processes, such mappings arise more or lessautomatically and unconsciously, and thus affect the way we experience, think and interactwithin our environment. The correspondence between t
38、he domains arises from a correlation inour normal everyday experiences. This shared understanding influences and reflects ourinterpretation of reality. “Mappings are asymmetric and partial” which draws attention to thestructural similarities between two different entities while hiding or suppressing
39、 certain otheraspects (Lakoff, 1992: 235). Mappings have a conventional character, being a fixed part of thehuman conceptual system.Given these interpretations, we can lay out a set of correspondences, or mappings betweenconstituent elements of the source and those of the target. The conceptual meta
40、phor TIME ISMONEY is one of the frequently quoted examples. In our daily language, this conceptualmetaphor is reflected in a large variety of linguistic metaphors both in Chinese and English:TIME IS MONEY(1)别浪费时间了，马上开车了。(2)请您再给我几分钟，我马上就做完了。(3)爷爷常常花一整天时间钓鱼。(4)你用了多长时间读完这本书？(5) Please dont waste my tim
41、e.(6) Youre running out of time.(7) How do you spend your weekend?(8) Please invest your time carefully.It is important to notice we do not just talk about TIME in terms of MONEY. The abstractconcept TIME is structured and comprehended in terms of MONEY. In western culture it is nodoubt that money i
42、s precious and should be spent cautiously in order to avoid the unnecessarywaste. When people run out of money, they will be bogged down in difficulties and live amiserable life. Therefore, western people value money very much. In China, especiallynowadays, we are aware of the importance of money too because of the commodity economy.Both western people and Chinese people make use of our everyday concrete experiences with6
