英语词汇教学中的概念隐喻研究_英语论文

A Tentative Study on the Application of Conceptual Metaphor in English Vocabulary Teaching

摘要

传统隐喻观认为，隐喻仅仅是一种语言现象，是一种修辞手段。然而，自1980年莱可夫和约翰逊的《我们赖以生存的隐喻》一书面世，认知语言学对于隐喻的不同见解逐渐受到语言学家们的重视。莱可夫与约翰逊认为，隐喻不仅仅是文学作品中用来做比较的修辞，更是一种思维方式，它无时无刻不存在于人们日常的认知活动中。鉴于日常概念系统本质上是隐喻的，将概念隐喻理论作为一种认知工具应用于英语教学是必要的。英语词汇教学是英语教学的一个基础部分，国内的英语词汇教学大多停留在词义的翻译和读音拼写等表层教学，而概念隐喻的应用则为探讨词义的联系提供契机。概念隐喻的工作机制即映射为学生学习词汇提供以旧促新的机会，它的普遍性和系统性特点决定了概念隐喻应用于在英语词汇教学的可行性。概念隐喻可分为方位隐喻，本体隐喻，结构隐喻及转喻，通过实例分析可证明它们在解释多义词和习语的词义联系上有很大作用。

关键词：概念隐喻；词汇教学；一词多义；习语

Abstract

Traditional view on metaphor regards metaphor merely as a linguistic phenomenon, or as a rhetoric device. Since Lakoff and Johnson’s work Metaphors We Live By was published in 1980, different opinions about metaphor in the field of cognitive linguistics gain increasing attention from linguists. Lakoff and Johnson hold that metaphor is not only a rhetoric device employed to achieve the contrast effect in literary outputs, but more importantly a mode of thinking, which exists in everyday cognitive activities. Given that conceptual system in daily life is metaphorical in nature, it is fairly necessary to apply conceptual metaphor theory as a cognitive tool to English teaching.

English vocabulary teaching is a basic component in English teaching, and most studies of it at home focus on translating English words or spelling and pronunciation, while the application of conceptual metaphor offers an opportunity for us to find out the relation among meanings of words. The working mechanism of mapping helps students learn vocabulary with the help of known knowledge, and the universality and and systemacity of conceptual metaphor make its application in English vocabulary feasible. Conceptual metaphor can be classified into orientational metaphor, ontological metaphor, structural metaphor and metonymy, all of which can be used in explaining the seemingly random relation among meanings of polysemy and idioms.

Key words: conceptual metaphor; vocabulary teaching, polysemy, idiom

Contents

1.Introduction 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.1.1 A brief introduction to metaphor study 1

1.1.2 Domestic English vocabulary teaching 1

1.2 Purpose and significance of the study 1

1.3 Organization of the thesis 2

2. Literature Review 2

2.1 Metaphor Theory 2

2.1.1 Traditional view on Metaphor 2

       2.1.2 Cognitive view on Metaphor 3

2.2 Conceptual Metaphor Theory 3

    2.2.1 Definition of Conceptual Metaphor 3

2.2.2 Working mechanism of Conceptual Metaphor 3

2.2.3 Classification of Conceptual Metaphor 4

2.2.4 Characteristics of Conceptual Metaphor 5

3. Relating Conceptual Metaphor to English Vocabulary Teaching 5

3.1 Teaching Polysemy under the guidance of Conceptual Metaphor Theory 5

3.1.1 Problems facing students in learning polysemy 6

3.1.2 Why teaching polysemy with conceptual metaphor theory can help English vocabulary teaching 6

3.1.3 How to teach polysemy with the application of conceptual metaphor theory 7

3.2 Teaching Idioms under the guidance of Conceptual Metaphor Theory 10

3.2.1 Problems facing students in learning idioms 11

3.2.2 Why teaching idioms with conceptual metaphor theory can help English vocabulary teaching 11

3.2.3 How to teach idioms with the application of conceptual metaphor theory 12

Conclusion 15

References 16