摘要
传统语言学认为隐喻是一种修辞手法,其作用只是"装饰"和"美化"。而认知语言学则认为隐喻是一种认知活动,是通过语言表现出来的一种思维方式。英语"up/down"和汉语"上/下"作为两组基本的方位词,其空间隐喻可以投射在状态域、社会地位域、数量域和时间域,并且具有相似的特征。从认知角度通过对"up/down"与"上/下"空间隐喻的对比研究,旨在探索中英文两种不同语言认知过程的相似性,为不同语言的人们可能共享相同或相似的认知过程和方法提供证据。
Traditional linguistics views that metaphor is a way of figurative speech, whose function is to ＂decorate＂ and ＂beautify＂. While according to cognitive linguistics, metaphor is a cognitive activity and a way of thinking realized by language. ＂up/down＂ in English and ＂shang/xia＂ in Chinese as two basic spatial groups, their similar spatial relationships can be metaphorically mapped in the field of state, social hierarchy, quantity, and time. This paper provides evidence for the claim that ＂there may exist a universal cognitive approach shared by people of different languages＂ through the study of spatial metaphor ＂up/down＂ and ＂shang/xia＂from the cognitive perspective.
