Reasoning, Stating And Understanding With Images

The thesis is intended to apply a cognitive approach to studying one branch of English for specific purpose (ESP), that is, English for Electric Engineering (EEE) by adopting Lakoff's theory of conceptual metaphor. Its main idea is that the locus of metaphor is in the way we conceptualize one mental domain in terms of another; the general theory of metaphor is given by characterizing such cross-domain mappings; and in the process, everyday abstract concepts turn out to be metaphorical.The thesis narrates the development of ESP, and the current situation of EEE. It also introduces theories of metaphor from its origin through the development to trends in modern linguistics. The major part is contributed to introducing the theory of conceptual metaphor and its concrete use both in our daily life and in EEE, as it's taken as a popular metaphoric theory and a major source of reference in modern linguisticsThrough analyzing a great many examples in EEE, we can see that metaphor does work in EEE, it plays many roles in EEE. Scientists use metaphorical reasoning to interpret observational data, creating models to account for new observations and to reinterpret older data. Metaphors once created and put to use in these ways function in the communication between scientists and between scientists and the public.