The Analysis Of The Interior Mechanism In Metonymy Under The Cognitive Framework

Systematically, the study on metonymy so far mainly has focused on its single nature and sorting (eg. Croft, 1993; Tumer & Fauconnier, 2000) or the exploration on its pragmatic usage and operating mechanism (Gibbs, 1994; Panther & Thomburg, 1998, 2004; Barcelona, 2000; Radden & Kǒvecses, 1999; Ruiz de Mendoza & Otal Campo, 2002) in macroscopic perspective. Essentially, each particular explanation to the conceptual metonymy is the unique symbol of experiencing in that proper context. Nevertheless, the existing of indeterminacy phenomenon (宋欢, 2007) imbedded in conceptual metonymy is only a surface phenomenon. The deep root should be the experiential dynamics or we say the indeterminacy is the direct manifestation of it. Aiming to make the elaboration more concrete, visual and worthy, the author makes a rather in-depth, systematic and comprehensive analysis of the experiential dynamics, namely, with regard to its formation, projection, application and significance respectively. On the basis of it, I advise a dynamic construal to analyze, treat and handle it in the online metonymic processing better, search for the actual meaning of what it conveys concretely and utilize the powerful cognitive function itself by people more effectively.Chiefly, the first chapter is the literature review of conceptual metonymy. It can be subdivided into background, definition and implication of it respectively. Thus it is also the general annotation of research on metonymy currently. Afterwards, the second chapter consists of three major parts and it is interlinked by introspection. Owing to the latent philosophical influence on language and its experiential nature, we can deduce that the cognitive linguistics which emerged in the late seventies and early eighties led by George Lakoff and Ronald Langacker is based on the embodied philosophy. Through a brief description, the paper begins to focus on the conceptual metonymy. With regard to the structure, it carries the foreshadowing of the following further analysis and inference. Through it, chapter three mainly expounds the extension relation among categorization, idealized cognitive models and conceptual metonymy, which is crucial to the generation and operation of metonymic mechanism. By virtue of this potential relation, chapter four makes an exhaustive statement of the interior mechanism of metonymy in respect of its formation, projection, application and significance. As a consequence, in the last chapter, the paper advises a dynamical construal to the interior mechanism of conceptual metonymy.