A Cognitive Approach To Metaphor In Computer Science

With the rapid development of science and technology, computer and Internet have come into being, and then a new life style has come along with them. The great influence of computer has prompted more and more researchers to explore computer from different angles with the purpose of discovering the mystery of the incredible speed of computer development. Some scientists in computer science have noticed the extensive use of metaphor in this field. They published some papers discussing the use of metaphor. However, these previous researches are one-sided: either on visual metaphor in user-interface design, or on the application of metaphor in programming languages, operating systems, and software architecture. Although some linguists have begun to consider metaphor in computer science from a linguistic perspective, their researches are far from sufficiency with respect to the collection of samples and the application of theories. So this thesis aims to make a systematic and further study on metaphors in the computer field.This research adopts the conceptual metaphor theory developed by Lakoff and Johnson in carrying out a cognitive analysis of metaphors in computer science. This thesis makes a systematic study on metaphors in the computer field. That is, metaphors at all the different levels of computer science are examined in this thesis, such as hardware, software, user interface, the Internet, and even programming language. Moreover, on the basis of the conceptual metaphor theory and the features of metaphors in computer science, this thesis distinguishes between two kinds of metaphors: linguistic metaphor and nonlinguistic metaphor. As to linguistic metaphor, the author makes a considerable research on some representative metaphors in computer system and in the Internet field. As to nonlinguistic metaphor, the author only examines visual metaphor in user interface, owing to its most important contribution to the development of computer.This thesis makes a further study on metaphors in the computer field. That is, based on sufficient samples and careful observation, the author identifies numerous metaphors used in computer science, discovers their mappings, their relationship between one another. And in analyzing metaphors in user interface, the author classifies these metaphors into three categories according to the conceptual metaphor theory, and examines them respectively. The author also makes efforts on studying the cognitive functions of these metaphors.Based on impartial and deeper analysis from a cognitive perspective, this study has found out that:(1) Metaphor is pervasive in computer science, and at all the different levels.(2) Metaphor is an important tool. Scientists rely on it to coin new terms, to design new software. Laymen rely on it to comprehend complex and abstract concepts in the computer field.(3) Metaphors in computer science, both linguistic metaphors and nonlinguistic metaphors, are manifestations of metaphorical human thought.(4) Metaphors in the computer field have extremely important functions: the pedagogical function, the economical function, and the heuristic function.(5) The discovery of metaphorical nature of computer science can assist the improvement of computer technology and offer useful implications for the teaching of professional English for computer science.