An Analysis Of Fictive Motion From The Perspective Of Conceptual Blending Theory

Fictive motion, the phenomenon of depicting static scenes in terms of real motion, has attracted attention from many linguists. In fictive motion constructions, no explicit motion is expressed despite the obvious presence of a motion verb. Our experience in the world enables us to know that the motion depicted in this kind of constructions cannot take place in reality. The purpose of fictive motion is functional: it allows the language user to convey or infer information about the physical layout of a scene.Beginning with Talmy's work in the late 1970s and early 1980s, many cognitive linguists have made various attempts to account for fictive motion by using their own frameworks. Generally speaking, research into fictive motion uses has so far concentrated on their similarity to actual motion uses in semantic conceptualization and cross-linguistic comparison of fictive motion constructions. However, not enough attention has been paid to the specific cognitive processes involved in comprehending fictive motion. Furthermore, little effort has been devoted to the investigation of the function of fictive motion.Therefore, in this thesis, adopting the perspective of conceptual blending theory, the author attempts to explicate the specific cognitive processes involved in the semantic configuration of fictive motion. It is argued that understanding fictive motion involves a process of conceptual blending: following the establishment of two input spaces (a static scene and a motion schema), the conceptual contents of these two inputs are selectively projected into the blended space. In the blended space, through the operations of composition, completion and elaboration, it develops the emergent structure of fictive motion. Conceptual blending theory also offers a good account of the function of fictive motion. It is claimed that the function of fictive motion arises in the running of the blended space, with the help of conceptual metonymy. Concerning the linguistic level, the trajector and motion verb in fictive motion constructions are subject to certain semantic and pragmatic constraints. In this thesis, the author suggests that the linguistic behaviors of fictive motion constructions can also be explained by conceptual blending theory.Hopefully, the analysis of fictive motion from the perspective of conceptual blending theory will give us a better understanding of the nature of fictive motion. Moreover, the work also adds to the explanatory power of conceptual blending theory. It can be regarded as an application of conceptual blending theory from a new angle.This thesis is composed of six chapters. Chapter One is an introductory part. Chapter Two and Chapter Three provide a review of the previous studies done on fictive motion in the fields of cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics respectively.Then, Chapter Four introduces the framework of the study------conceptual blendingtheory. As the main body of the thesis, Chapter Five analyses the processing of fictive motion from the viewpoint of conceptual blending theory. The last chapter presents a summary of the main findings and suggests further research.