The Applications Of Conceptual Metaphor Theory In The Compilation Of ECLDs

Since the conceptual metaphor theory was first introduced in 1980s, it has been applied to various fields such as:English as second/foreign language teaching, text translation, etc. But few researches have been done to apply this theory to lexicography.Conceptual metaphor theory is helpful for our understanding of language and thought and can be used to effectively explain some language phenomena. Moreover, many empirical studies have shown that the incorporation of conceptual metaphor into English as second/foreign language teaching is beneficial for learners' memorization and extension of vocabulary and can also help improve learners' metaphorical competence. Therefore, it is believed that conceptual metaphor should play a constructive role in dictionaries, which is the thesaurus of language and which aims to explain language. Consequently, in English-Chinese learner's dictionaries (ECLDs), which is the necessary tool for English language learning as well as the thesaurus of language, conceptual metaphor should have a more important role to play.In the present study, through a careful examination of two English learner's dictionaries, it is found that the treatment of polysemy, collocation and idioms in both dictionaries is deficient; such treatment is unhelpful for learners'understanding and acquisition of these lexical items. However, if conceptual metaphor is properly employed, the treatment of these items will be greatly improved. Besides analyzing the deficiencies of the two dictionaries, the new feature of "metaphor boxes" in Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (MED),2002, which is beneficial for language learners, is also discussed.The most valuable parts of the study are the discussions conducted and suggestions made about how to apply conceptual metaphor theory to the treatment of polysemy, collocation and idioms in ECLDs, and the research on and workable solutions proposed as for how to borrow and adapt the metaphor boxes in MED to suit ECLDs. These two aspects are closely related in that they illuminate and supplement each other, and together they form a metaphor frame, which helps improve ECLDs from a cognitive perspective.