The Meaning Construction Of Chinese Bumper Sticker Language From The Perspective Of Conceptual Integration Theory

Chinese bumper sticker language, a special genre been stuck onto the vehicles,are created from social events and daily issues, describing people’s appeals on life,politics, or heated topics in a simple and vivid style. Most of the researches at presentemphasize on the static models, such as the origin, language features and classificationof Chinese bumper sticker language, or pay attention to the values in aesthetics andrhetoric. However, the online meaning construction and the dynamic cognitivemechanism of Chinese bumper sticker language are hardly mentioned.This thesis intends to analyze the meaning construction of Chinese bumpersticker language under conceptual integration theory by qualitative research approach.The detailed analysis on Chinese bumper sticker language is carried out according tothe five different integration networks, namely, simplex network, mirror network,single-scope network, double-scope network and multiple-scope network. Every twopieces of Chinese bumper sticker language are taken as examples under each networkin order to analyze the meaning construction of Chinese bumper sticker language andrelease its backstage cognitive mechanism from the perspective of conceptualintegration theory. In addition, the context, the cognitive models, cultural model andother inner elements are discussed as the backstage factors for the meaningconstruction of Chinese bumper sticker language in this thesis, which aims to furtherthe understanding and appreciation of Chinese bumper sticker language.Over five hundred pieces of Chinese bumper sticker language are used as thedata of this study, which are collected from daily life, the internet and relevantresearches. Through analyzing the meaning construction of Chinese bumper stickerlanguage under the guidance of conceptual integration networks, this study mainlyattempts to resolve the following three questions.(1) What is the meaning constructionprocess of Chinese bumper sticker language under conceptual integration theory?(2)What is the hidden mechanism of the meaning construction of Chinese bumper sticker language from the perspective of conceptual integration theory?(3) What are thebackstage elements which impact the meaning construction of Chinese bumper stickerlanguage?By analyzing the online meaning construction of Chinese bumper stickerlanguage under conceptual integration theory, the major findings of this thesis aresummarized as follows:(1) There are three processes in the meaning constructionprocess of Chinese bumper sticker language under conceptual integration theory,namely, composition, completion and elaboration, with no obvious definite boundsbetween each of them. With the help of emergent logic, the receivers are required toactivate new relations while deactivate the old relation during this dynamic process inorder to achieve the emergent meaning of Chinese bumper sticker language.(2) Thehidden mechanism for the meaning construction of Chinese bumper sticker language isaccomplished by mapping, an essential connection among the generic space, twoinputs supplied by Chinese bumper sticker language, to be specific, the driving inputand the other input, which may be relevant or irrelevant to the driving input, as well asthe blended space respectively from the perspective of conceptual integration theory.Moreover, Chinese bumper sticker language under multiple-scope network requestsmore than one integration to achieve its very emergent structure, which is differentfrom the other four types of integration networks.(3) The inner elements such asmental context, idealized cognitive model, cultural model, individual cognitive abilityand so forth, rather than the outer factors by which the receivers read the bumpersticker language, are believed to be the important elements that influence the meaningconstruction of Chinese bumper sticker language in this thesis.