A Cognitive Analysis Of Interconversion Of English Count Nouns And Mass Nouns

English Count Noun and Mass Noun is a common language phenomenon inEnglish teaching and learning. The studies on the interconversion of count nouns andmass nouns in English have caught many researchers’ attention. By describing andanalyzing a large number of language cases, researchers have made some remarkableachievements on the conversion of count nouns and mass nouns. These studies oninterconversion of count nouns and mass nouns mainly take perspectives fromcategory conversion in grammar, systematic polysemy and coercion effects oflanguage construction. These studies, to some degree, do have provided explanationsto the linguistic phenomenon.On the basis of previous studies, the present thesis will employ Boundedness andUnboundedness Theory and Conceptual Metonymy Theory within CognitiveLinguistics to carry out investigations on the interconversion of count nouns and massnouns in English. Boundedness and Unboundedness Theory reflects changes of humanperspectives in viewing the world, which is applied to analyze the cognitivemotivation behind the linguistic phenomenon. The changes in semantics and syntax ofthe nouns after conversion are elucidated. Cognitive Linguistics takes the conceptualmetonymy as a cognitive tool of human, and a way of thinking in realizing the world.Conceptual Metonymy Theory has specifically analyzed the metonymy mechanismbehind the interconversion of count nouns and mass nouns. The metonymic propertyin thinking reflects the principle of economy in language use. Studies on cognitivemotivations behind this special linguistic phenomenon greatly aid to guide specificlanguage teaching activities and pay much attention to raising students’ awareness ofgeneral motivations behind language structures.Studies in the present thesis reflect the basic point of Cognitive Linguisticswhich considers language as a part of human cognition, and exerts important effectson language use.