An Embodied Study Of Gradient Features Of English Spatial Prepositions

Since1980s, many linguists began to study the language through cognitiveviewpoint with the development of cognitive linguistics. And in this research, cognitivelinguists either in the first generation or in the second generation become interested inspatial prepositions and study spatial prepositions from cognitive viewpoint. In Lakoffand Johnson’s Metaphors We Live By, they put forward spatial prepositions based onspatial metaphor, which symbolize the rise of the first generation of cognitive linguistics.At the same time, many cognitive linguists study spatial metaphor through spatialprepositions in polar oppositions, such as, up-down, in-out, central-periphery etc. Exceptfor this, in Lakoff and Johnson’s another book, Philosophy in the Flesh, they also comeup with spatial prepositions such as front-back and in-out, which symbolizes the secondgeneration of cognitive linguistics.Except for doing some research on spatial prepositions, cognitive linguists oftencombine the spatial prepositions with image schemata. And the purpose is that imageschema can make spatial prepositions more vividly and specifically. For example, foreigncognitive linguists, Lakoff， Johnson, Langacker, Gibbs and Colston, and Oakleyelaborate image schemata from different perspectives. And in the process of explainingimage schemata, they combine spatial prepositions with image schemata, and makereaders or scholars understand spatial prepositions better. And then, Chinese cognitivelinguists, Zhao Yanfang and Wang Yin, generalize image schemata briefly, and alsocombine spatial prepositions with image schemata from cognitive viewpoint. Althoughthese cognitive linguists hold different views about image schemata, yet actually imageschemata are the abstract information which is produced by human’s brain based on their daily experience through the careful observation, and what the most important is that thecognitive linguists make the abstract image schemata more specifically and vividly. So itcan be inferred that when cognitive linguists study spatial prepositions which combinewith image schemata, they can elaborate these spatial prepositions more clearly fromcognitive point of view.In addition, it can be known that cognitive linguists do a lot of research on spatialprepositions. However, these cognitive linguists just study spatial prepositions in polaroppositions, and ignore gradient features of spatial prepositions. For example, when thepresent cognitive linguists study spatial prepositions, up-down, they just study singlespatial preposition, up or down, but this research is going to study that the gradientprocess maybe exist in these spatial prepositions, and spatial prepositions imply somegradient features in this gradient process. Furthermore, the spatial prepositions can bedivided into English and Chinese spatial prepositions in general. Nevertheless, in thisresearch, the present author just chooses three pairs of English spatial prepositions fromthe Great Gatsby, the reason is that most of cognitive linguists choose the English spatialprepositions as the research object through the observation, and this novel is an Englishnovel, thus this research aims to prove gradient features based on the English spatialprepositions. Through above explanation, that’s the reason why the present authorchooses this research. And it is obvious that the reason is related to the research question,namely, what are the gradient features of spatial prepositions? To solve this problem,under the guide of the theory of embodied cognition, this research is going to adopt thedescriptive and analytical methods to prove that the spatial prepositions contain thegradient features based on the three pairs of prepositions, up-down, before-after andin-out, which are taken from F. Scott. Fitzgerald’s novel, the Great Gatsby. And thespecific methods are as follows: at first, this research adopts descriptive method to collectthe English spatial prepositions in polar oppositions through the searching instrument ofMicrosoft Word. Then the research adopts analytical method to analyze the English spatial prepositions in polar oppositions which prove the existence of gradient features ofEnglish spatial prepositions.Except for this, based on three pairs of English spatial prepositions, in-out, up-downand before-after, it can be found that gradient features of English spatial prepositionsinclude four aspects: situational, environmental, temporal, and unconscious feature underthe guide of the theory of embodied cognition. In addition, it is helpful to apply andcognize English spatial prepositions precisely in the process of learning and teaching.Furthermore, this research has certain significance which consists of theoretical andpractical significance. The former aims to study English spatial prepositions from a newperspective. That is, it not just studies English spatial prepositions in polar oppositionsrespectively, but studies the gradient features of English spatial prepositions. Then thelatter aims to bring some enlightenment for teaching and learning. It is helpful forteachers and students to understand or analyze articles or texts better with the help ofgradient features of English spatial prepositions in the process of learning and teaching.To sum up, this research not only analyzes and proves gradient features of Englishspatial prepositions based on the theory of embodied cognition with the help of imageschemata, but also brings some enlightenment for teaching and learning, and provides abasis for cognizing English spatial prepositions more accurately.