Kategorisierung Und Konzeptualisierung Vom Raum:Analyse Der Raumausdrucke Im Deutschen Und Im Chinesischen

Using the theory of Cognitive Linguistics,especially the approach of categorization and conceptualization,the Master-thesis at hand deals with the static space expressions in German and Chinese.The German und Chinese space expressions will be systematically analyzed and compared from the linguistic and cognitive perspective.The similarities and differences between the two languages will be justified from the linguistic,cultural and cognitive point of view.In addition,the research results will be verified by an empirical survey and the results can be applied to foreign language teaching.Space is an integral part of human life.Space expressions play an indispensable role in language use.So the issue of space expressions is always in the research interest of linguistics.However,the most studies focus only on local prepositions and their grammatical functions so that the diversity and cognitive foundations of space expressions are neglected.Given the existing research desiderata,the present paper examines the German and Chinese space expressions systematically in both language and cognitive respect.The first two chapters of the present paper explain from the cognitive point of view how a language describes the real space and which factors play a role in this process.According to Cognitive Linguistics,the language is not an autonomous system.It depends on the human cognitive activities.Man experiences and observes the space and builds then an abstract mental space concept.On the basis of this particular cognitive representation of space the language describes the space with the help of lexical,morphological and syntactic means.Therefore,the space expressions must be examined not only from the linguistic,but also from the cognitive perspective.The third chapter deals with the German and the Chinese space expressions from the linguistic perspective.The phrases and sentence structures that German and Chinese use to describe the static space relations will be systematically analyzed.Because German and Chinese belong to different types of language,the linguistic forms of the space expressions in these two languages are not always the same.Based on the analysis in the third chapter,the fourth chapter deals with the space expressions from the cognitive perspective.The cognitive space concepts in the two languages will be examined.While German structures the space in topological and projective subspaces,the Chinese language categorizes the space in a very different way.In the fifth chapter the similarities and differences between the German and Chinese space expressions will be identified and justified linguistically,culturally and cognitively.On the one hand,people experience and perceive the space in a similar way because of the shared cognitive basis so that the German and Chinese space expressions have certain similarities.On the other hand,people in different languages focus on different aspects in the observation and conceptualization of space.Therefore,there are also big differences between the German and Chinese space expressions.The sixth chapter explores how the similarities and differences between the German and Chinese space expressions can be applied to DaF lessons.According to Cognitive Linguistics,one must acquire not only the foreign grammar and vocabulary,but also the foreign cognition patterns,if one wants to master a foreign language.In this process language transfer will take place that impacts the foreign language acquisition both positively and negatively.By comparing the target language with the mother tongue,one can anticipate the learning difficulties to facilitate the foreign language teaching.In conclusion,it can be stated that there are both similarities and differences between the German and Chinese space expressions.These similarities and differences are not only due to the different language forms,but also due to the different cognitive spatial concepts of the two languages.Such research results can be applied to the foreign language teaching and help Chinese learners to master the German space expressions better.