A Contrastive Study Of Formal Representations Of The Same Elements In English And Chinese RED Frame

Berlin&Kay opened the gate of color terms study since 1969,scholars put much interests on this area.And most western scholars focus on the differences and contrasts of basic color terms categories of languages,while domestic scholars would pay attention to the inner and outer causes for the generation of Chinese basic color words,as well as their meanings and cultural significance.These studies supplement each other well to some degree.However,the contrastive study of English and Chinese color terms from the angle of cognition is rare,so does the semantic contrastive study of English and Chinese RED frame.From the perspective of cognitive linguistics,the thesis systematically studies the cognitive semantic meanings of formal representations of the same elements in English and Chinese RED frame,deeply digging out the similarities and differences of the two and causes as well.The data collected in corpora,on-line space and dictionaries are analyzed logically.Finally,the thesis makes a contrastive study of formal representations of the same elements in English and Chinese RED frame in the same thing concepts and the same event concepts.It has been concluded that the similarities between English and Chinese RED frame are that the meaning of the two is based on the prototype meaning of red,and multiple metonymy meaning,metaphorical meaning and also the cultural meaning in the process of changing.The major reason lies in the similar experience of people behind the language cultures.In the meantime,the thesis finds the elements in Chinese?frame are much more than that in English,so do the metaphorical and metonymical representations and cultural meanings accordingly.The causes are related to social background,social psychology and cultural basis.Language economy and iconicity are also concerned about this to some degree.Based on the lexical concept frame theory,conceptual metonymy theory and prototype theory in cognitive linguistics,the thesis scientifically and systematically makes a contrastive study of the same elements in English and Chinese RED frame.