A Cognitive Study On Chinese Metaphorical Buzzwords

Words are the microprints of an era,and buzzwords are a premier part of them in modern language environment.Buzzwords not only possess the ideographic function of general vocabulary,but also vividly reflect people's ideology and language situation to some extent.There are quite a lot of metaphorical words in buzzwords,which exemplifies the idea that metaphor is ubiquitous and the essence of human thinking is metaphorical to a certain degree.In the camp of cognitive metaphor research,it is universally acknowledged that language is the most convincing and powerful manifestation of metaphorical way of thinking,while metaphor is a feature of language itself.A systematic study on buzzwords in cognitive view has theoretical basis and great practical significance.This thesis conducts an analysis over 100 buzzwords from 2008 to 2017.Examples of Chinese buzzwords involved in this research come from yaowenjiaozi.The English versions of those buzzwords and examples are mainly chosen from People's Daily Online and China Daily.This thesis attempts to carry out a cognitive study on Chinese metaphorical buzzwords,including their classification,cognitive semantics and functions based on conceptual metaphor theory and conceptual blending theory.In terms of research methodology,what is employed in this thesis is a combination of diachronic and synchronic studies,description and explanation as well as qualitative approach.The cognitive mechanism in the process of metaphorical meaning construction,the reason for prevalence,and functions of metaphorical buzzwords will be explored and penetrated respectively.An analysis of these buzzwords on one hand provides materials of practical significance and a new angle of view for further research in the study of metaphorical buzzwords.On the other hand,it promises to enhance people's understanding of some social phenomena and problems behind metaphorical buzzwords,which helps play their positive roles to propagate the bright side.In the long term,the research on metaphorical buzzwords offers useful references for the historical evolution and future development of Chinese buzzwords.The thesis consists of the following six chapters.Chapter one presents a review about the research background of buzzwords and a brief introduction to the significance and methodology of the study as well as the layout of the thesis.Chapter two,the literature review part,elaborates on theoretical basis from two domains including cognitive metaphor study(containing conceptual metaphor and blending theory)and relevant research achievements on buzzwords at home and abroad.Chapter three to Chapter five is the core part of the thesis.A cognitive study on typical Chinese metaphorical buzzwords in recent ten years is conducted.Chapter three classifies metaphorical buzzwords from three main aspects,that is,various source domains,metaphorical degree and themes concerned so as to enrich the existing classification criteria.Chapter four concentrates on cognitive semantics,involving an extensive interpretation of metaphorical meaning construction,metaphorically semantic generalization and semantic prosodic changes in various contexts.Chapter five,in terms of functional study,systematically expounds the cognitive,social and linguistic functions of metaphorical buzzwords.Chapter six summarizes the findings and contributions of the study and limitations,and suggestions for further research are also given at the end of the dissertation.