A Cognitive Study Of Military Terms

Military terminology is an aggregate of terms used in military language, and a military term (MT) is a word or phrase used to express and describe a military concept. MTs are not only a core component of military language, especially normalized military language used specifically in the military field, but an indispensable part of the common language, reflecting their ability to influence language communication in the civilian sector. Therefore, studies in MT, while of necessity for normalized and modern construction of the army, form a legitimate area of academic inquiry in its own right, especially viewed from the standpoint of linguistic research. As the current literature in MT shows that systematic research grounded on cognitive science is seldom found, this dissertation is devoted to the cognitive study of MT from the perspective of the cognitive basis of MT formation, the cognitive approaches to semantic extension of MT, and the cognitive processes of MT comprehension. To this end, the author relies upon cognitive semantics theories and, to a less extend, some other relevant military and terminological theories for theoretical guidance. The methodology adopted is introspection, based on some amount of language data both in Chinese and in English, supplemented by an empirical investigation. The main viewpoints of this dissertation are as follows:Firstly, the new born cognitive linguistics provides a relatively powerful theoretical support for the cognitive study of MT. The theory of prototypes and basic-level categories put forward by Rosch (1975), the conceptual metaphor and metonymy theories developed by Lakoff, Johnson and Turner (Lakoff & Johnson,1980; Lakoff,1987,1993; Lakoff & Turner, 1989) and the conceptual blending theory proposed by Fauconnier and Tuner (Fauconnier,1997; Fauconnier & Turner, 1996, 2002) can serve as the theoretical guidance for this study. Specially, from the angle of prototypes and basic-level categories, the cognitive basis of MT formation can be disclosed; from metaphor and metonymy, the cognitive approaches to MT semantic extension and change can be probed; and from conceptual blending, the cognitive processes of MT comprehension can be analyzed. The results of this study indicate that the theories and methodology in cognitive semantics demonstrate substantial explanatory power, thus providing a systematic and reasonable theoretical frame for the studies in MT.Secondly, MTs are created in a series of cognitive activities composed of the classification of military categories, the formation of military concepts, the establishment of military word levels, and the construction of MT meanings. The categorization of military...