Interpreting Directive Speech Acts In Thunderstorm: A Study From The Perspective Of Cognitive Metonymy

This thesis attempts to interpret directive speech acts in Cao Yu's play Thunderstorm, within the framework of cognitive metonymy theory.The study of speech acts has aroused heated discussions over decades since mentioned by Austin (1962) and developed by Searle (1969). The study on"directive speech acts", a linguistic term identified by Searle (1975), has been more than half a century since the speech act theory was put forward. Achievements in the linguistic circle have reached a widespread scope and produced a large quantity of relevant theories. However, some pragmatic theories trying to explain pragmatic inferencing fail to give explanations as to why the hearer can quickly arrive at the intended interpretation, and they also fail to explore the conceptual basis of pragmatic inferencing (Zhang & Zhou, 2002). The advent of cognitive linguistics expands the research fields on speech acts. Cognitive linguists generally believe that either metonymy or metaphor is more than just a linguistic device; it is seen as a reasoning and inferential process.Thunderstorm, a classic from famous Chinese playwright Cao Yu, is taken as the peak of creation in modern Chinese drama (Sun, 2005), and has enjoyed high prestige both at home and abroad. Since its debut more than sixty years ago, over 400 review articles have been published. Although researchers have provided a profound research of this play, the study methods they employ are usually nonlinguistic. Based on the framework of the cognitive metonymy theory, this thesis attempts to interpret directive speech acts in Thunderstorm adopting modern linguistic theories.Through the interpretation of directive speech acts from the perspective of cognitive metonymy, this thesis finds that directive structures in Thunderstorm fall into three categories: 1) Structure Core: 2) Structure Branches; 3) Structure Core + Branches. The most frequently adopted structures in Thunderstorm are Structure Core and Structure Branches. As for Structure Branches, the Motivational Branch is the most prevailing structure employed by the characters. In addition, among Structure Core + Branches, the elements in the Motivational Branch are most frequently used to compose combination with the Core. Moreover, in the combined forms of Structure Branches, the characters in this play all employ the combination of the Motivational Branch + the Realization Branch. Furthermore, the present study has explored how some factors, such as social status, social distance and gender, influence the directive structures of the eight major characters in Thunderstorm.The study holds certain implications. Since drama, as a part of literature, is helpful for the language learners to acquire speaking competence and target-language culture, it is hopeful that the present study will shed some lights on TCFL (Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). Moreover, interpreting this play within the framework of cognitive metonymy can deepen the understanding of literary texts. In addition, this thesis also explores that cognitive metonymy is referential for the further explanation of conversational coherence, and for enriching the face theory.