The Cultural Cognition Of Metaphor And Its Application In Culture Teaching

Since the pioneering work of Lakoff and Johnson, Metaphors We Live by (1980), there has been a metaphormania in various branches of research. Metaphor is viewed from the perspective of contemporary theory as a matter of thought, a means that human beings use to cognize, to think and act, and to develop their language. As a part of the extension of metaphor study, investigations into metaphors from the perspective of culture model also draw scholars'great attention, for they believe the fact that culture provides the relevant social and cultural settings for all the situations that we have to experience so as to form a cognitive model. Studies from this perspective found that metaphor and culture are closely interwoven. Like language in general, the use of metaphors is shaped by culture and simultaneously is shaping the culture in which the language is spoken. The ubiquity of metaphor, the cultural cognition essence and its close relationship with culture provide evidences for the possibility of teaching culture through mataphor.Based on the cognitive metaphor theory and the close relationship between metaphor and culture, this thesis points out that metaphor is a cultural cognitive model. Since metaphor is a component of language that is closely linked with culture, much of the deep culture of a language is instantiated and transmitted through the metaphors people use on a daily basis. Therefore, metaphor, as a reflection and carrier of culture can play a crucial role in culture teaching. Different from the traditional way of culture teaching, culture teaching through metaphor doesn't consider culture as some knowledge stripped off the language, but as part of the language to explore the fundamental ways of people in the target culture to categorize the world. The differences in metaphor can help students understand the target culture in the teaching process. Besides, it can deepen their understanding of the thinking mode of the culture so as to acquaint themselves with the affects of different culture on language. Even though teaching culture through metaphor has its theoretical basis, it is only an assumption and there's no experimental evidence. This consideration motivates the carrying out of the present study.On the basis of the cognitive theory of metaphor and the cultural cognition essence of metaphor, this paper is meant to obtain some valuable findings through tests and questionnaires so as to prove its feasibility in teaching practice, which will contribute positively to the present situation of culture teaching in college English education. Through a review of related theories and studies, the author of this thesis attempts to give a proposed method of applying conceptual metaphor to culture teaching. Then, accordingly, an empirical experiment lasting for a semester is conducted aiming at examining the effect of the approach. The results of the T-test demonstrates that this approach is efficient in teaching culture. In addition, it is proved that the students take more interest and participate actively in the process of culture learning. In the end of the thesis, it should be made clear that this approach is not meant as a substitute for any established culture teaching methods. Rather, it is a complementary technique that can be integrated with various other approaches to culture teaching.