Analysis On Principles And Practice Of Image Schematic Theory

Image schema, as a new branch of cognitive linguistics, focuses on the most basic, most direct part of cognition. Nowadays image schematic theory has become a cross-discipline term which is utilized in philosophy, art, linguistics, psychology and artificial intelligence. Obama is a young, vigorous President. His speeches impress many linguistic researchers for its strong motivation and vividness. This study shall combine these two elements, trying to further reveal some unnoticed features of image schema and find its effect in the practical use in language learning. This study is based on image schematic theory, utilizing president Obama’s remarks in address to the nation on Syria and remarks at the Arizona State University commencement as corpus, try to reveal the abstract, nonpropositional, preconceptual, and multicultural qualities of image schemata according to the text analyzing result of the speeches, and try to find the practical using significance in children’s early knowledge acquirement, the second language learning, business advertisement, political propaganda and so on.The questions supposed to be resolved in this study and the methods to resolve them are as below:(1) Through literature survey, combine words with pictures, to resolve the abstract question what image schema is.(2) Through case study, to reveal the relation between image schema and metaphor, and the principles of the metaphorical extension and image schema projection.(3) Through comparative analysis, to discuss how image schema is subject to specific cultural model.(4) Through corpus collection, to analyze Obama’s speech texts according to word class, phrase, clause, sentence and passage, to observe how they embody image schema.The features ofthis study:(1) Study the antinomy of static and dynamic state of image schemas in different stages.(2) Interpret the relation between figure and ground from the perspective of image schema.(3) Review previous catalogs on image schemata and create a new catalog, then give out the reason.(4) Complement three image schemas, make out the difference between several image schemas such as counterforce, resistance, and blockage.(5) Interpret modal verbs from the perspective of image schema. The researching methods shall be utilized in this study include:Literature survey, comparative analysis, empirical approach, individual case study, corpus collection, observing methods and so on. The study shall be carried out mainly in synchronic researches, with complement of diachronic researches; mainly in qualitative study, with complement of quantitative study; mainly in inductive ways, with complement of deductive ways.Studying procedures:(1) To check back image schema’s theoretically developing progress and definitions given by various scholars through literature review.(2) To lead into the notion of image through three scenes with graphs and pictures. These three scenes focuses on one of the most basic bodily experiences, namely, balance, sequenced from simple to complex. They are:the image formed by a walk learning toddler who stretches his limbs and torso open to get balance, the image formed by Obama’s gesture and body language when Obama is talking on line about possible military action against Syria and the peace is being broken, the bronze sculpture depicting a warrior after a battle who rests his sword on the shoulder and regains balance.(3) To construe word by word the first300words of each speech text of Obama, give out the image schemas activated by each word. To make statistics about how many image schemas exist in these300words and how many rest words can not be given out an image schema, and what proportion they make. Then find the reason why the image schemas in these words can not be given out yet.(4) To review other scholars’ catalogs about image schemata, find their advantages and short boards, thus make a new catalog, add and delete some image schema inventories and give out the reason. Then explain some image schema inventories which is difficult to understand.(5) To discuss levels and transformation of image schema. To show that image schemata are like categories that exist in basic, superordinate and subordinate levels. Image schemas can be transformed and superimposed mutually.(6) To discuss the relations between image schemas and metaphors, static state and dynamic state of image schemas, figure and ground, image schemas and cultural models.(7) To construe by word classes the rest parts of Obama’s two speech texts, focusing on prepositions, count the numbers of image schemas in every word class, find in which word class there are most image schemas and what specialty each word class bear.(8) To discuss epistemic sense and root sense, i.e. physical social force and reasoning force in modal verbs and the image schemas they evoke and to analyze image schemas in passages. (9) To make conclusion, point out the limitation of this study, line out future study plan.This study made conclusions below:(1) Image schemata play a basic and indispensable role in human being’s cognition. They are ubiquitous in our understanding of the world.(2) It is of great necessity to catalog image schemata once again from a new perspective, especially to add and delete some image schema inventories.(3) It is rather efficient to interpret function words like modal verbs with image schemata. Image schemata represent well the physical social function and reasoning function of modal verbs.(4) Image schemata exist in hierarchies, trans formations and superimpositions. They keep a bread and butter relation with metaphors. Image schematic theory can interpret the philosophical relation between static and dynamic inverse, and cultural discrepancies.(5) Politicians’discourses exhibit salient patterns of image schemata. The proficient use of image schemas has direct influences on accuracy and fluency of speech act. President Obama has used dynamic image schemas in his speech texts to strengthen and its motivation.(6) Metaphorical extension of image schemata differs greatly with each other among different cultural models and even among the users of one same language. However, communities of different culture may understand one image schema as the same or similar.All in all, image schema is the indispensable bridge from seeing to thinking and to doing, that is because image schema operates at a level of mental organization that falls between abstract propositional structures and particular concrete images. We experience image schema and use it unconsciously without knowing it. But if we do know it well, it may significantly help us to better understand the world. Image schematic theory may play important roles in political propaganda, besides in literature critique, grammatical doctrine, art, artificial intelligence and business issue.