The Cognitive Mechanism Of N-V Conversion:Taking The Internet Neologies As Examples

N-V conversion is a universal linguistic phenomenon existing in all languages.Researchers both at home and abroad have studied it from the perspective of semantics,pragmatics, and rhetoric. It has long been regarded as a rhetorical device which makesexpressions more concise and comprehensive. However, few studies have stressed theimportance of the relationship between cognition and N-V conversion, especially,from the perspective of conceptual metonymy. Thus, this thesis is an attempt toinvestigate the cognitive mechanisms underlying the N-V conversion on the basis ofinternet neology.Nowadays, with the development of technology, computer and internet play anessential role in people’s everyday life. The language used in the internet differs a lotfrom that used in the daily communication, some of which have even been integratedwith the traditional expressions. Generally speaking, the internet neology can bedefined in both the broad sense and the narrow sense. The internet neology in thisthesis, however, is defined as the words, phrases and expressions that are produced,issued and received by the netizens in the internet forum, particularly, the languagewith different meaning and usage. Besides, the innovation and production of internetneology show some unique properties, such as flexibility and blending, which can beregarded as a reflection of netizens’ thinking mode.The investigation of this thesis is on the basis of data collection, categorizationand comparison within the framework of metonymy. The main results of the study canbe summarized as follow:First, the N-V conversions in internet neology are primarily on the basis ofhomophonic, which bear a less approximate relationship to their parent nouns.Second, the N-V conversions are in nature mappings within one domain orcross-domains, which means the working mechanisms in N-V conversion include notonly metonymic mapping, but also the metaphorical mappings and their cooperation aswell.Third, in the N-V conversion of internet neology, the case that nouns are employed as a verb preponderate over examples that verbs are employed as nouns,which is consistent with that people tend to adopt one entity to stand for another withthe most salient aspect.In short, the N-V conversion is not merely a rhetorical device but also areflection of people’s thinking mode. The investigation of this thesis is helpful forpeople to perceive some linguistic phenomena and will extend the study in cognitivelinguistics.