A Study On The Semantic Generation Mechanism And Interpersonal Functions Of WISH Subjunctive Mood

This thesis studies the WISH subjunctive mood from the perspectives of Conceptual Integration Theory and Interpersonal Metaphor in Systemic Functional Grammar. Conceptual Integration Theory, brought forward by Fauconnier, has attracted much attention both at home and abroad because of its strong explanatory power in many domains. Scholars have proved this explanatory power from many perspectives. In the previous studies, scholars mainly study the semantic generation mechanism of IF subjunctive mood and few of them systematically analyze the WISH subjunctive mood. Interpersonal Metaphor, a key concept in Systemic Functional Grammar, is used to analyze the interpersonal functions. Few scholars analyze the interpersonal functions of WISH subjunctive mood form the perspective of Interpersonal Metaphor. Hence, based on the COCA, this thesis combines these two theories together to analyze the WISH subjunctive mood.At the beginning of the study, all the WISH subjunctive mood constructions are searched in COCA. Then the WISH subjunctive mood is classified into two categories:WISH subjunctive mood with two different comparative objects and WISH subjunctive mood with the same comparative object.Through drawing the conceptual integration network, this thesis explores the semantic generation mechanism. The event in the blended space is actually impossible to happen on the basis of the laws of the present world. The word "wish" shows strong desire that the speaker hopes the event can happen. Therefore, WISH subjunctive mood shows probability, which is a kind of modalization. What’s more, the modality in it is explicit subjective, which is a kind of metaphor. Hence, from the perspective of interpersonal metaphor in Systemic Functional Grammar, this thesis analyzes the interpersonal functions of WISH subjunctive mood on different occasions.Through analysis, this thesis finds out that there are two different categories of WISH subjunctive mood, and the conceptual integration network of each category has its own features. Meanwhile, according to the results of analysis, this thesis also finds out that besides the strong desire, the WISH subjunctive mood can express different emotions on different occasions.Different from the previous studies, this thesis adopts two theories to analyze the WISH subjunctive mood. This study conforms to the development of linguistics. It also contributes to more systematical analysis and understanding of WISH subjunctive mood. In addition, this thesis is helpful for learners to understand and master the WISH subjunctive mood.At last, some limitations are pointed out in this thesis. All the examples in this thesis are only from COCA. It is impossible to cover all the types in this thesis. And the classification of WISH subjunctive mood needs to be tested to see whether it is suitable for other kinds of subjunctive mood. Suggestions are also provided for the future research on subjunctive mood. It would be helpful to analyze the WISH subjunctive mood in other corpus or in novel, drama, or literary works with Conceptual Integration Theory and Interpersonal Metaphor in Systemic Functional Grammar.