A Conceptual Blending Theory Approach To The Metaphors In The Right Bank Of The Argun

Under the framework of Cognitive Linguistics,this thesis concerns itself with a Conceptual Blending Theory approach to the metaphors in the novel the Right Bank of the Argun written by Chi Zijian.Previous studies on the Right Bank of the Argun have made some achievements from the four perspectives of Culture,Ecology,Literature and Translation.However,studies on the metaphors in the Right Bank of the Argun need to be further explored.As an important theory of Cognitive Linguistics,Conceptual Blending Theory is based on mental spaces,and analyzes the dynamic meaning construction of metaphors through a series of cognitive operations,which has strong explanatory power over metaphors.This thesis,therefore,employs Conceptual Blending Theory to explore the metaphors in the Right Bank of the Argun,specifically devoting itself into the following questions:（1）What are the distributions and types of the conceptual metaphors in the Right Bank of the Argun?（2）How are the metaphors in the Right Bank of the Argun constructed by Conceptual Blending Theory?（3）What are the cognitive motivations of the metaphors in the Right Bank of the Argun?This thesis adopts the combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis,including the methods of Metaphorical Identification Procedure proposed by Pragglejaz Group,induction and case analysis.The data selected for this research are mainly collected from the novel the Right Bank of the Argun written by Chi Zijian.The version is the 1^stedition of People’s Literature Publishing House in October 2010.The research findings are:（1）There are 25 conceptual metaphors in the Right Bank of the Argun.According to the target domain,the conceptual metaphors are classified into 6 types,which are the metaphors of HUMANS,the metaphors of ABSTRACT CONCEPTS,the metaphors of NATURE,the metaphors of ANIMALS,the metaphors of OBJECTS and the metaphors of PLANTS.These conceptual metaphors correspond to 300metaphorical expressions.Statistics show that HUMANS ARE ANIMALS is the most frequent conceptual metaphor in the Right Bank of the Argun,and HUMANS is the most frequent target domain in the Right Bank of the Argun.（2）The four conceptual integration networks:simplex network,mirror network,single-scope network,double-scope network,experiencing a series of conceptual integration operation despite their different cognitive processes,can effectively explain the construction mechanisms of the metaphors in the Right Bank of the Argun.（3）The cognitive motivations of the metaphors in the Right Bank of the Argun involve two factors,one is the similarity between concepts,and the other is cognitive contexts,including three aspects,which are region,ethnic group,and religion.The research significance of this thesis is mainly reflected in the following two aspects.On the one hand,the thesis conducts a study of the metaphors in the Right Bank of the Argun based on Conceptual Blending Theory,in an attempt to provide certain reference value for the studies on the Right Bank of the Argun from the cognitive perspective.On the other hand,this thesis endeavors to enrich the scope of Conceptual Blending Theory and simultaneously prove its applicability in literary texts.