| The Investigation into metaphor can date back to ancient times. It has been a fascinating topic both in linguistic and nonlinguistic fields since Aristotle times. Researchers in quest of metaphorical phenomena are countless and resulting works from different aspects are innumerous. Exposed to such different works abounding with different ideas, any researcher interested in these phenomena is inevitably faced with two daunting tasks:(1) sorting out these complicated ideas on the basis of their own judgment:(2) coming up with their ideas which should be taken to be valuable in the practical sense. Centered on the two tasks, this dissertation intends first to give a fuller account of metaphorical phenomena and then to point out the effects of thus developed account on the acquisition of English vocabulary. Its main body consists of four chapters. In Chapter One, different philosophical views on metaphor and its interpretations are reviewed. To reveal the nature of metaphor, three traditional theories of interpreting metaphor and some definitions are briefly discussed. In comparison with the traditional views, a cognitive linguistic view is supported. On this view, metaphor is not merely a linguistic matter. It is a way of thinking. The conceptual system is basically metaphorical in nature. And the concepts in the system are metaphorically structured, the activity is metaphorically structured, and, consequently the language is metaphorically structured. This is thought of as the nature of metaphor.Chapter Two offers an overview of some different approaches to metaphor. It begins with Aristotle's analysis of species vs. genus classification, i.e. the transposition of a word from particular to general or vice versa. This analysis is primarily restricted to the language of poetry and leaves many problems to be unsolved. Contemporary approaches , which can mostly be found in literary, linguistic and philosophical studies,are mainly introduced throughout this chapter in which the focus has been shifted to the linguistic approaches. Of these approaches, semantic and pragmatic approach is reviewed. Semantic approach dealing with metaphor through the "theory of semantic anomaly" or in terms of "componential analysis" with absence of context meet with many difficulties and invite much criticism. It has proved to be an inadequate approach; Pragmatic approach suggests that metaphors are special cases that can be interpreted through exploitations of flouting of the maxim of Quality. This attempt to account for metaphorical phenomena inevitably simplifies the matter. Other aspects of pragmatic approach are introduced in this chapter to serve as a transition of metaphorical studies from pure linguistic field to multi-disciplinary field.In Chapter Three, cognitive linguistic study of metaphor is elaborated under the background of cognitive linguistics. A number of questions concerning metaphor in this field are discussed in much greater detail in the first half of this chapter. These questions include:1. The Fundamental Relationship between Cognition and LanguageCognitive linguists attach particular attention to the relationship between cognition and language. They are convinced that language is the result and an indispensable part of cognition. Since cognitive activity itself happens in the human brain, language naturally becomes a window through which cognition is observed. This makes cognitive linguistics a new research field. From the cognitive linguistic point of view, it is human experience and cognitive ability that reveals the motivation of language formation through the cognitive, metaphoric model.2. Foundations of the Cognitive Linguistic Studies on MetaphorThe underpinnings that support the metaphorical studies in cognitive linguistics are both physically and philosophically formed. Different philosophical views on language and cognition influence the approaches to metaphorical studies. In this dissertation, experientialist philosophy is adopted. Experientialists underline the impor...
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