English And Chinese Synesthesia: A Cognitive Study

This thesis is a study of synesthesia in English and Chinese from the aspect of cognition. Synesthesia is the mixing of sensations; the concurrent appeal to more than one sense; the response through several senses to the stimulation of one. Originally, synesthesia is a term used in the field of rhetoric and the former researches studied synesthesia as a rhetorical method. Lakoff and Johnson's Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) provides a new way for the research of figures of speech. Some people studied synesthesia from the aspect of cognition and got some achievements. Even though, these researches are not systematic and profound. Different from a conventional rhetorical perspective, this thesis tried a study of synesthesia from the perspective of cognition using the research method provided by Conceptual Metaphor Theory. This thesis considers synesthesia as a subject of thinking as well as a subject of language just as metaphor. So the understanding of synesthesia must follow human being's general cognition rules. The understanding and application of synesthesia have close relationship with human being's culture. The application of synesthesia is wide in social life. Therefore, the study of synesthesia from the perspective of cognition has not only theoretical significance, but also important social significance.The present thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter One is a literature review that discusses what is synesthesia. The former dispute about the existence of synesthesia. Although to a great extent synesthesia is similar to metaphor, it is excluded from metaphor in the field of rhetoric.. Chapter Two discusses Lakoff and Johnson's Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT). This theory shows synesthesia is not only a figure of speech, but also a thinking way and behavior way of the man. Conceptual Metaphor Theory provides a study method for the study of synesthesia from the perspective of cognition...