Cognitive Approach To Chinese Enigmatic Folk Similes

Chinese Enigmatic Folk Similes have been variably translated as quiz-cracks, Xie Houyu in Chinese, Chinese folk wisecracks, Chinese enigmatic folk similes etc. In this thesis, the version of Chinese enigmatic folk similes (henceforth, EFSs) is adopted because of its popularity and close relation with the research theory used in this thesis. (EFSs) are unique Chinese language form which are rooted in people's experience and is widely used for a long history. Concise form, vivid image and rich implication attract people to use EFSs. Most of the previous researches on EFSs in China stay at the surface such as rhetoric, dialectology, grammar and ethnology or simple discussion on the relation between EFSs and culture. Although some scholars research EFSs from the linguistics perspective, the cognitive study of EFSs is rarely in China or abroad.This paper takes the experiential, prominent and attentional view as the main clue and activational-spreading theory as the psychological basis. We use the metaphor theory and figure-ground theory to study EFSs, aiming to find out the underlying mechanisms of their generation and understanding and further summarize its cognitive feature.This paper consists of six parts. The first part is introduction. We firstly introduce the purpose and significance of this study. Next we summarize the previous scholars'research on EFSs and then point out the shortcoming of these studies. In order to get the comprehensive understanding of EFSs, the second part is devoted to the historical review of EFSs, including its origin, semantic feature and traditional categorization. Based on the traditional classification, we will discuss some particular types, such as polysemous EFSs and elliptical EFSs for the elaboration of chapter five. The third part is the theoretical basis. This part mainly summarizes the origin, characteristics and application of the activational-spreading theory and explains its relation with cognitive linguistics and EFSs. The fourth part and fifth part analyze the cognitive feature of EFSs from the specific operative level. The fourth part is the metaphorical construal of EFSs. This part analyzes Lakoff's classification on metaphor and its construction on EFSs combining the activational-spreading theory. After analyzing, we will get deep understanding of metaphor, experiential view and EFSs. The fifth part is the figure-ground construal of Chinese EFSs from the cognitive prominent view and attentional view. The figure and ground in EFSs activate each other to form the cognition on EFSs. The last part is conclusion. EFS is the reflection of experiential, prominent and attentional view. It guides people's cognition on EFSs from surface structure to the mental structure. The analysis we have made on understanding EFSs in this study may illuminate the understanding procedures westerners undertake when they come across EFSs in communication. And it may also shed lights on the translation of EFSs.