A Study On English Vocabulary Acquisition Under Conceptual Metaphor Theory

The study of metaphor has a very long history. Traditionally, metaphor, as a linguistic phenomenon and a feature of language, is viewed as a decorative addition to language which is used in poetry or other literary works. With the multi-disciplinary development of metaphor study in the recent decades, metaphor is regarded not only as a matter of language, but one of the basic cognitive mechanisms, so it now attracts a great deal of attention from linguists. The Conceptual Metaphor Theory advanced by Lakoff & Johnson is a systematic and influential theory. They claim that conceptual metaphor, using experiences of one conceptual domain to express experiences of another domain, is a universal phenomenon in human language, in terms of which people both think and act. Human language is metaphorical in nature. Closely connected with human cognition, conceptual metaphor provides reasonable explanations for language innovation as well as development, and offers a new angle for English vocabulary acquisition.Vocabulary plays an essential role in language learning and it accompanies the process of English learning all the way. Lots of scholars hold that metaphor is an important way of expanding word meanings and English vocabulary evolves from the basic meaning. Therefore, after learners have mastered some basic vocabulary and learned about some knowledge of conceptual metaphor, they cam be able to infer word meanings in a metaphorical way. In the process of mastering metaphor, thinking in English can be developed and the efficiency in vocabulary learning can be improved as well.In this thesis the author has experientialism theory, that is, conceptual metaphor, as the theoretical foundation and tries to conduct the research in English vocabulary acquisition in the cognitive perspective. Besides of introduction and conclusion, this thesis consists of three chapters.In Chapter one the author begins with a brief history of the shift in status of vocabulary in language research and applied linguistics. Chapter two discusses the theoretical foundation of the present research. Experientialism, such as conceptual metaphor is adopted as the theoretical foundation in the exploration. In Chapter three the author proposes that metaphor is closely related with second language vocabulary acquisition. In English vocabulary acquisition, the cultivation of metaphorical awareness and metaphorical competence should be an indispensable means and objective for English learners, especially for the intermediate and advanced English learners.