A Cognitive Semantic Study Of Phrasal Verbs With Back

Phrasal verbs are also called Verb-Particle Constructions, which are important kinds of English idioms. Phrasal verb is constituted by a verb and particle, behaving as an integrated verb concept. The number of the verb and particle which constitute phrasal verbs is not large, but the verb and particle can create a lot of expressions (Wang Peirong & Lu Xiaojuan, 1997). Phrasal verbs are frequently used in modem English. McArthur (1980) said: 'Phrasal verb is probably the first form that children in English-speaking countries have learned.' Because of the importance of phrasal verbs in English, phrasal verbs have been the focus of language researchers for a long time.Numerous studies have been conducted on the phrasal verbs both in China and abroad. All of these studies can be roughly divided into two approaches: traditional and cognitive. Most traditional studies of phrasal verbs are conducted from the structural perspective. Quirk et al are the representatives. Traditional studies attach more value to the syntactic features of particles verbs. The cognitive account of the phrasal verbs started from Lindner (1981) who offers a lexico-semantic analysis of English verb-particle construction with up and out. Morgan (1997), inspired by Lindner's study, tries to give deeper metaphorical interpretations of the examples used in Lindner's paper. He summarizes four possibilities for metaphorical extensions with a verb-particle construction. Gries (1997) focuses on a subclass of phrasal verbs. i.e. transitive phrasal verbs and the ensuing question of particle placement after the verb itself or after the direct object. In 2000, Hampe dealt with a fifth case of metaphorisation in the formation of a verb-particle construction. Although these approaches look much deeper into the process of semantic formation of the phrasal verbs, none of them can explain how the conceptual meanings of phrasal verbs form or the connections between the conceptual meanings of phrasal verbs and the particles.Cognitive theories provide a new approach for the study of phrasal verbs. What are the functions do the particles play in forming of the conceptual meanings of phrasal verbs? What are the connections between the conceptual meanings of phrasal verbs and the particles? This thesis will offer some answers to the above questions on the basis of cognitive linguistic theories especially the prototype theory, image schema theory and cognitive metaphor theory. Through the research on semantic meanings of phrasal verbs with back, it can be concluded that the semantic features of the particle back affect the meanings of phrasal verbs with back. The conceptual meanings of the particle back affect the corresponding verbs on two tendencies: backwardness tendency and return tendency, which influences the meanings of phrasal verbs. Most of the phrasal verbs with back are effected by these two tendencies.This thesis includes six chapters. Chapter One is an introduction of the whole thesis. The importance of phrasal verbs is provided, and the background of phrasal verbs study is mentioned. Then the objectives and scope of this research are also presented. Finally the organization of the thesis is outlined. Chapter Two surveys the previous studies of phrasal verbs both in China and abroad. In this chapter, both traditional and recent cognitive approaches will be presented. Chapter Three is devoted to the theoretical framework of this thesis. In this chapter, the cognitive theories and principles that we apply in solving the research questions will be briefly presented. They are in turn: prototype theory, image schema theory and cognitive metaphor theory. Chapter Four and Chapter Five are the main parts of the thesis. Chapter Four is on the analysis of the particle back. The author firstly analyzes the spatial meaning of back, and then concludes the metaphorical meaning of back. Finally the meanings of back are conceptualized. Chapter Five is the cognitive semantic study of phrasal verbs with back. Firstly, the relationship between verb frequency and senses of corresponding verbs + back is studied on the basis of quantitative corporal analyses. The stronger the lexicalizing ability is, the more senses the verbs get after combining with back; the weaker the lexicalizing ability is, the less senses the verbs get after combining with back. Secondly, 17 main senses of phrasal verbs with back are concluded. Two main sense clusters are also generalized: Backwardness Cluster and Return Cluster. Finally, the effect of the meanings of the particle back on the meanings of phrasal verbs with back is discussed. In the process of combining, the particle back generates a tendency for the verb, which affects the meanings of the phrasal verbs. Most of the phrasal verbs are affected by the tendency. Chapter Six is the conclusion of the whole thesis.