A Rhetoric Analysis Of Syntactic Iconicity In PASS Cambridge BEC

Language iconicity refers to a natural resemblance or analogy between the form or structure of language and the object or concept structure it represents. It is generally acknowledged that iconicity is a fundamental property of language. A considerable number of recent studies on language have proved that language structure, to a great degree, is cognitively motivated and not arbitrary. The present study explicitly addresses the syntactic iconicity principles and their corresponding rhetorical features. Data used for the study are collected from Pass Cambridge BEC (Preliminary, Vantage and Higher) ((经济科学出版社)(2002 edition)—textbooks popularly used for business English learning in China A total number of 1085 sentences in the reading parts of these three textbooks form a closed corpus.760 sentences with rhetorical features, accounting for 70% of the total are picked out and categorized into four main iconicity types (Quantity iconicity, Distance iconicity, Order iconicity and Markedness iconicity) according to the generalization of the relationship between these four iconicity principles and stylistic features proposed by Wang Yin(王寅,2000:40). Based on the classification, the explicit explanations of the cognitive motivations behind the forms of the sentences and their pragmatic functions are given, which is the most important and valuable part of the thesis.The whole thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the objective, significance, and the corpus of the study. Chapter 2 is the literature review including the previous studies on iconicity especially syntactic iconicity both at home and abroad. Chapter 3 covers the theoretical background, the research questions and the research design of the study. In Chapter 4, a corpus-based study is presented to analyze the typical sentences complying with the four main iconicity principles and their corresponding rhetorical features. Chapter 5 discusses major findings and the implications to foreign language teaching and learning, explores the limitations and provides some suggestions for further research. Chapter 6 is the conclusion.Through a detailed description and analysis of the textbooks, it is found that:(1) As syntactic study is an important part of language research, the current study, from one perspective, do reflect that there really exist some motivations between the language form and meaning, and most of the rhetorical features can be explained with the principles of iconicity. It is feasible to apply the theory of iconicity to comprehend and interpret the hidden culture, deep meaning and the pragmatic function of the language.(2) It also supports the statement of Lackoff(1999:465):"the iconicity is more than arbitrariness in language".(3) Iconicity is not absolute although its general tendency is undeniable. Iconicity and arbitrariness coexist in language.The significances of the study can be summarized as follows:On one hand, it proves that iconicity is a rhetoric means, and analyzes the cognitive motivations and pragmatic functions of iconicity, which not only, to a certain extent, broadens the scope of study on syntax iconicity and improves the theoretical system of iconicity, but also provides a new way of thinking for the study of stylistics and pragmatics.On the other hand, it provides a new perspective and theoretical foundation for the comprehension of business English and other genres, and its findings can be applied to the business English teaching and learning directly. This not only meets the improvement and modernization of the pedagogy of English teaching, but also points out a new way to improve the language comprehension and application ability for students.