The Conceptualization Of The Eye In Cultural Context

Based on the theories of cultural linguistics and the conceptual metaphor, this thesisstudies the Chinese and English idioms with the word "eye" with the method of linguisticanalysis. This thesis researches the idioms about "eye" in cultural context through thecomparison between Chinese and English idioms about "eye" and investigates how thetwo languages share the general conceptual mappings of metaphor and metonymy indifferent cultural models. Meanwhile, it reveals the different conceptual mappings andconceptualizations from the perspective of cultural conceptualization.Through the research of the conceptualization of eye in two different languages, it isfound that Chinese and English share the general conceptual mappings of metonymy andmetaphor, at the linguistic level; however, there are both symmetrical and asymmetricalcorrespondences in the two languages. Chinese and English have different conceptualmappings. The similarities of the conceptualizations of "eye" lie in the human cognitionmechanism, embodied experiences and cultural model. The reasons of diversities of theconceptualizations of eye are cultural differences and conceptualizations underlyinglanguage. The conceptualization of eye is grounded in our common bodily experiencesand cultures and metaphor models.Studying the expressions and the words of "eye" in Chinese and English from theperspective of cultural conceptualizations is a new area. In recent years, much work hasbeen done in this field, but there is no one has researched the conceptualization about"eye" systematically. This research discusses the relationship between language and bodyfrom relatively comprehensive perspective in order to reveal the relationship betweenculture and metaphor and emphasize the conceptualization and cultural system underlyinglanguage and language use.The study of cultural conceptualization of the eye idioms can be used in the teachingof Chiese and Englsih idioms to develop the conceptual awareness of the students,improve their conceptual ability and intercultural communication ability.