A Cognitive Study On Chinese Idioms With Numerals From The Perspective Of Conceptual Integration Theory

This thesis makes a preliminary attempt to apply the conceptual integrationtheory to probe into the meaning construction process of Chinese idioms withnumerals from a cognitive perspective. The aim is to investigate theapplicability of conceptual integration model for developing a linguisticunderstanding of the construction of meaning in Chinese idioms. As a typicalphenomenon of natural language, the Chinese idiom has always attracted the languageresearchers’ notice for a long period of time. Commencing with an overview onChinese idioms, the thesis surveys the definition, features and origins of Chineseidioms, especially those with numerals. The author chooses the Chinese four-characteridioms with numerals as the subject, because numerals are frequently used inChinese idioms and they usually have complicated meanings. According to thediverse references of the numerals, the thesis classifies Chinese idioms with numeralsinto two types: numerals in idioms expressing quantities and numerals in idiomsexpressing categories other than quantities. Meanwhile, the studies on idioms bothwithin China and abroad are concluded in this thesis.Conceptual integration theory, also called conceptual blending theory, is a newlydeveloping branch in cognitive linguistics. The paper offers a succinct introductionand explanation about the theory including its origin and its development, and detailsthe network model of conceptual integration as well as the component parts and vitalrelations. To test the application of conceptual integration theory involved in Chineseidioms with numerals, the author investigates a number of case examples from thecognitive level and explicitly reveals the invisible, unconscious and dynamiccognitive operation in the on-line meaning construction of Chinese idioms withnumerals. The analyses of these examples demonstrate that the meaning constructionprocess of Chinese four-character idioms with numerals can be illustrated by applyingthe conceptual integration theory from the cognitive perspective, and further prove the theory’s mighty explanatory power in terms of cognitive mechanism. Thisthesis, to a large degree, facilitates the comprehension of the Chinese idioms withnumerals and provides a new methodology for the Chinese idiom study.