The Cognitive Motivation Of Whole-part Conceptual Combination

"N+N" compound nouns are very general in Chinese and English language, especially in the Chinese compound nouns,with a very considerable proportion. Cognitive linguistics argues that the language word is the reflection of subjective world on real world.Based on the connection between the whole and the part,this thesis aims to analyze "N+N" compound nouns’semantic in terms of the whole-part relation.In real word,whole and part are opposing sides of contradiction,interrelated and interacted.In Chinese language, the whole-part relation mainly and widely exists in "N+N" compound nouns,which shows language symbols and real word have iconicity.This thesis mainly studys whole-part conceptual blending nouns from four sides. Paper is divided into six parts, and the following is a summary of the main contents of each part.The first chapter is the introduction,including research purpose and significance,research objects and methods, as well as review.In terms of the form of language,the thesis has a deep exploration of the whole-part relation of "N+N" compound nouns,to Verify the iconicity of language and reality,and using semantic grammar and cognitive linguistics,detailedly analyzes whole-part conceptual blending nouns from semantic and syntactic.Cognitive motivations of this high-frequency combination are put forward.The second chapter analyzes the integration of whole and part:"whole+part" and "part+whole".The former’s semantic center points the part while the later’s points the whole.In addition,the thesis compares the expression of whole-part relation between Chinese and English, and expressions in English are more abundant.The third chapter explores semantic features of whole and part,in forms of semantic relation,categorical feature,semantic highlight and semantic structure.The semantic relations of whole-part are objects and components, producers and products, container and contents.The whole-part conceptual blending noun is subordinate level integrated by basic levels referring to the whole and the part and its semantic center is on the right.The fourth chapter analyzes the structural features of whole-part conceptual blending nouns.It is modifier-head construction,and can alonely acts as subject,object, attribute,and the center,having a term of five dominant distribution.Whole-part compound words and part-whole compound words have no much difference in the syntactic distribution.In terms of noun-quantifier Collocation,most whole-part conceptual blending nouns can be collocated with indefinite quantifier,typical quantifier,forming quantifier,and individual quantifier,while hardly be collocated with collective quantifier,measure quantifier and container quantifier.The fifth chapter explains whole-part conceptual blending nouns’cognitive motivation from views of semantic blending mechanisms and thinking difference.The whole-part schema is the conceptual basis of semantic coercion,and cognitive highlight is the medium for the realization of semantic coercion.Different nationalities use different ways to express whole-part relation.The last chapter concludes paper’s main views and some defaults.