An Iconic Study On The Ordering Of Multi-Premodifiers In English Noun Phrases

Nominal constructions, a common linguistic phenomenon in English, are inevitable in English expression. It is unavoidable to use modifiers in order to express a more concrete and accurate noun phrase. Therefore, the ordering of multi-premodifiers in a nominal construction becomes an issue explored and discussed by numerous scholars. Previous studies approach the issue from various aspects and linguistic fields such as syntactic approach, semantic approach, functional approach, and cognitive approach. However, those study fail to explore the problem in terms of iconicity systematically, so further research possibility is available.Iconicity, as a major concept and principle in cognitive linguistics, which challenges the principle that language is arbitrary, studies the similarity between linguistic form or structure and the concept or conceptual structure it represents. It can be taken as a kind of analysis and study of language phenomena from a microscopic perspective. The form, length, complexity, or interrelationship of elements in a linguistic representation reflects the form, length, complexity, or interrelationship of elements in concept, experience, or communicative strategy the representation encodes. Linguistic form is a reflection of cognition and experience. The thesis analyzes the ordering of English multi-premodifiers and its cognitive process in terms of principle of iconicity. And the study reaches the following conclusions:1) The order of multi-premodifiers corresponds to the conceptual distance between the premodifiers and the head noun. In this sense, proximity iconicity. to a large extent, determines the ordering of multi-premodifiers in English noun phrases.2) The ordering of multi-premodifiers in a noun phrase follows spatiotemporal order, and is influenced by human thinking ways and mental viewpoints, as well as cultural ideas. In this way. it follows the principle of sequence iconicity.3) Since the ordering of multi-premodifiers is governed by principles of iconicity, and follows the principle that the smaller the conceptual distance, the smaller the formal distance, the thesis analyzes its cognitive processing. And finally, the properties of iconicity in the ordering of multi-premodifiers are concluded.It is expected that the study can help the recognition and understanding of English learners about the issue and thus the English learners can master the language point based on understanding rather than learning by rote. It is also expected that the study can contribute to English teaching. In other words, approached from iconicity. the ways of language analysis and language learning and application will be easier and more effective.