The Subjectivity In Oxymoron

As a particular rhetorical device, oxymoron generates from ancient Greek."Oxus" refers to "sharp" or "pointed" and "moros" means "dull, stupid and foolish". Apparently, the word is composed of two Greek roots of opposite meanings, which literally means a "sharp dullness" or "pointed foolishness". It is a figure of speech, interpreted as words or expressions that are fallacious or foolish but profoundly true and impressive after deeper analysis with context.Previous studies of oxymoron concentrate on its rhetorical effects and pragmatic functions. In1980s, scholars apply the "componential analysis" to analyze oxymoron. The two principles,"erasure" and "replacement", are used to explore the semantic components of the oxymoron. With the application of the cognitive linguistics, the cognitive approach—conceptual integration theory (CIT) provides a new way to analyze oxymoron. The concrete context is the focal point for analyzing the oxymoron, which would bring a number of other factors into consideration.This thesis combines the cognitive theories concerning subjectivity and oxymoron, providing a new way to strengthen the study of oxymoron. By the employment of the four aspects of imagery within the subjectivity—selection, perspective, salience, and specificity—proposed by Langacker, this paper examines various oxymora in different scenes, in order to highlight the understanding of the subjectivity of oxymoron. Besides. it attempts to analyze the phenomena of oxymoron in virtue of the large subjective quantity and the small subjective quantity. It demonstrates that the subjectivity is applicable and contributory to the study of oxymoron. Meanwhile, studying the subjectivity and subjective quality of the oxymoron could verify and replenish the application of the subjectivity theory.The present paper consists of five chapters. Chapter One briefly presents the background study on oxymoron. Chapter Two surveys the definition and classifications of oxymoron and its rhetorical effects. In addition, the significant research on the field would be reviewed. Chapter Three introduces the theoretical framework of the study, especially Langacker’s theory about subjectivity which is the major theory employed in this paper. Chapter Four would explain the deep mechanism of oxymoron within the four aspects:specificity, perspective, selection, and salience. Besides, the present paper would introduce the conception of subjective quantity and attempt to analyze the subjective quantity of oxymoron. Chapter Five is the conclusion part, which summaries the conclusion of the study, and explores the limitations and implications of the research.