A Comparative Stydy Of Chinese And English Affective Idioms:a Conceptual Metaphor Approach

This thesis attempts to conduct a comparative study of Chinese and English affective idioms with a conceptual metaphor approach, which is under the framework of Cognitive Linguistics. Traditional views consider affective idioms as "dead metaphors", which were thought to be unmotivated and unanalyzable. Accordingly interpreting affective idioms was almost a mechanical process of learning by rote. The mutual interactions between human emotions and cognition allow no ignorance in studies on affective idioms. Emotional concepts are usually abstract categories, and Conceptual Metaphor Theory within the framework of Cognitive Linguistics regard metaphors as powerful cognitive tools for our conceptualization of abstract categories. Therefore, the present study employs Conceptual Metaphor Theory to find out the similarities and differences between Chinese and English affective idioms.It is believed in Cognitive Linguistics that metaphor is a cognitive phenomenon. It is composed of two parts:the source domain, which is relatively familiar and concrete, and the target domain, which is usually abstract. Metaphor is a cognitive process in which the image schema of the source domain is mapped onto the target domain. This thesis selects from Chinese and English idioms the six types of affective idioms, LOVE, ANGER, SADNESS, HAPPINESS, FEAR and PRIDE. Then a comparative study is conducted from the perspective of Conceptual Metaphor Theory, focusing on the similarities and differences and the reasons behind. This thesis employs the qualitative method and the comparative method. The data source is collected from A Modern Chinese Study Dictionary and A Dictionary of English Idioms.It is revealed from this study that there are more similarities than differences in the conceptualization of the six emotions---LOVE, ANGER, SADNESS, HAPPINESS, FEAR and PRIDE between the two languages. The shared physical and bodily experience, similar physiological and cognitive structures are the fundamental reasons for the similarities. However, differences in religion, living environment, personalities and conventional values give rise to the differences. The present study dives deeper into the understanding of Chinese and English affective idioms, and meanwhile is useful in both affective idiom acquisition as well as translation studies and practice.