A Cognitive Study On The Semantic Emergent Mechanism Of English Dog Idioms

Following the approaches of cognitive linguistics, this thesis intends to explore the semantic emergent mechanism of English dog idioms with 56 collected English dog idioms from different dictionaries and online resources as data.Firstly, the semantic meanings of word dog in English dog idioms and the relationships among these semantic meanings are analyzed from the perspective of cognitive semantics and categorization; then the semantic emergent mechanism of this kind of idiom is analyzed from metaphonymy and conceptual blending theory. When English dog idiom is non-human related, conceptual metaphtonymy can best demonstrate its semantic connotation; while if the idiom is human related, conceptual blending theory works appropriately in revealing the projecting and integration of concepts in two input spaces. In addition, this thesis puts forward a new understanding of the affective meanings of English dog idioms in practical use.Through both quantitative and qualitative analysis on the collected data, this thesis comes to the following conclusions. 1. Ten semantic meanings of word dog are identified and classified, although they are not evenly distributed in the semantic category. Among the ten semantic meanings, the basic meaning--―image of dog‖ is the most prototypical one, which links other intermediate and periphery ones. 2. In terms of non-human related English dog idioms, metaphtonymy is proved to be the appropriate mechanism of semantic emergence; and for human related dog idioms, conceptual blending theory can be used to elaborate the process of its semantic emergent mechanism through the integration of dog world and human world. 3. Although there are positive and negative semantic meanings of word dog, in practical use, these dog idioms are mostly apt to be used on relatively inferior and humble target, or close friends in informal conversations. It is comparatively a rare case that these kind of idiom is used to address honorable people.This thesis not only exemplifies the mighty power of the organic integration of various approaches of cognitive linguistics, including conceptual metaphor, metonymy and conceptual blending, in exploring and revealing the semantic emergent mechanism of English dog idioms, but also provides a possible referential frame for English learners to interpret these idioms in a comprehensive and plausible manner.