A Study On The Cognitive Characteristics Of Animal Two-part Allegorical Sayings

Chinese xiehouyu or two-part allegorical sayings are a linguistic phenomenon unique to the Chinese language.This special form of idiomatic expressions originates from the everyday life and rich experience of the Chinese working people.Animal xiehouyu are particularly simple yet vivid full of natural wit and charm.Animal xiehouyu are a valuable part of China's rich cultural heritage and have steadily been developed and refined through many centuries to finally become the unique set of vocabulary it is today.However,there's still very little research on xiehouyu in China as well as in the West and even in the field of Chinese language itself.Present literature and data focusses primarily on the origins,connotations,rhetoric and superficial meaning of xiehouyu.As a result,there's a lack of in-depth,systematic and comprehensive research that leaves a lot of room for further studies.In order to promote innovation and sustainable development of Chinese language,we will take up a pragmatic viewpoint drawing on Rosch's prototype theory and other relevant previous research.This paper first explores and analyzes the different types of Chinese animal xiehouyu with their profound meaning and rich cultural background.The results show that animals which can often be encountered around China,animals that have a specific use for Chinese people or animals which are harmful are more commonly found in animal xiehouyu.This paper then turns to the cognitive categories of Han Chinese people and shows that the distinctions are fuzzy when it comes to these cognitive categories as presented in the animal xiehouyu.Some cognitive categories such as fast,slow,strong and weak can be measured objectively while others,such as beautiful,ugly,good and bad are of subjective nature.What's more,these cognitive characteristics are oftentimes influenced by rhetorical function and negatively connoted.Next,this paper takes a look at the different cognitive characteristics present in Chinese animal xiehouyu and English animal words,those differences are mainly caused by a different angle from which the Han people and people in the West look at certain animals as well as inherent cultural differences.Finally,this paper analyzes and demonstrates thesignificance of animal xiehouyu for teaching Chinese as a foreign language,advocating an appropriate use of bilingual and flexible teaching.This will be a valuable contribution towards the preservation and usage of this unique linguistic phenomenon.Moreover,this research bears great significance for promoting and encouraging Chinese culture and Chinese language learning outside of China and for establishing fruitful cross-cultural communication.