Analysis On Metaphor Of Chinese Sign Language Verbs From The Perspective Of Sign Word-formation And Sentences

Based on the theory of cognitive semantics and cognitive lexicology,this paper uses fieldwork and word list and topics to collect sign language video data.This paper analyzes the metaphorical mechanism in sign word formation and sentences in discourses of deaf people.This paper focuses on two types of verbs,namely,mental activities and speech communication.We present these sign language verbs in the form of word list to objects,and at the same time,investigators ask some elicited questions around the verbs,thus we will collect more data the research may need.Through the analysis of the collected sign language verbs,it is found that deaf people often use specific actions,space and location to form abstract verbs.These specific actions,space and location,as a image schema,map their features to abstract verbs which they want to express.In the formation of these abstract verbs,there are at least one morpheme that does not express its original meaning.This morpheme maps the characteristics of its original meaning to the abstract concept,forming the metaphorical meaning.Finally,the metaphorical meaning participates in the sign word formation,thus,there is metaphorical mechanism at the morpheme level of sign verbs in the word formation.Through the discourse data collected from the elicited topics,this paper finds that the verb metaphor in cognitive semantics is to interpret how metaphor,from the semantic level of the sentence,describes and understand another abstract concept with the help of a concrete concept.Taking the collocation conflicts formed between the verb conceptual domain and noun conceptual domain as a clue,this paper analyses the intention of conflicts designed by signers,we find that the two conceptual domains are incongruous in semantics,but there is harmony in pragmatics.This collocation of conflict and harmony needs to be construed by metaphor of verb.Deaf people often use specific concepts to express abstract concepts and this mapping between two concept domains generate verb metaphor with semantic conflicts at the sentential level.This paper analyzes how deaf people formulate the abstract concepts in sign word formation and sentences via metaphor,and finally proves that metaphorical mechanism is often used in the deaf people's daily communication,and metaphor is an important tool for deaf people to describe and experience the real world.