A Study Of English Emphatic Constructions From The Perspective Of Conceptual Metaphor And Cognitive Grammar

The use of emphatic scheme is one of the ways to express thoughts and feelings effectively.In communication,in order to express ideas more vividly,accurately and persuasively,and to help readers or listeners understand conceptions and information more straightforwardly and fully,it is necessary to highlight important parts with certain methods.For the purpose of emphasis,there are various emphatic constructions in nearly any language around the world.In previous studies,many scholars at home and abroad have provided various definitions and carried out different analyses of certain English emphatic constructions.However,the study of English emphatic constructions is still insufficient.Firstly,the previous studies have focused too much attention on form,neglecting the relationship between form and meaning.Secondly,many of the studies have been conducted from the perspective of traditional grammar,semantics and pragmatics,paying little or no attention to the experientialist basis in the study of emphatic constructions.As a result,certain aspects have rarely been involved in previous studies.This thesis,in keeping with the continuous development of cognitive linguistics,endeavors to apply two essential theories,namely the Conceptual Metaphor Theory proposed by Lakoff and Johnson and Cognitive Grammar developed by Langacker,to the study of English emphatic constructions in an attempt to answer the following two research questions:1.What is the experiential basis of the EMPHASIS IS REPETITON metaphor?2.How is the EMPHASIS IS REPETITON metaphor cognitively reflected in English emphatic constructions?In order to make the analysis valid and revealing,necessary data are collected from many different sources such as British National Corpus(BNC),Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary(8th)and many domestic and foreign English dictionaries and grammar books.Then these data are analyzed and classifiedaccording to the different emphatic devices used in them.Taking the Conceptual Metaphor Theory as the guiding framework and Cognitive Grammar as the descriptive framework respectively,the present study has made the following findings: firstly,the EMPHASIS IS REPETITON metaphor has sufficient experiential basis in human daily life and therefore is a basic way of human thinking.Secondly,the EMPHASIS IS REPETITON metaphor is reflected cognitively in human language,for example in the English emphatic constructions.Thirdly,from the perspective of Cognitive Grammar,especially its claims on elaboration and iconicity,it can be found out that different types of English emphatic constructions commonly reflect the EMPHASIS IS REPETITION metaphor,namely through the repetition of a particular component structure in an expression to achieve the purpose of emphasis.Fourthly,the application of the EMPHASIS IS REPETITON metaphor has provided a new and distinct analytical approach to the interpretation of English emphatic constructions.