Metaphorical And Metonymical Analysis Of "Sea" From The Perspective Of Cognitive Linguistics

According to cognitive linguistics,metaphor and metonymy are always there in our daily lives.Recent studies have shown that metaphor and metonymy are strong tools for people to recognize and express abstract concepts.Besides,they are cognitive mechanisms based on human physical experiences.Traditional linguistics,however,holds the view that metaphor and metonymy are just means of rhetoric,and they are usually the research subjects of rhetoric,literature and stylistics.Based on such concepts of cognitive linguistics as cognitive metaphor,cognitive metonymy,schemas,and figure-ground,the author treats the concept “sea” in Hemingway's novel The Old Man and the Sea as the only source domain of her research,trying to revel its meanings metaphorically and metonymically.“Sea” is a vital concept in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea and runs through the whole novel.In order to find out all the “sea” descriptions,the application AntConc 3.5.7 is used,after which the categorization of those into literal and non-literal is of importance.Most importantly,this thesis aims to explain “sea” from the perspective of cognitive linguistics.What's more,the cognitive linguistics' explanation of the concept “sea” is related to Hemingway's life,the geographical conditions and culture of Hemingway's hometown and home country.The author of this thesis has found that from the perspective of metaphor,the same source domain “sea” can represent different abstract concepts,such as kindness,cruelty,brightness,female power,tolerance and generosity.At the same time,in the light of metonymy,“sea” can stand for sea fish,the smell of the salty waters,the direction of the sea whirl and sound of the sea waves.Analysis of features and functions of “sea” from the perspective of metaphor and metonymy shows metaphor and metonymy are rooted in human history and culture.What's more,promoting the plot of the novel and initiating readers' reflections may be functions of metaphor and metonymy of “sea” in the novel.The shared physical experiences and psychological experiences are the basis of metaphor and metonymy.The daily communications are filled with plenty of metaphors and metonymies.Besides,in literary works there are also a lot of metaphors and metonymies,which can enrich literary the writing,spread culture and be thought-provoking.As a result,how to understand metaphor and metonymy inliterary works and explore their implications and functions are worth study.