Cognitive Semantic Analysis Of Chinese Olfactory Adjective "Xiang(?)"

Metaphor has long been regarded as a language phenomenon,a rhetorical device.Since Lakoff & Johnson published Metaphors We Live by in 1987,the study of metaphor has become a hot topic.They affirm that metaphor is not merely a language phenomenon,but a significant way of thinking and action pervasive in everyday life.Without metaphor,mankind cannot think and survive.The order of human cognition is from concrete to abstract,from simple to intricate.Human body is the starting point for mankind to make acquaintance with the outside world.The studies on human body words are conducive to make a full comprehension of human thought patterns.The five basic human sense-words(sight,sound,smell,taste,touch)are indispensable means for human beings to cognize the outside world,therefore,they are of strong research value.In existing studies,research on human body words has largely been carried out within sight,taste and touch words,while the studies on olfactory words and sound words are relatively inadequate.There are a few studies mainly focusing on olfactory nouns and olfactory verbs.However,little attention has been devoted to Chinese olfactory adjectives which leaves us space to have a further investigation.Taking examples as the data from the sub-corpus containing Chinese olfactory adjective �xiang(?)� in the literature area of Beijing Language and Culture University Corpus Center,namely BCC Corpus,this thesis attempts to analyze the semantic extension of �xiang(?)� from the perspective of Cognitive Linguistics so as to reveal human thought patterns involved.The results show that all meanings of �xiang(?)� do not exist in isolation but connect with each other via metaphorical thought or metonymic thought.Our analysis reveals that:(1)�xiang(?)� involves one literal meaning and fourteen extended meanings;the literal meaning �pleasant smell� is the prototypical meaning and all extended meanings are derived from literal meaning in the way of chain or radiation.The semantics extended in the way of chain are �offspring�,�item handed down from generation to generation�,�giving gifts when asking for help�,�effort at ordinary times�,�erotic� and �tempting�;while the semantics extended in the way of radiation are �incense�,�sound sleep�,�pertinent to women directly�,�popular�,�appetitive�,�delicious�,�good item� and �luxurious�.(2)The frequency of those semantics extended in the way of radiation from high to low can be shown as: pleasant smell(82.19%)> incense(10.03%)> sound sleep(2.43%)> pertinent to women directly(1.21%)> popular(0.68%)> appetitive(0.66%)> delicious(0.62%)> good item(0.33%)> luxurious(0.09%).The referents of the first four semantics with relatively high frequency can be smelt or felt physically;while,the referents of the other five semantics with low frequency,except �delicious�,cannot be smelt or felt physically.Furthermore,the referents of semantics extended in the form of chain,except �erotic�,cannot be smelt or felt physically,either.Among those semantics,except �offspring�(1.03%),the other semantics are low in frequency,such as �item handed down from generation to generation�(0.06%),�giving gifts when asking for help�(0.14%),�effort at ordinary times�(0.07%),�erotic�(0.30%)and �tempting�(0.16%).Consequently,the conclusion can be drawn that the more concrete the interaction is,and the more specific the perception is,the higher the frequency is;the less concrete the interaction is,and the less specific the perception is,the lower the frequency is.(3)Semantics pertinent to physical perception directly or indirectly are the consequence of the combination of metonymic thought and metaphorical thought;while semantics without direct or indirect connection with physical perception solely pertain to metaphorical thought.(4)Metaphorical thought plays a more indispensable role during the process of the semantic extension of Chinese smell adjective �xiang(?)�.This thesis holds the view that the nature of language can be better understood by means of in-depth analysis of smell adjectives which contributes to cognize human thought patterns.