隐喻和转喻对语法的影响

Impact of metaphor and metonymy on grammar

隐喻和转喻作为思维方式不仅影响语言的语法(这里指形态句法)形式,也影响语言的语法结构。本文试从跨语言视角证实这一假设,以了解语法结构的认知理据。首先,文章用两个案例分析说明隐喻对语言词汇语法的影响;然后用另外两个案例分析说明转喻在不同语言中使用的程度不尽相同。极端情况是,在一种语言中转喻使用具有高能产性,而在另一种语言中转喻使用则完全受到阻止。最后,文章强调隐喻和转喻的跨语言对比研究具有较高的语言类型学意义。

Metaphor and metonymy, here viewed as modes of thought, have an impact on grammatical, i.e. morphosyntactic, form and structure. In the present article, four case studies are presented to provide support for this hypothesis, in order to better understand cognitive motivations of grammatical structure of language. Specifically, the first two case studies are used to illustrate the impact of metaphor on lexieo-grammar and the last two show that metonymies are exploited to varying degrees in different languages. In extreme cases, a metonymy that is productive in one language may be completely blocked in another. Finally, the author emphasizes the significance of cross-linguistic comparisons between metaphor and metonymy for language typology.