论隐喻构式及其功能

On Metaphor Construction and Its Functions

传统修辞学和认知语言学视角下的隐喻研究在隐喻研究史上最具影响力。传统修辞学将隐喻看作增强语言表达效果的修辞手段,存在于词汇语法层面;认知语言学则认为隐喻是人们认知世界的一种思维方式,存在于概念认知层面。本研究突破二者的藩篱,综合它们对隐喻的理解,提出并论证语言层面的隐喻表达是形式与意义的匹配体,是一种复杂的构式(即隐喻构式)。在形式层面上,隐喻构式通常由两个词汇语法单位来体现本体和喻体;在意义层面上,隐喻构式的语义来源于对概念认知层面概念之间相似性的概念化,通过喻体的语义特征来体现本体语义。在实际语言使用中,隐喻构式具有概念语义功能、人际修辞功能和语篇构建功能。

Metaphor studies from the perspectives of rhetoric and cognitive linguistics are the two most influential ones throughout the history of metaphor research.Metaphor is regarded as a rhetorical means from the perspective of traditional rhetoric to enhance the effect of language expression,which exists at the lexico-grammatical level.From the perspective of cognitive linguistics,metaphor is viewed as a way of thinking for people to perceive the world,which exists at the conceptual and cognitive level.To break through the barriers of the two perspectives,this study,synthesizing their understanding of metaphor,proposes and demonstrates that the metaphorical expression is the linguistic form-meaning pairing,henceforth a complex construction(i.e.the metaphor construction).At the stratum of form,the vehicle and the tenor of the metaphor construction are usually realized by two lexicogrammatical units;at the stratum of meaning,the meaning of the metaphor construction comes from the conceptualization of the similarities between the involved concepts,in which the semantic features of the tenor are represented by those of the vehicle.In practical language use,the metaphor construction serves the function of expressing concepts and meanings,the interpersonal and rhetorical function,and the function of discourse construction.