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Analysis of the Metaphorical Utterances in Friends Based on Relevance Blending Model

Author: WangHui
Tutor: LiuMengLan
School: Northeast Forestry University
Course: English Language and Literature
Keywords: metaphor cognition Relevance Blending Theory Friends pragmatic functions
CLC: H313
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2008
Downloads: 408
Quote: 3
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Abstract

Metaphor is not merely a figure of speech in rhetoric regarded as traditionally,but a way of thinking and a powerful cognitive instrument for our conceptualization of abstract categories. Today more and more scholars pay attention to metaphor cognition and working mechanism.The thesis is to explore an ideal cognitive model-Relevance Blending Model.The model is used to analyze the metaphorical utterances and explain the working mechanism of metaphor cognition.Some metaphorical utterances are taken from Friends for example.Basing on the understanding of metaphorical utterances in Friends,the author classify the pragmatic functions intoThe thesis is divided into five parts.First,a brief introduction of metaphor studies is introduced.The part also provides the aim of this thesis for reader.The aim of the thesis is to explore the working mechanism and functions of metaphor in communication.The paper involves analyzing the limitation of metaphor’s cognition and then doing a research of a relative rational cognitive model which can ideally recognize metaphor in our life.In the second part,this thesis gives the definition of metaphor from the perspectives of traditional rhetorical view,pragmatic view and cognitive view,etc.;the literature review about metaphor studies is taken in this part.It mainly includes traditional comparison theory, metaphor interaction theory,metaphor pragmatic theory and metaphor cognitive theory.The author offers a detailed expatiation about each theory’s view to metaphor and theirs cognitive mechanism.It indicates the important position and significant of the four theories to metaphor study.The third part,the thesis makes an analysis about the limitation and disadvantages of above theory in metaphor cognition.Based on conceptual blending theory(CBT) and relevance theory(RT),this paper discusses a hybrid model,i.e.the relevance-blending model(RBM) for metaphor interpretation.The writer argues that metaphor is not merely a set of mappings between a source domain and a target domain,rather,it is an on-line relevance-blending process which involves mappings among multiple mental spaces within proper cognitive contexts.The use of metaphor is to search for optimal relevance and thus improve one’s cognitive environments.This model can better explicate the comprehension and motivation of metaphor.The fourth part,the author analyzes the metaphorical utterances in Friends based on Relevance Blending Theory.According to different pragmatic functions of metaphorical utterances,the author divided it into different categories which include humorous function, polite function,persuade function,explanation function and evaluation function. Part five is a conclusion,which underlines the central theme and significant of this research.The author put out the limitation of this thesis and gives some suggestions for further developing direction.

Analysis of the Metaphorical Utterances in Friends Based on Relevance Blending Model

Abstract

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