The Application of Conceptual Metaphor Theory in English Polysemy Teaching

刘璨

【Abstract】Conceptual Metaphor Theory advanced by Lakoff and Johnson is a systematic and complete theory of metaphor.This paper discusses some methods to apply the Conceptual Metaphor Theory to English polysemy teaching.

【Key words】Conceptual Metaphor Theory； English Polysemy Teaching

1.Introduction

Metaphor， as a basic part of life， has passed through our daily life.Richards thought that “every three utterances contain at least one metaphor.”[1] ， and it was first developed in a coherent and systematic way by Lakoff and Johnson in 1980 in their work Metaphors We Live By.[2]

2.The Application in English Polysemy Teaching

Polysemy is common in almost every language.Conceptual Metaphor Theory thinks that most of the polysemous words are not created at random， they are organized due to the metaphorical usage of language， thinking and cognition.For example， the word ‘face generally has nine meanings：“Face” has the prototype meaning of “the front of the head”， by mapping the familiar characteristics to abstract unfamiliar domains， the relevant secondary meanings are generated.

So， in vocabulary teaching， if the teacher explains metaphorical connections between the different meanings， students may get a better understanding of the word and store it in the long-term memory.Given below is an illustration on how the polysemy can be understood by means of conceptual metaphor.

2.1 English phrasal verbs

English phrasal verbs are quite difficult for students to grasp for that the same phrasal verbs may have different meanings， or different verbs followed by the same adverbs may be similar in meaning.According to Linders statistics （1981）， there are more than six hundred verbs forming their meaning by means of in/out/up/down relationships and that among them exist a large amount of metaphorization[3] .Now well use “up - down” as an example.

“UP - DOWN” is a pair of conceptual metaphor based on vertical spatial orientation.It is mapped from spatial domain to different target domains.The conceptual metaphor can be illustrated bellow.[4]

（1） HAPPY IS UP； SAD IS DOWN

（2） HEALTH AND LIFE ARE UP； SICKNESS AND DEATH ARE DOWN

（3） PROPER IS UP； IMPROPER IS DOWN

（4） HIGH STATUS IS UP； LOW STATUS SI DOWN

（5） VIRTUE IS UP； DEPRAVITY IS DOWN

（6） HAVING CONTROL，INLFUENCE AND POWER IS UP； BEING SUBJECT TO CONTROL，INLFUENCE AND POWER IS DOWN

（7） MORE IS UP； LESS IS DOWN

（8） NORTH IS UP； SOUTH IS DOWN

With these conceptual metaphors， UP/DOWN obtains its new meanings and gradually becomes the polysemy.In the conceptual metaphor （1）， “Up” originally means “to a higher position” in spatial domain as in “stand up”.After transferred to emotional domain， it means “happy” as in “Cheer up！”.“Down” means “sad” in “He brought me down with his remarks”.Such meaning transformation is based on the physical fact and emotional state.When mapped to quantity domain， the conceptual metaphor （7），“up” means “more” as in “My income climbed up.”， while “down” means “less” as in “The sound is dying down”.

As mentioned above， conceptual metaphors denote abstract concepts rather than concrete words so that conceptual metaphors have the great generative power.UP and DOWN can be expressed with many concrete words meaning “up” or “down” such as “rise， high， top， fall， sink， low， bottom， etc.” With the help of conceptual metaphor， phrasal verbs would not be that a headache to students.

3.Conclusion

Polysemy is actually linguistic realization of conceptual metaphorization.Conceptual metaphor theory renders students a new way of cross-domain mapping to analyze， comprehend and memorize polysemous words.What the teacher should do is first help students be aware of the pervasive existence of conceptual metaphors in English and then create opportunities for students to practice analyzing polysemous words by conceptual metaphors.

Reference：

[1]Richards，I.A.The Philosophy of rhetoric[M].New York：Oxford University Press，

[2]Lakoff， G .& M.Johnson.Metaphors We Live By[M].Chicago： The University of Chicago Press.

[3]Lindner， Susan J.A Lexico-Semantic Analysis of English Verb-Particle Constructions with Up and Out.Ph.D.diss.，University of California， San Diego，1981.

[4]任麗丽.UP—DOWN”意象图式的隐喻意义研究[J].语文学刊·外语教育教学，2009（8）.