A Cognitive Analysis of the Symmetric and Asymmetric Use of UP/DOWN and SHANG/XIA Schemas in English and Chinese
Abstract: UP/DOWN and SHANG/XIA were first used by our ancestors to indicate the height of a physical object. From a cognitive perspective, in UP/DOWN and SHANG/XIA schemas, spatial fields (source domains) often map onto other non-spatial fields (target domains), which allows us to understand non-spatial concepts through spatial concepts, such as quantity, time, social hierarchy, behavior and movements, etc. Generally speaking, the usage of UP/DOWN and SHANG/XIA is symmetric in the process of mapping. However, it is not always symmetric in language practice, but it can also be asymmetric: when UP/SHANG should be used but DOWN/XIA should not, and vice versa. Mostly from a linguistic viewpoint, this dissertation tries to focus on a cognitive analysis of its symmetric and asymmetric use of UP/DOWN and SHANG/XIA schemas in the course of mapping and the reasons why this phenomenon occurs in order to give a more in-depth understanding of these pairs of spatial words by providing abundant examples both in English and Chinese.
Key words: source domain, target domain, mapping, cognition, symmetry, asymmetry
中英文上下使用和上下图解对称与非对称的认知分析
摘 要 “UP/DOWN” 和“上/下”最初是用来形容物体高度的方位词。从认知角度看，在“UP/DOWN”和“上/下”图式中，空间领域（始源域）常常映射到其它非空间领域（目标域），使得我们可以通过空间概念来理解非空间概念，如表示数量、时间、社会等级和动作行为等概念。一般来说，“UP/DOWN”和“上/下”在映射的过程中，它们的用法是对称的。然而，在实际运用中，UP/DOWN 和“上/下”的用法并不总是对称的：有些情况只能用“UP”或“上”，有些情况只能用“DOWN”或“下”。本文提供了大量涉及这些方面的英汉例子，从认知角度分析了“UP/DOWN”和“上/下”图式在隐喻映射的过程中表现出来的对称与不对称现象，并主要从语言学的视角来分析其存在的原因，以对空间方位词“UP/DOWN” 和“上/下”有一个更深入的认识和了解。
关 键 词 始源域；目标域；映射；认知；对称；不对称
Contents
Abstract 1
摘 要 1
Introduction 3
2 Literature Review 5
2.1 An Overview of Cognitive Linguistics 5
2.2 The Cognitive Approach to Metaphor 5
2.3 Spatial Metaphors and Image Schemas 7
2.3.1 Spatial Metaphors 7
2.3.2 Image Schemas 8
3. UP/DOWN and SHANG/XIA Schemas 8
3.1 The Definition of UP/DOWN and SHANG/XIA 8
3.2 Symmetric Use of UP/DOWN and SHANG/XIA Schemas 9
3.2.1 QUANTITY 12
3.2.2 SOCIAL HIERARCHY 14
3.2.3 STATE/BEHAVIOR 15
3.2.4 TIME 18
3.3 Asymmetric Use of UP/DOWN and SHANG/XIA Schemas 21
3.3.1 Natural Phenomena 22
3.3.2 Social Hierarchy 23
3.3.3 State/Behavior 26
4 Conclusion 28
References 29
Acknowledgements 31
