The Explanatory Power of Conceptual Integration Theory for English Proverbs

Yongxiang YANG

Abstract


English proverbs are the crystallization of westerners’ wisdom and the accumulation of western culture. They have been essential windows for us to know western cultures. With the development of cognitive linguistics, Gilles Fauconnier put forward the conceptual integration theory based on mental space theory. The new theory has a whole system of operating mechanism. This is a tentative study that focuses on analyzing the meaning construction and cognitive mechanism of understanding English proverbs through conceptual integration theory. It attempts to prove the mighty explanatory power of conceptual integration theory for English proverbs and also make contributions to English proverbs study.


Keywords


Conceptual integration theory; English proverb; Explanatory power

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/n

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