FOREIGN-INSPIRED CHINESE TERMS: A Cognitive Semantic Approach
Author: | Li, Suogui |
Year: | 2012 |
Pages: | 252 |
ISBN: | 0-7734-2620-5 978-0-7734-2620-7 |
Price: | $199.95 + shipping |
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This book aims to classify the word production of foreign-inspired Chinese terms (FICT), within the language system of modern Chinese according to principles of cognitive semantics. FICT refers to a group of vocabulary items in Chinese that are formed and motivated by foreign entities or concepts. These words are designated by some foreign words, but no established foreign elements are in fact transferred from the donor language. Cognitive semantics, the approach adopted by this book, is the study of the mind and its relationship with embodied experience and culture.
The book establishes a group of terms identified as a particular category of borrowed Chinese words according to the motivation of word production, concerning human bodily perception and cognitive experience of foreign entities or concepts. These words can be categorized into five types: phonic loans, loan blends, graphic loan and FICT, based on the motivation of sound, form and meaning of foreign words, and sensory perception and cognition of foreign entities or concepts.
Employing language as a key methodological tool for uncovering conceptual organization and structure in human mind and thought, the author of this book explores the methods of FICT word production, such as sensory perceptual and metaphorical production in terms of principles of cognitive semantics within the Chinese language system. The various types of borrowed Chinese words are analyzed in terms of the theory and categorization, and FICT in particular are examined within the semantic model proposed here. The hypothesis of this book is to create a new approach to the investigation of Chinese loan words and the process of FICT word production within cognitive semantics.
Reviews
“… it proves to be a very useful tool for providing productive insight into the field of Chinese linguistics. It is no mean achievement to be able to explain so clearly, and to demonstrate so convincingly, the validity and usefulness of this very demanding approach.” – Prof. Leonard E. Doucette, University of Toronto
“This is a new attempt to investigate Chinese borrowings in scholarship, and its method will be a forerunner of loan words in linguistic study.” – Prof. Guangming Zhang, Peking University
Table of Contents
Foreword
Author’s Preface
Chapter 1: Introduction
Introduction
Foreign-Inspired Words Chinese Terms and other Borrowings
The Cognitive Approach
Data and Methodology
Significance of the Study
Organization of the Study
Chapter 2: Review of the Recent Literature
Introduction
Terminology of Chinese Borrowings
Meaning of Chinese Terminology
Intention and Extension
The User and Place of Usage
The Historical Evolution of Terminology
Classification of Chinese Borrowings
Native Scholar’s Classification
Non-Native Scholar’s Classification
New Classifications
Relevant Publications
Early Research Clue for Foreign-Inspired Words Chinese Terms
Some Dictionaries of Loan Words
Chapter 3: Theoretical Basis and Methodology
Introduction
Cognitive Semantic Approach
Assumptions
Methods of Data Collection
Observation
Secondary Data
Methods of Data Analysis
Categorization
Embodied Experiences
Image Schemas
Mapping
Chapter 4: Categorization of Chinese Borrowings
Introduction
Conceptual and Linguistic Categories
Prototype Theory
Principles of Categorization
Typicality of Categories of Chinese Borrowings
Fuzziness of Categories of Chinese Borrowings
Abstraction of Chinese Borrowings
Prototype Structure of Chinese Borrowings
Prototype Effects
Encyclopedic View of Chinese Borrowings
Levels of Categorization of Borrowings
Basic Categories of Borrowings
Basic Category Vocabulary
Chapter 5: Motivation and a Semantic Model of Foreign-Inspired Chinese Terms
Introduction
Motivation of Borrowings
Morpheme and Model of Compunds
Indigenous and Foreign Morphemes
Simple Words and Compounds
Inner Form of Words
Compound Model
Model of Foreign-Inspired Chinese Terms
Categorization in the FICT Model
Generic Category
Perceptual Salience
Family Resemblances
Distinctive Properties
Categories of Foreign-Inspired Chinese Terms
Chapter 6: Sensory Perceptual Production
Introduction
Cognitive View of Language
Embodiment of Cognition
Principles of Cognitive Semantics
Cognitive Reproduction and Production
Sensory Perceptual Production
Sensory-Perceptual Systems
Visual Foreign-Inspired Chinese Terms
Color
Shape
Shape-Color
Haptic Foreign-Inspired Chinese Terms
Auditory Foreign-Inspired Chinese Terms
Olfactory Foreign-Inspired Chinese Terms
Flavor Foreign-Inspired Chinese Terms
Sensorimotor Foreign-Inspired Chinese Terms
Chapter 7: Metaphorical Production
Introduction
Relevant Concept of Metaphors for Foreign-Inspired Chinese Terms
Literal and Figurative Language
Domains
Mappings
Resemblance
Image Metaphors
Metaphorical Production
Orientational Metaphors
Image Metaphors
Conceptual Metaphor
Chapter 8: Conclusion
Introduction
Categorization of Chinese Borrowings
Cognitive Treatments of FICT
Implications and Directions
Bibliography
Appendix
Index
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