On the Contiguity of Metonymy:From Space to Concept
As the core element of metonymy,contiguity is not only the basis for the realization of metonymic expression,but also the key to understanding the connotation of metonymy.Contiguity has gone through a development from spatial contiguity to semantic contiguity,and further to conceptual proximity.Traditionally,contiguity is understood as the spatial relationship between objects in the real world,the semantic contiguity perspective points out that metonymy manifests itself as a contiguous meaning relationship that exists between two words,and modern cognitive linguistics extends it to the conceptual level,arguing that metonymy involves contiguity relationships between entities within the conceptual domain.Finally,the article elaborates three conceptual contiguity-based views of metonymy,namely,domain mapping,domain salience,and active zone metonymy,all of which emphasize that metonymy is a process of mental activation through conceptual contiguity within the same cognitive domain or framework.By sorting out the developmental history of contiguity,this paper reveals the essential characteristics of metonymy as a universal cognitive activity,and provides theoretical support for the further depth of metonymy research.
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