A Cognitive Metaphor Study on Love Concepts Constructed by College Freshmen
Based on cognitive metaphor theory,this study explored how Chinese freshmen metaphorically construct the concept of love.73 freshmen in a Chinese University completed the"Love is..."questionnaires.Findings show that Chinese freshmen,who are at an important turning point of life,use age-specific source domains to construct love,like knowledge and entertainment,in ad-dition to common source domains of food,emotional experience and landscapes discussed in relevant literature;besides,most of the source domains are positive words,indicating that freshmen generally hold a positive attitude towards love.The study further uncovers that genders influence the metaphorical construction of love.No significant differences are found in the source domains of food,landscapes,architecture and entertainment of the male and female freshmen,but source domains,such as knowledge,objects,plants,etc.,exhibit significant disparities of the two groups.Moreover,female freshmen use more positive vehicle words,indicating that they are more positive towards love than male freshmen.The study indicates that Chinese freshmen have special metaphorical construction of love,which arises from their unique embodied experience about love in the transition from high school to university.The study provides a valuable reference for university educators to offer appropriate psychological coun-seling and guidance for college freshmen.
college freshmencognitive metaphorlove conceptembodied experiencepositive wordgender
万方数据
维普
