Chapter One Introduction
1.1 The Origin and Development of Conceptual Blending Theory
In 1980，Lakoff and Johnson published their masterpiece, Metaphors We Live By,which studied the meaning construction of metaphor from the perspective of thecross-domain mapping mechanism and considered metaphor as a conceptual activitywhich involves systematic structural projection from source domain to target domain.After that, there was a revolution on the study of cognitive linguistics.Following Lakoff and Johnson，American scholars Fauconnier and Turnerproposed mental space theory and presented it in their work; Mental Spaces: Aspectsof Meaning Construction in Natural Language (Fauconnier and Turner, 1985). Theybelieved that they always built up mental spaces which referred to "temporarystructures created during the on-line process of meaning construction" when theythought and talked, and conceptual metaphor was the result of cross-space mappingbetween mental spaces (Evans & Green, 2006: 403).Based on Mental Space Theory，Fauconnier (1997) proposed conceptualblending theory in Mapping in Thought and Language. Conceptual blending theory,introduce a network model with four spaces to illustrate the dynamic construction ofmeaning. Later, Fauconnier perfected and developed the concept blending theory withhis colleague Mark Turner through a series of articles，such as Conceptual IntegrationNetworks (Fauconnier & Turner, 1998a)，Principles of Conceptual Integration(Fauconnier & Turner, 1998b)，Methods and Generalizations (Fauconnier, 2000), andConceptual Blending and Analogy (Fauconnier, 2001), etc.
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1.2 Conceptual Blending and Word Formation
Cognitive linguistics is a branch of linguistics which interprets language in termsof concepts. Conceptual Blending Theory is a milestone in cognitive linguistics. Theessence of conceptual blending theory is a network model which contains four mentalspaces: two input spaces, a generic space and a blended space (Fauconnier, 1997). Thestructures and elements shared by the two input spaces map into the generic space.Based cross-space mapping, structures and elements are selectively projected into thefourth space，the blended space. In the blended space，structures and elements fromthe input spaces are integrated to create an emergent structure by a process ofcomposition，completion and elaboration. Fauconnier and Turner (2002a) furtherdeveloped the blending network into four types including simplex network，mirrornetwork, single-scope network and double-scope network. These four networks havetheir own characteristics and are of great explanatory power in the process of conceptconstruction.Conceptual blending mechanism is dynamic，supple and active at the moment ofthinking so as to construct concepts (Fauconnier & Turner，1998a). Fauconnier(1997:18) suggests that the blending theory is widely applied for that "the generalcognitive principles at work are the same，and they play a key role in thought andlanguage at all levels.”
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Chapter Two Literature Review
2.1 Previous Studies on English Blending Word Formation from Conceptual Blending Perspective
In 2006，Zhou Qiqiang and Bai Jiehong studied the cognitive mechanism ofEnglish blends and published a journal article named The Cognitive Mechanism of theFormation of English Blending Words in Foreign Language Teaching and Research.This journal article focused on the classification of semantic composing andshortening in English blends based upon conceptual blending theory so as to make adetailed research on their cognitive mechanism. Based on the conceptual blendingtheory and different characteristics of semantic relations between two source words oramong more-than-two source words，four basic types of English blends wereproposed; role-and-value type, concept-composition type，concept-variation type andpun-complex type. The semantic synthesis process of role-to-value blending words isessentially to substitute the elements in the input space of values to the correspondingsemantic components in the organizing frame of the framing input space. Conceptcomposition semantic synthesis mechanism of blending words characterized incomposing the concepts of the same category based on their common superiorconcept in the generic space. Concept variation semantic synthesis mechanism ofblending words characterized in asymmetrical and selective projection andunconventional combination of semantic structures. Pun-complex semantic synthesismechanism of blending words involves many input spaces and is the most complex.In the next year, Zhou Qiqiang analyzed the cognitive mechanism of English blendsmore specifically in his doctoral dissertation of English and Chinese Word Formation.
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2.2 Previous Studies on English Compounding Word Formation from Conceptual Blending Perspective
Some other conceptual blending studies on compounding words also implicatethe thesis by classifying words based on the conceptual blending of the sourceconcepts.Liu Zhengguang and Liu Runqing published The Cognitive Mechanisms of N+NConceptual Combination in Journal of Foreign Languages in 2004. In their paper，they believed that a compound noun was actually a product of conceptualcombination and the former noun is usually the modifier while the later noun is oftenthe central word indicating the reference. They summarized the previous studies andclassified semantic relations of conceptual combination nouns into four types;combination type, relation type, feature mapping type and mixing type. In thecombination type，the combination of the two source concepts forms a new conceptwhich still belongs to each source concept. In the relation type, the source conceptsconstitute a complementary relationship around a certain theme. In the featuremapping type, the characteristics of the noun which is the modifier maps to the centralnoun to generate a new concept. In the mixing type，the new concept does not exist inthe source concepts but is a new creation.
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Chapter Three Theoretical Framework and Methodology......... 10
3.1 Theoretical Framework......... 10
3.1.1 Mental Spaces......... 10
3.1.2 Mapping .........11
3.1.3 Network Model of Conceptual Blending .........12
3.1.4 Four Types of Conceptual Integration Network ......... 18
3.2 Methodology .........21
Chapter Four Analysis of the Cognitive Mechanism of English Blending.........23
4.1 Conceptual Blending Network Model for English Blending Word FormationProcess......... 23
4.2 Four Conceptual Blending Networks for English Blending......... 26
4.3 Analysis on the Latest English Blends Based .........35
Chapter Five Conclusion......... 43
5.1 Major Findings .........43
5.2 Implications of the Study......... 44
5.3 Limitations to the Study and Suggestions for Further Research.........45
Chapter Four Analysis of the Cognitive Mechanism of English Blending Word Formation Process from Conceptual Blending Perspective
4.1 Conceptual Blending Network Model for English Blending Word
Blending is widely used in meaning construction in our minds. English blendstake up an important part in English vocabulary. When we see an English blend, weconstantly set up mental spaces based on its source words and activate the blendingwork by mapping, projection and integration to get the meaning of the blending word.In this section，a frequently used English blending “e-book’’ is selected forillustrating the cognitive steps of blending word formation process in the frameworkof conceptual blending theory.As has been mentioned, conceptual blending is operated in a blending network,and it involves a process of building mental spaces, mapping partially across inputspaces，locating the generic space，projecting selectively to a blend，creating theemergent structure (Fauconnier & Turner 2002a). Conceptual blending operates in working memory based on activatingknowledge from long-term memory. According to lingerer and Schmid (2008: 258)，amental space is a conceptual representation based on both the immediate informationand stored cognitive models in our minds. In other words, metal spaces contain notonly the information about the specific situation but also some relative backgroundknowledge. A mental space has a frame that organizes elements and cognitive models.
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Conclusion
The major findings of the research can be summarized as follows:Through analyzing the cognitive mechanism of blending process of "ebook", wecan find that an English blend is gradually formed through the connections betweenthe frames and elements provided by the source words, selective projection of theframes and elements and a process of composition, completion and elaboration so asto create an emergent structure which suggests the semantic meaning of the blendedspace..Our stored knowledge about the source words can help us build up the inputspaces, which can map onto each other by various connections that contribute todetermine the common structure in the generic space. Then the common structures inthe generic space and the elements from the two input space can be selectivelyprojected into the blended space to form an emergent structure，which indicates thesemantic meaning, by the process of composition, completion and elaboration that ishighly creative for the involvement of imagination.Based on the four conceptual blending networks, English blends are classifiedinto four types: simplex blends, mirror blends, single-scope blends and double-scopeblends. Their conceptual blending processes are as follows.
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