Meanings of the English prepositions over, above, under, below" in terms of cognitive semantics perspective

• Main Author: Nguyễn, Tuyết Nhung
• Other Authors: Hà, Cẩm Tâm
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: ĐHNN 2017
• Subjects: Giới từ; Tiếng Anh; Ngữ nghĩa học tri nhận; Ngữ pháp
• Online Access: http://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/VNU_123/40030
• Institution: Vietnam National University, Hanoi

The thesis studies meanings of four vertical prepositions above, over, below, and under to find out their similarities and differences. Data for analysis were collected from four famous literary works. The collected data then were grouped and analyzed using image schemas (in analyzing spatial senses) and metaphorical structures (in analyzing metaphorical expressions or non-spatial senses). The result show that although the four prepositions are described through the UP-DOWN schema but the characteristics of the TR and the LM are different. These differences cause different spatial senses and metaphorical uses of the prepositions. They also cause the differences in the use of synonyms. At the end of the thesis, some suggestions for teaching semantics are also included.