전치사 of의 인지론적 의미 연구

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to set up the basic meaning of the preposition of and to analyze how the various meanings of of are cognitively related to the basic meaning. And the meanings of of are compared with other prepositions such as ‘about’ and ‘from’ to find out the similarities and differences among them. A preposition is used with different meanings in different sentences. Non-native speakers try to memorize all the meanings and usages of a preposition, but it is not only difficult but ineffective. According to Langacker(1987), the various meanings of a preposition could be analyzed under the frame work of Cognitive Grammar. This cognitive linguist claims that there is a basic meaning among the meanings of a preposition and that the relations of the meanings are achieved by metaphorical extensions. In this point of view, this paper tried to explain the cognitive meanings of the preposition of and the relations of meanings. The basic meaning of the preposition of indicates the relationship between ‘X’ and ‘Y’ in ‘X of Y’ structure, which is that ‘X’ becomes an intrinsic subpart of ‘Y’. This basic meaning shows that ‘X’ and ‘Y’ are inseparable in the physical and spatial domains. This basic meaning can be extended into other expressions by language user’s recognition of similarities between the basic meaning and new meanings. That is, the concept that ‘X is part of the whole Y’ is applied consistently to the abstract domains via metaphor. The preposition of can represent subjective, objective, appositive, possessive genitives in relation with ‘of-genitives’. The meanings of the preposition of in the abstract domains are divided into two parts. The first part is partitive relations. In partitive relations, the preposition of is used with a function of quantifier, in the measurement with measuring unit and represents belonging, work-author, material, characteristic. The second part is separative relations. In separative relations, the preposition of represents spatial separation, separation in time, origin, source, cause, deprivation. The preposition of is compared with other prepositions, such as about and from and with. In ‘X about Y’, X is scattered around outside of Y. About focuses around Y in ‘X about Y’ while of is concentrated on Y itself in ‘X of Y’. In ‘X from Y’, Y means the starting point. From means change in material and indirect cause while of means immutable material and direct cause. In ‘X with Y’, X and Y are in interactional relation. With represents X and Y are independently separated entities while of does they are inseparable. Studying a preposition through the basic meaning and the applications in various situations enables students to understand the relationship behind the usages of the preposition. The relationship of the meanings is also helpful in comprehending not only prepositions but other words.