Abstract

China’s access to the Internet was one of the most important things in 1994. Since then, China stepped into brand new times which are the times of Internet. In the same time, network language which relies on the Internet also sprung up like mushrooms. Although the Internet merely has a short history in China, network language has developed with an amazing speed. Social dialects are a kind of language used by a particular kind of people as a communication tool. Network language belongs to one of the new social dialects which are used by netizens to communicate on the Internet. In the virtual world, people express themselves differently from the real life. However, in essence, there is not so much difference between network language and the language in real life. Network language is a mixture of numbers, symbols and characters. Some expression wrong in reality is acceptable in the Internet. Netspeak is the production of social development. This paper makes an attempt to apply cognitive linguistics theories to netspeak analysis, especially Conceptual Blending Theory which is based on Mental Space theory. The writer is meant to help deepen the understanding of netspeak. The thesis would provide reference for other researches on the analysis of Chinese netspeak.

Key words: Conceptual Blending; Netspeak; Mental Space

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-2

2.1 Foreign researches on Conceptual Blending Theory and netspeak-2

2.2 Domestic researches on Conceptual Blending Theory and netspeak-2

3. Features of Chinese Netspeak-3

3.1 Novelty-4

3.2 Simplicity-5

3.3 Humor-5

3.4 Flexibility-6

4. Netspeak Analysis Based on Conceptual Blending Theory-6

4.1 Introduction to Conceptual Blending Theory-6

4.2 Application of CBT to the analysis of netspeak.-8

5. Conclusion-10

5.1 Major findings of the study-10

5.2 Limitations of the study and suggestions for future study-11

Works Cited-12