英语身体器官名词Head动词化的认知机制研究：基于物性结构与概念整合理论

A Cognitive Study on the Verbalization of the English Body-Part Noun Head: Based on Qualia Structure and Conceptual Blending Theory

摘要: 名词向动词的转类是英语中常见的一种构词法，其中身体器官名词的动词化因其高度的语义扩展性备受关注。以Head为代表的器官名词，其动词义涵盖“结球”“发源”“朝向前进”“率领”“领先”“装上前端部件”等多种语义，呈现出显著的多义性和抽象性。基于物性结构理论与概念整合理论，本文从认知语义学角度系统探讨了Head动词化的语义构建机制。研究发现，Head的动词义均可追溯至其物性结构中的关键特征，尤其是“前端性”“功能核心性”等属性；这些属性作为输入空间中的静态结构，在不同事件框架中被选择性激活并投射，从而在整合空间中生成输入空间均不具备的涌现意义。文章表明，身体器官名词的动词化并是涉及多空间信息整合的动态构建过程，充分体现了语言意义生成的建构性与认知性。

Abstract: The conversion of nouns into verbs is a common word-formation process in English, and the verbalization of body-part nouns has drawn particular attention due to its high degree of semantic extensibility. Taking Head as a representative example, its verbal meanings cover a wide range of senses such as “form a head”, “originate”, “move toward”, “lead”, “be ahead”, and “fit a head onto something”, exhibiting remarkable polysemy and abstraction. Drawing on Qualia Structure Theory and Conceptual Blending Theory, this study provides a cognitive-semantic account of the mechanisms underlying the verbal meanings of Head. The findings indicate that all verbal senses of Head can be traced back to its essential qualia features, especially “frontness” and “functional centrality”. These features serve as static structures in Input Space 1 and are selectively activated and projected into different event frames, giving rise to emergent meanings that neither input space independently contains. The study demonstrates that the verbalization of body-part nouns is not a simple semantic extension, but rather a dynamically constructed process involving multi-space integration, reflecting the inherently constructive and cognitively motivated nature of meaning formation in language.