A Study of English Zeugma Based on the Baseline/Elaboration Theory

Abstract

This paper explores the cognitive mechanisms behind the generation of English zeugma, based on Langackers Baseline/Elaboration (B/E) Theory, aiming to provide a new perspective for zeugma research. In zeugma, the conventional collocation serves as the baseline,
providing a cognitive framework for the unconventional collocation. Conversely, the unconventional collocation triggers semantic conflicts,
prompting readers to perform elaboration operations and construct meanings. The baseline establishes a cognitive foundation for understanding zeugma by providing a known syntactic structure, semantic framework, and pragmatic expectations. Subsequently, elaboration operations
such as metaphor mapping, conceptual blending, and construction coercion are employed to expand, adjust, or even reconstruct the baseline,
thereby resolving the semantic conflict arising from the unconventional collocation.