文化何以颠覆：基于“图形–背景”理论对“X媛”社会语义变化的认知语言学分析
How Culture Is Subverted: A Cognitive Linguistic Analysis of the Social Semantic Change of “X Yuan” Based on the “Figure-Ground” Theory

在中国传统文化中，“媛”具有美好、典雅、高贵的意象图式。然而，随着近年网红经济的异质发展，“媛”的相关语言表达呈现出了负面意向，其认知层面上的意义解构与重构亟待进行。本文在对“X媛”类网络新词中“X”的功能分析和语义分析的基础上，运用认知语言学中的“图形–背景”理论以分析其概念义、感情义，基于目前“媛”字语义的污名化现象，着重分析该类词感情义的转变及解释其产生的认知机制，从语言模因的驱动、网红流量经济带来的偏见和网络媒介的推动作用三个方面探寻这类词流行的原因。本研究不仅有助于深入理解“媛”字在当下社会文化语境中的意义变迁，而且为语言变迁与社会文化发展的互动关系提供了实证案例。同时，通过解析“X媛”类网络新词的认知机制与流行原因，揭示了语言模因、网红经济及网络媒介对现代汉语词汇演变的重要影响。
In traditional Chinese culture, “Yuan” carries the imagery schema of beauty, elegance, and nobility. However, with the heterogeneous development of the internet celebrity economy in recent years, the relevant linguistic expressions of “Yuan” have exhibited negative intentions, necessitating the deconstruction and reconstruction of its cognitive meaning. Based on the functional and semantic analysis of “X” in the emerging internet term “X Yuan”, this paper utilizes the “Figure-Ground” theory in cognitive linguistics to analyze its conceptual and emotional meanings. Focusing on the stigmatization phenomenon of the current semantic meaning of “Yuan,” this paper emphasizes the analysis of the emotional meaning shift of this type of term and explains the cognitive mechanism behind it. The reasons for the popularity of these terms are explored from three aspects: the driving force of linguistic memes, the bias brought by the internet celebrity economy, and the promotion role of internet media. This study not only helps to deeply understand the meaning change of the word “yuan” in the current social and cultural context, but also provides an empirical case for the interactive relationship between language change and social and cultural development. At the same time, by analyzing the cognitive mechanism and popular reasons of the new Internet vocabulary “X yuan”, it reveals the important influence of language memes, Internet celebrity economy and network media on the evolution of modern Chinese vocabulary.