A Study of Conceptual Metaphors in Political Speeches

By Reyina Mushabieke

In partial fulfillment of the requirement

For the B. A. degree

Department of English

School of Languages and Cultures

Nanjing University of Information Science amp; Technology

June 2017Acknowledgements

First and foremost, heartfelt gratitude is extended to my advisor Professor Wang Hui for her continuous support, patient guidance, and constructive suggestions. From the beginning to the end, she has inspired me a lot in the field of linguistics, especially about metaphor which is fundamental and theoretical knowledge in my study. With the help of my advisor, who has profound knowledge in cognitive linguistics, my confusions have been solved.

As the same time, thanks to other teachers, my dear friends, my parents and several others, they offered me concern and understanding. After the conversation, they not only broaden my horizons but also inspired me.

Finally, thanks are given to my classmates, thanks for their company in three years’ study and life.

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Theoretical Framework 1

2.1 Definition of Metaphor 1

2.2 Conceptual Metaphor 2

2.3 Types of Metaphors 3

2.3.1 Structural Metaphors 4

2.3.2 Orientational Metaphors 4

2.3.3 Ontological Metaphors 5

3. Major Types of Conceptual Metaphors in Political Speeches 5

3.1 War Metaphor 5

3.2 Journey Metaphor 6

3.3 Building Metaphor 7

3.4 Human Metaphor 7

3.5 Others 8

4. The Functions and Features of Metaphors in Political Speeches 9

4.1 The Functions of Metaphors in Political Speeches 9

4.1.1. Deceptive Function 9

4.1.2. Cognitive Function. 9

4.1.3. Constructive Function. 10

4.1.4. Heuristic Function. 11

4.2 The Features of Metaphors In Political Speeches 11

4.2.1. Being Subject To Identity. 11

4.2.2. BeingDeliberately Chosen. 12

4.2.3. Reflecting Ideology. 13

5. Conclusion 14

References 15

A Study of Conceptual Metaphors in Political Speeches

Reyina Mushabieke

Department of English

School of Languages and Cultures

Nanjing University of Information Science amp; Technology

Abstract: Political speech usually includes many metaphors, which have a major impact on the effect of speeches. Based on Lakoff’s Conceptual Metaphor Theory, this paper analyzes the effects of the major types of conceptual metaphors in political speeches: War metaphors, Journey metaphors, Building metaphors, Human metaphors and others like Family metaphors. Through the analysis of typical examples, this paper summarizes the functions of conceptual metaphors in political speech as follows:1) deceptive function; 2)cognition function; 3)construction function; 4) heuristic function. The features of conceptual metaphors in political speech are also analyzed. Finally, this paper puts forward some suggestions to people, asking them to have an awareness of critical thinking.

Key words: critical discourse analysis, ideology, metaphor, conceptual metaphor

摘 要：政治演讲中包含许多隐喻，其中的各类概念隐喻对其效果产生重要影响。本文以Lakoff的概念隐喻理论为基础分析了政治演讲中的主要的概念隐喻类型的作用：战争隐喻、旅程隐喻、建筑隐喻、人类隐喻以及其他概念隐喻（比如家庭隐喻）。通过分析典型的概念隐喻例证，本文概括了概念隐喻在政治演讲中的功能如下：1）欺骗功能2）认知功能3）建构功能4）启发功能。本文还分析了政治演讲中的概念隐喻的特点并建议大众应该提高批判性思维的意识。

关键词：批评话语分析；意识形态；隐喻；概念隐喻理论

1. Introduction

The study of metaphor has a long history. In general, people regard metaphor as an art of rhetoric. In 1980, Lakoff and Johnson published Metaphor We Live By, in which they expounded the role of metaphor in cognitive linguistics. In their point of view, metaphor is a semantic phenomenon, and metaphor reflects the cognitive process. More importantly, they came up with a concept of conceptual metaphor, and classified it into three main types: structural metaphors, orientational metaphors and ontological metaphors.

These three types of conceptual metaphors are widely used in political speech. Metaphors serve for specifically political purposes. And conceptual metaphor clearly explains the process that speakers influence people’s cognition by virtue of conceptual metaphor. Politicians use metaphors in political speeches not only for changeable expression, but also for specifically political expression. Metaphor is an effective way that Politicians communicate with the broad masses of the people. This paper will analyze the effects, functions and features of Conceptual Metaphors in political speeches based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory.

2. Theoretical Framework

2.1 Definition of Metaphor

In general, people regard metaphor as an art of rhetoric. According to Collins Dictionary, “a metaphor is an imaginative way of describing something by referring to something else which is the same in a particular way. For example, if you want to say that someone is very shy and frightened of things, you might say that they are a mouse”, it can be concluded that two objects have something in common, and people use another object to express some common features also implied in the one. It combines two kinds of different objects, people emphasize those common features in another object, in order to build a new idea. For instance, he is a lion in battle, in this sentence, the man is tenor, lion is vehicle, man and lion are two different objects, lions are intrepid and brave, so does the man. It emphasizes that the man are brave in battle. And metaphor is used in many literary works.

The definition of metaphor can be traced back to long time ago. Metaphor comes from the Greek word “metapherein”, so metaphor means transferring one meaning from one object to another. The earliest study that metaphor was mentioned is from Plato and his student Aristotle. Aristotelianism regards metaphor as a linguistic means, so the study of metaphor is limited in poetics and rhetoric. Platonism realized that metaphor is a mechanism in human nature, it reflects the essence both in language and human. Then, scholars regard metaphor as a semantic phenomenon. Previously, they focused on the surface meaning in language, but they ignored the implied meaning behind the words. In the 1980s, cognitive linguistic was rising. Metaphor is no longer just a rhetorical device. Scholars combined metaphor with cognitive linguistic, and they started to study the meaning behind the language. Scholars realized that metaphor reflect a cognitive process. Such as Lakoff and Johnson, they published Metaphor We Live By. It was a really great change in theories. From their point of view, metaphor is everywhere. It influences speaker’s thought and action. People conceive things metaphorically and conceptually (Lakoffamp;Johnson, 1980). So metaphor is like a cognitive tool that people conceptualize abstract categories. In other words, by using metaphors, people use the experience of a particular field to understand or explain the experience in another field.

剩余内容已隐藏，请支付后下载全文，论文总字数：41433字