(Luận văn) an investigation into metaphors in slogans on saving the environment in english and vietnamese

VÕ THỊ THU HẰNG AN INVESTIGATION INTO METAPHORS IN SLOGANS ON SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE MASTER THESIS IN ENGLISH Binh Dinh - 2019 luan van tot nghiep download

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VÕ THỊ THU HẰNG

AN INVESTIGATION INTO METAPHORS IN SLOGANS ON SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT

IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

MASTER THESIS IN ENGLISH

Binh Dinh - 2019

luan van tot nghiep download luanvanfull moi nhat z z @gmail.com Luan van thac si

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AN INVESTIGATION INTO METAPHORS IN SLOGANS ON SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT

IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

FIELD : English Linguistics CODE : 8 22 02 01

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr NGUYỄN TẤT THẮNG

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NGHIÊN CỨU ẨN DỤ TRI NHẬN TRONG KHẨU HIỆU BẢO VỆ MÔI TRƯỜNG BẰNG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT

Chuyên ngành: Ngôn ngữ Anh

Mã số : 8 22 02 01

Người hướng dẫn: PGS.TS NGUYỄN TẤT THẮNG

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I hereby certify that the thesis entitled

AN INVESTIGATION INTO METAPHORS IN SLOGANS ON SAVING ENVIRONMENT IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of English Linguistics at Quy Nhon University I confirm that this thesis has not been submitted for any other degrees Except where reference is made in the text of the research paper, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in the whole, or in part from paper by which I have qualified for or been award another degree or diploma Moreover, no other person's work has been used without acknowledgement in the research

Student's signature

Võ Thị Thu Hằng

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In completion of this thesis, I would particularly like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Nguyễn Tất Thắng for his continuous support, valuable sources of materials, insightful comments, constructive criticism and endless patience throughout my work This thesis would not be completed without his assistance, enthusiastic and instructive supervision

My special thanks go as well as to Dr Hà Thanh Hải who gave me integral lectures and guidance which provided me with a solid foundation to

do this research

I would also like to extend my thanks to the Department of Foreign Languages at Quy Nhon University for their help in offering me the resources

in carrying out the study

Last but not least, I would like to show my gratitude to my family and

my friends who gave me encouragement, support and regard so that I could accomplish my research

July, 2019

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ABSTRACT

This thesis investigated of Conceptual Metaphors and compared the similarities and the differences in conceptual metaphors in slogans on saving environment between English and Vietnamese From the view of cognitive linguistic, this research is carried out to find out three types of conceptual metaphors including structural metaphors, ontological metaphors, orientational metaphors and the similarities and the differences in these slogans The research is theoretically based on conceptual metaphors of Lakoff and Johnson (1980) The methods were combined in this thesis including qualitative, quantitative, comparative and inductive method in order

to make the research achieve its purpose Furthermore, this study also suggested implications that need to be studied in teaching and learning conceptual metaphors

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I ABSTRACT III TABLE OF CONTENTS IV LIST OF TABLES VI

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 RATIONALE 1

1.2 AIM&OBJECTIVES 4

1.2.1 Aim 4

1.2.2 Objectives 4

1.3 RESEARCHQUESTIONS 4

1.4 SCOPEOFTHESTUDY 5

1.5 SIGNIFICANCEOFTHESTUDY 5

1.6 ORGANIZATIONOFTHETHESIS 6

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 7

2.1 REVIEWOFPREVIOUSSTUDIES 7

2.2 THEORETICALBACKGROUND 11

2.2.1 Cognitive linguistics 12

2.2.2 Metaphors 13

2.2.3 Conceptual metaphors 15

2.2.3.1 Definition 15

2.2.3.2 Classification of Conceptual metaphors 18

2.3.SUMMARY 25

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHOD 26

3.1.RESEARCHMETHODS 26

3.2.DATACOLLECTION 26

3.3.DATAANALYSIS 27

3.4.RESEARCHPROCEDURES 27

CHAPTER 4 FINDING AND DISCUSSIONS 28

4.1.QUANTITATIVEANALYSISOFMETAPHORINTHESLOGANS ONSAVINGENVIRONMENTINENGLISHANDVIETNAMESE 28

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SAVINGENVIRONMENTINENGLISHANDVIETNAMESE 32

4.2.1 Conceptual metaphors in slogans on saving environment in English 32

4.2.1.1 Ontological metaphors 32

4.2.1.2 Structural metaphors 41

4.2.1.3 Orientational metaphors 49

4.2.2 Conceptual metaphors in slogans on saving environment in Vietnamese 52

4.3.THESIMILARITIESANDDIFFERENCESOFCONCEPTUAL METAPHORSINSLOGANSONSAVINGENVIRONMENTBETWEEN ENGLISHANDVIETNAMESEINTERMSOFCOGNITIVE LINGUISTICS 72

4.3.1 The similarities 72

4.3.2 The differences 79

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 84

5.1.RECAPITULATION 84

5.2.IMPLICATIONSFORLANGUAGETEACHINGANDLEARNING 85

5.3.LIMITATIONSANDSUGGESTIONSFORFURTHERSTUDY 86

REFERENCES 87

APPENDIX 90

ENGLISH SLOGANS 90

VIETNAMESE SLOGANS 94

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Types of conceptual metaphors and their occurrence frequency used

in slogans on saving environment in English ……….28 Table 2 Types of conceptual metaphors and their occurrence frequency used

in slogans on saving environment in Vietnamese……… 29 Table 3 Subtypes of ontological metaphor and their occurrence frequency in slogans on saving environment in English……… 30 Table 4 Subtypes of ontological metaphor and their occurrence frequency in slogans on saving environment in Vietnamese……… 31 Table 5 Subtypes of ontological metaphor and their occurrence frequency in slogans on saving environment in English……… 33 Table 6 The use of personification metaphor in slogans on saving environment in English……… 34 Table 7 The use of entity metaphor in slogans on saving environment in English……….37 Table 8 The use of the substance metaphor in slogans on saving environment

in English……….38 Table 9 The use of container metaphor in slogans on saving environment in English……….40 Table 10 The frequency of structural metaphors in slogans on saving environment in English……… 41 Table 11 The frequency of orientational metaphors in slogans on saving environment in English……… 50 Table 12 Subtypes of ontological metaphor and their occurrence frequency in slogans on saving environment in Vietnamese……… 53 Table 13 The use of personification metaphor in slogans on saving environment in English……… 54

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Table 14 The use of container metaphor in slogans on saving environment in Vietnamese……… …58 Table 15 The use of entity metaphor in slogans on saving environment in Vietnamese……… 59 Table 16 The frequency of structural metaphors in slogans on saving environment in Vietnamese……….61 Table 17 The frequency of orientational metaphors in slogans on saving environment in Vietnamese……….68 Table 18 The frequency of structural metaphors, ontological metaphors and orientation metaphors in slogans on saving environment in English and Vietnamese………72 Table 19 The similar conceptual metaphors in English slogans and Vietnamese slogans on saving environment………74 Table 20 The different conceptual metaphors in English slogans and Vietnamese slogans on saving environment……….79

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale

“Metaphor lives a secret life all around us We utter about six metaphors a minute Metaphorical thinking is essential to how we understand ourselves and others, how we communicate, learn, discover and invent But metaphor is a way of thought before it is a way with words.”

(James Geary) According to James Geary (2014) it can be seen that metaphor is a rhetorical figure with figurative languages used in music, poetry, literature, advertising to give special effects toward readers, hearers Metaphor appears a lot in our lives The frequency of metaphor also appears a lot in each person's daily speech Thanks to metaphoric thinking, we can understand ourselves and the message of others In a song, we can enjoy the tune without understanding the meaning of this song For instance Vietnamese people can hear and feel the tunes of English songs, French songs and Korean songs However, when reading a story, if we still do not understand the meaning of the choice of language’s author, it will be really a pity

What are the best ways to have effective and successful literacy works? One of the choices is applying good use of rhetorical devices, e.g personification, simile, metaphor, metonymy, etc Among these devices, metaphor, one of the effective tools, is widely used to empower words in many works

Therefore, metaphors play a very important role in language use in almost every field of life It is a common phenomenon in language, always attracting the attention of scholars in various fields such as linguistics, learning styles, psychology, literature studies and so on From the most recent point of view, the perspective of cognitive linguistics has great influence on

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metaphorical researchers They believe that metaphor is a way of thinking of the whole linguistic community, and there is also a metaphorical network in which human thinking must rely on

Furthermore, from the point of view of Lakoff and Johnson (1980), we find that in the process of development, any natural language uses metaphors

as a tool for semantic development At the same time, metaphors are also a means of thinking for people to describe the world, to realize the world’s perception, to transform the world and create the spirit

For instance, from “The pangs of the Earth”, Dang Thao said:

[1] “The Earth cried and asked the God Why do I have to suffer these pangs?

In the old days, people learned little but understood a lot Today, everyone is fully educated

Each year the waste is full

I can't stand it anymore God.”

And “The God cried and answered”

[2] “The Earth please understood me Day and night I also mourned for my pangs Now, my eyes are sluggish

A lot of toxic smoke flew up

My nose also suffocated

Probably my health is no longer permanent

Oh my dear!

Are you going to live longer?”

Through the above two examples, the writes uses metaphorical rhetoric

to refer The Earth and the God, non-human objects, are portrayed as a person

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with ability to act like human such as crying, asking, enduring, answering, understanding, living, etc They have been used very vividly in order to make the poems become closer to human For both poems, the author has described the Earth and the God that have the full characteristics of people, even acting like humans In addition, the God also has human body parts such as eyes and nose in “Now, my eyes are sluggish” and “My nose also suffocated” Therefore, metaphors are used to express how character’s Earth and God and help people image as well as understand the current environment’ s danger in order to have better environmental protection measures

Metaphor is considered as a powerful instrument in communication because they help us observe the world we live in and give us new viewpoints

of things around us thanks to new meanings, new ideas

Nowadays, the problems of environmental pollution are hot topic on newspaper and receive a lot of people’s attention The way we are destroying environment will lead to the destruction of life on this earth Therefore, it is necessary that we should save environment and everyone should contribute to the cause and should do something to save environment The best way to encourage others for the cause of saving the environment is to write and share some short effective messages on saving the environment, like some slogans

on saving environment

Furthermore, at present, although there have been several studies using conceptual metaphor for analyzing texts in terms of cognitive linguistics, a contrastive study about conceptual metaphors in slogans on saving environment in English and Vietnamese has not been carried out based on the light of cognitive linguistics

With the above mentioned reasons in mind, I decide to choose to carry

out “An investigation into metaphors in slogans on saving environment in

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English and Vietnamese”

1.2 Aim & Objectives

1.2.1 Aim

The thesis aims to find out conceptual metaphors used in the slogans on saving environment by English and Vietnamese in the framework of cognitive linguistics especially the semantics raised by Lakoff and Jonhson (1980) Additionally, the study also compares conceptual metaphors between the slogans on saving environment in English and Vietnamese from the point of view of cognitive linguistics

1.2.2 Objectives

This study is intended to fulfill the following objectives:

- The first one is to identify and classify the conceptual metaphors used

in slogans on saving environment in English and Vietnamese in cognitive semantics perspective

- The second objective is to compare and contrast the similarities and the differences of the types conceptual metaphors used in English and Vietnamese’s slogans

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1.4 Scope of the Study

This research will be carried out on 113 posters on environmental protection in English and Vietnamese, of which 55 slogans were in English and 58 slogans were in Vietnamese from the point of view of cognitive linguistics, especially through conceptual metaphor matters The study is restricted to the systematicity of metaphorical concepts In detail, it focuses

on analyzing the three types of conceptual metaphors: structural, ontological and orientational Then, the similarities and differences in conceptual metaphors between English and Vietnamese also will be found

in this research

1.5 Significance of the Study

The thesis “An investigation into metaphors in slogans on saving

environment in English and Vietnamese” is significant in both theory and

Practically, by understanding and investigating conceptual metaphors

in slogans, we hope to make a useful contribution to understanding the crucial role of metaphors in essays, political discourse, formal writing, motto, tagline, logo, shiboleth and so on Metaphors play a very important role in language use in almost every field of life Besides, the study is expected to suggest readers some understanding about metaphors to satisfy with desire in

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discovering the connection between language and human thought Thus, it also offers some implications for Vietnamese teachers and learners

1.6 Organization of the thesis

This research is divided into five chapters as follow:

Chapter 1, Introduction, includes rationale, objectives, research questions, the scope, significance and organization of the study

Chapter 2, Literature review, presents the previous studies on metaphor in general and conceptual metaphor in particular It reviews theoretical background relating to the study such as definition of metaphor, the characteristics and classification of conceptual metaphor

Chapter 3, Research Design and Methodology, mentions to methods and procedures of the study It also deals with the data collection and data analysis

Chapter 4, Findings and Discussion, devotes the result of data analysis The similarities and differences of conceptual metaphor are also mentioned after Chapter 5, Conclusion and Implications, summarizes the major finding, point out the limitations as well as provides implications for teaching and learning and puts forward suggestions for further research

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CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

In this chapter, firstly, a brief review of previous studies related to the investigated problem will be mentioned; secondly, background knowledge of the terms concerned will be presented

2.1 Review of previous studies

Cognitive linguistics begins to develop in the 1980s It is a linguistic field that used interdisciplinary knowledge to study language based on experience and human perception of the world as well as the way in which people perceive and conceptualize the things of that world The 1980s witnessed the emergence of cognitive linguistics which can be recognized as the study of the relationship between language and mind There are two sub-branches of cognitive linguistics: cognitive semantics and cognitive approaches to grammar Many linguists have taken much interest in this theory of linguistics, especially in metaphors Their work have made great contributions to the overall image of cognitive linguistics and provided us with the background theories to study the way languages are processed in the mind of human beings

Many linguists have done researches relating to metaphors Švažienė (2010) through “The Persuasive Effect of Metaphor in Advertising” shows that conceptual metaphor in various types of advertising media And he concludes that metaphor is probably one of the most influential stylistic means used in advertising Besides, metaphor is by no means only the subject

of linguistics but a way of thinking, reflecting the reality and one’s way of perceiving things as well This article is only a primary glance at the role the conceptual metaphors play in persuading the people into buying things advertised and how conceptual metaphors work in other specific advertisements deserves an insightful study in much broader fields

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Zhang in “An Analysis of Conceptual Metaphor in Western Commercial Advertisements” (2009) examines linguistic data from Western Commercial Advertisements to determine to what extent the conceptual metaphors used in this advertisements And he points out that conceptual metaphor theory, combined with relevance theory being complementary to conceptual metaphor theory is able to interpret the specific persuasive roles of conceptual metaphors in commercial advertising However, this thesis in only confined to verbal advertisements and pictorial advertisements in which conceptual metaphors play a very important role, but there exist some other forms of advertisements, such as radio advertisements, television advertisements and internet advertisements

Another investigation into the conceptual in “Metaphor in Food Advertisement Slogans” by Yu (2009) refers to the significant role of conceptual metaphors in food advertisements This thesis seems to analyze and identify both the conceptual metaphors and the creative metaphorical linguistic expressions used in those slogans and the possible reason why a certain source domain is chosen for a certain target domain The author finds that many conventional and common metaphors are utilized in advertising slogans, but much creative work has also been done by the advertisers A large number of everyday metaphors also are extended and elaborated in a new way in the slogans analyzed here in this investigation

Coëgnarts and Kravanja (2012) through article “From Thought to Modality: A Theoretical Framework for Analysing Structural Conceptual Metaphors and Image Metaphors in Film” point out the theoretical framework for analysing image metaphors and structural-conceptual metaphors in film The authors distinguish six features or tools which can be helpful to identify metaphor in film: type (structural-conceptual vs image), quality (abstract vs

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concrete), modality (monomodality vs multimodality), direction (symmetry

vs asymmetry), spatiality (homospatiality vs non-homospatiality) and reality (filmic vs ante-filmic) In addition, this article demonstrates image metaphors can help activate other structural-conceptual metaphors

Ahrens in “Politics, Gender and Conceptual Metaphors” (2009) examines linghuistic data from five countries to determine to what extent the conceptual metaphors used by woman with political power differ, or remain the same as, those of men And she concludes that both male and female politicians may choose to use femininity and masculinity when it suits their purpose Thus, the ability to make the most of the perceived advantages of either gender’s traits can be seen through the variety and range of conceptual metaphors politicians employ as they strive to persuade people of their plans and appeal to constituents for support However, this investigation does not paint a uniform picture of gender and metaphor in the political realm

In Vietnam, interested in the issues of cognitive linguistics and metaphors, a number of Vietnamese scholars have contributed their own viewpoints to metaphor There have been also some Vietnamese researchers who contribute to the study of metaphor “An investigation into conceptual metaphors in Fifty Shades Darker by Erika Leonard James and Vietnamese equivalent” by Nguyễn Thị Kim Thoa (2016) refers to the significant role of conceptual metaphors in literature works There are also discoveries of the major loss and gain in meaning and structures in novel when the conceptual metaphors are translated into Vietnamese But this thesis does not focus on one aspect to analyze deeply and clearly For example, it will be good idea to analyze and contrast conceptual metaphor of love, joy, fear and more in Fifty Shades Darker

Hồ Vi Nữ Mỹ Linh (2011) with “A study of Metaphors in Newspapers

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(English versus Vietnamese)” examines metaphorical expressions in English and Vietnamese newspapers in terms of syntactic and semantic features in order to find out the differences and similarities between two languages in using Metaphor in newspapers She finds out that English and Vietnamese share in common almost every characteristic in the aspects of syntax and semantics Besides that, metaphorical expressions have the distinctive features and different effects in performances the purpose and nature of newspapers The limit in this study is that the research has mainly paid attention to basic fields of the traditional and contemporary view Additionally, it cannot collect and analyze all the equivalent samples of metaphorical expressions in English and Vietnamese to distinguish the similarity and difference of these instances

Another investigation into the conceptual metaphors in “The Use of conceptual Metaphor in English and Vietnamese Idioms With Human Organs” (carried out by Trần Ngọc Hải, 2011) has brought a new perspective

on the meaning of idioms There are also discoveries of the basic arguments and the importance of cognitive language about the mechanism of formation

of meanings fixed phrases, especially idioms

Nguyễn Thị Thanh Huyền (2009) with “Ẩn dụ tri nhận- Mô hình ẩn dụ cấu trúc trên cứ liệu ca từ Trịnh Công Sơn” learnt the relationship between language and human thinking through a kind of unit of cognitive linguistics This is structural metaphors The thesis demonstrates the correctness of the conceptual metaphor Metaphor is not only a rhetorical form of poetry, but also an extremely important mechanism for understanding the world through human thinking

In addition, Nguyễn Thị Kim Ánh (2018) has an investigation about conceptual metaphor with “A study of conceptual metaphors used in Michelle Obama’s speeches” This study investigates the conceptual metaphors

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applying the theoretical framework of Lakoff and Johnson to Michelle Obama’s speeches Three types of conceptual metaphors have been pointed out and examples have been shown and analyzed specially in the cognitive view However, the data of analysis are limited, only contains 680 metaphors expressions Thus the results of the study cannot reach the high reliability Moreover, with the limitations of personal ability as well as outside factors, some weaknesses are inevitable

As mentioned above, there have been a great number of studies with significant contributions to metaphor in English and Vietnamese However, there have been so far fewer researches in slogans on saving environment in perspective of cognitive linguistics as well as comparing the similarities and differences of conceptual metaphor in English and Vietnamese This is the

reason the thesis “An investigation into metaphors in slogans on saving

environment in English and Vietnamese” is conducted with a hope to give a

deeper understanding conceptual metaphor

2.2 Theoretical background

The theoretical basis of this thesis is the metaphorical concepts obtained by two authors, Lakoff and Johnson with the work on the metaphorical of cognitive linguistics "Metaphors We Live By" in 1980

Lakoff and Johnson become the first two American scholars to initiate the cognitive metaphor with the important work of cognitive linguistics

"Metaphors We Live By" in 1980 In their work, they offer a new concept of the nature and function of cognitive linguistics in general and of cognitive metaphor in particular

The basic principle that guides the cognitive metaphor theory of Lakoff and Johnson can be summarized in the following sentence: "The nature of cognitive metaphor is in the conceptualization and understanding of this type

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of phenomena in terms of other phenomena" (1980)

2.2.1 Cognitive linguistics

“Cognitive linguistics is a modern school of linguistic thought emerged

in the early 1970s It describes and accounts for the systematicity, the structures the function it serves and how these functions are realized by the language system” (Evans and Green, 2006)

“Cognitive linguistics grew out of the work of a number of researchers active in the 1970s who were interested in the relation of language and mind” (Sinha, 2014)

During this decade researchers in Poland, Belgium, Germany, and Japan begin to explore linguistic problems from a cognitive standpoint, with explicit reference to the work of Lakoff and Langacker (Cognitive Linguistics, 2019)

Many linguists focus their research on it and study it from different perspectives The two works written by Lakoff and Langacker in 1987 and the convocation of the first cognitive conference indicated the fact that cognitive linguistics had become mature Lakoff (1987) publishes the book “Women, Fire and Dangerous Things: What Categories reveal about the Mind” And then Langacker (2013) publishes “Foundations of Cognitive Grammar”, which had been circulating chapter by chapter since 1984 The convocation of the first cognitive conference was organized by Dirven (1985) and was held in Duisburg in Germany in the spring of 1989 All of this kind of research indicates, to some degree, the establishment of cognitive linguistics

During the 1990s cognitive linguistics become widely recognized as an important field within linguistics

By the mid-1990s, cognitive linguistics as a field is characterized by a defining set of intellectual pursuits practiced by its adherents, summarized in

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the Handbook of Pragmatics under the entry for Cognitive Linguistics (Geeraerts 1995, p.111:112):

“Because cognitive linguistics sees language as embedded in the overall cognitive capacities of man, topics of special interest for cognitive linguistics include: the structural characteristics of natural language categorization (such

as prototypicality, systematic polysemy, cognitive models, mental imagery and metaphor); the functional principles of linguistic organization (such as iconicity and naturalness); the conceptual interface between syntax and semantics (as explored by cognitive grammar and construction grammar); the experiential and pragmatic background of language-in-use; and the relationship between language and thought, including questions about relativism and conceptual universals.”

2.2.2 Metaphors

Unlike traditional point of view which considers metaphor as a matter

of pure literary language, cognitive linguists like Lakoff, Johnson (1980) and Wray (2002) believe that metaphor is a regular activity of thinking and metaphors appear a lot in our everyday language

Lakoff and Johnson (1980, 1999) are the first passionate supporters of metaphors, their view metaphor is conceptual, as many of the ways in which

we think and act are basically metaphorical (Evans and Green, 2006, p.44)

The concept of construal is closely linked to another important feature of cognitive linguistics that differentiates it from other theories of language namely, a concern with metaphor Metaphor used to be thought of

as a rather unusual form of discourse which has characteristic of the literacy language However, important pioneering work by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) shows that metaphor is in fact a fundamental property of the everyday use of language

Metaphor is a conceptual phenomenon rather than a language

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phenomenon while in traditional view; metaphor is a linguistic, and not a conceptual, phenomenon By giving the theory of metaphor and suggesting some basis semantic concepts that are metaphorical, Lakoff and Johnson shoed the pervasion of metaphor They also argue that the human conceptual system is metaphorical, not just a rhetorical device of poets Their theory has changed our understanding of metaphor and highlighted the role of metaphor

in language by indicating that metaphor, a powerful instrument, influences our linguistic behavior, thought processes and system of value

Theory about conceptual metaphors, pioneered by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), is driven by the notion that metaphors are pervasive in everyday life In this theory, how people think and act is metaphorical in nature Thus, metaphors can be found not only in language but also in though and actions In other words, language is only one of the realizations

“The most important claim we have made so far is that metaphor is not just a matter of language, that is, of ere words We shall argue that, on the contrary, human thought processes are largely metaphorical This is what we mean when we say that the human conceptual system is metaphorically structured and defined Metaphors as linguistic expressions are possible precisely because there are metaphors in a person’s conceptual system.”(1980, p.6)

He also clarifies the function of metaphors from showing the influence

of metaphors to our linguistic behavior, thought processes and system of

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value He writes:

“Metaphors are for most people a device of the poetic imagination and the rhetorical flourish – a matter of extraordinary rather than ordinary language Moreover, metaphor is typically viewed as characteristic of language alone, a matter of words rather than thought or action For this reason, most people think they can get along perfectly well without metaphor We have found, on the contrary, that metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which

we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature.” (1980, p.3)

A metaphor is regarded as a comparison between two dissimilar things without using the words “like” or “as” There have been a great number of different views of conceptual metaphors defined by researchers:

“Many words have both literal and metaphorical meanings The literal meaning of a word is the most basic sense A metaphorical meaning is when it

is used to refer to something other than this” (Black, 1962)

“Metaphor is replacement the name of things or phenomena by the name of other things or other phenomena based on their association and homogeny on the characteristics and attributes that belong to it” (Nguyễn Đức Tồn, 2009)

Metaphor is defined as a mapping of structure from one conceptual domain, the source domain, to another conceptual domain, the target domain This mapping is not based on similarity between the two concepts, as believed

by the comparison theory of metaphors, but rather on the correlation of experience in these two domains and our ability to structure one concept in terms of the other

2.2.3 Conceptual metaphors

2.2.3.1 Definition

In cognitive linguistics, conceptual metaphors have been one of central

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issue in recent years Metaphor is a significant and common phenomenon of language all round the world They are dominant stylistic devices which are the way of saying one thing but meaning another

Metaphor is used everywhere in daily life, not only in ordinary language but also in our thought and action In Conceptual metaphor theory, Kövecse (2017, p.1) defines “A conceptual metaphor is understanding one domain of experience (that is typically abstract) in terms of another (that is typically concrete) This definition captures conceptual metaphors both as a process and a product The cognitive process of understanding a domain is the process aspect of metaphor, while the resulting conceptual pattern is the product aspect.”

A conceptual metaphor consists of two conceptual domains and one conceptual domain is used to understand the other CONCEPTUAL DOMAIN (A) IS CONCEPTUAL DOMAIN (B) can be used as a convenient way to capture this view of metaphor (Kövecses 2002, p.4)

For instance, we can understand about love in terms of journeys in Love

is a journey, about life in terms of war in Life is war, about time in terms of money in Time is money, about anger in terms of fire in Anger is fire, etc

From the examples mentioned above, we can draw other sub metaphorical expression, such as the modifications on the conceptual metaphor “ANGER IS FIRE”

[3] That kindled my ire

Those were inflammatory remarks

Smoke was coming out of his ears

She was burning with anger

He was spitting fire

The incident set the people ablaze with anger

(Kövecses 2018, p.126)

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The two domains involved in a conceptual metaphor are called the target domain and the source domain The source domain is used to understand the target domain Normally the target domain is more abstract (as ANGER) and the source domain is more concrete (as FIRE) (Kövecses 2002, p.4)

In cognitive linguistics, the conceptual domain from which we draw metaphorical expressions to understand another conceptual domain is known as the source domain The conceptual domain that is understood in this way is the target domain Thus the source domain of the fire is commonly used to explain the target domain of anger

In other words, the source domain is used to understand the target domain According to Kövecses (2002), a systematic set of correspondences, called mappings, is the constituent elements of the source and target domain

He also said that to know a conceptual metaphor is know the set of mappings that applied from the source domain to the target domain

TARGET DOMAIN – IS SOURCE DOMAIN

Or alternatively, TARGET DOMAIN – AS – SOURCE DOMAIN

Take the conceptual metaphor LIFE IS JOURNEY as an example There is a set of mappings between the source and the target domain (Kovecses 2002, p.6)

[4] He’s without direction in life

I’m where I want to be in life

I’m at a crossroad in my life

She’ll go places in life

He’s never let any one get in his way

She’s gone through a lot in life

Source: JOURNEY Target: LIFE

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the travelers → the people

the starting point → birth distance covered → events experienced the obstacles encountered → the difficulties met different roads → different choices the destinations and stops → the goals and achievements the end of the journey → death

From the example [4] we can see that the travelers, companions, guides, the starting point, etc are mapped on to the people, friends, people who give us suggestions, birth, etc The constituent elements of the conceptual domain JOURNEY are in systematic correspondence with constituent elements of the conceptual domain LIFE The application of the journey domain to the love domain provides the concept of life with this particular structure or set of elements (Kövecses 2002, p.7) In other words, there is systematic set of correspondences between the source domain and the target domain in conceptual metaphors and that allow us to understand different metaphors

2.2.3.2 Classification of Conceptual metaphors

Cognitive theorists (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980; Kövecses, 2010) argue that language serves as an evidence for the existence of conceptual metaphors since it is through everyday linguistic expressions that conceptual metaphors are realized Thus, by analyzing discourse, we can arrive at metaphors by which we conceptual aspects of discussed reality

In Metaphors We Live By (1980), George Lakoff and Mark Johnson

identify three overlapping categories of conceptual metaphors

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Basing on the cognitive function, Kövecses (2002) also names the three basic types

“When we ask what the function of metaphor is for ordinary people in thinking about and seeing the world, we’re asking a question about the cognitive function of metaphor Conceptual metaphors can be also classified according to the cognitive functions that they perform On this basic, three general kinds of conceptual metaphor have been distinguished: structural, ontological and orientational” (2002, p.32)

 Structural Metaphors

Structural metaphor is described as a case where one concept is metaphorically structured in terms of another In this kind of metaphors, Kövecses explains that “the source domain provides a relatively rich knowledge structure for the target concept In other words, the cognitive function of these metaphors is to enable speakers to understand target A by means of structure of source B” (2002, p.33)

Structural metaphor refers to a conceptual metaphor that is constructed from one conceptual structure to another In other words, a structural metaphor is a conventional metaphor in which one concept is understood and expressed in terms of another structured, sharply defined concept According

to Kövecses, structural metaphor “includes an extremely well-defined target domain that will help structure the abstract source domain Ontological metaphors, on the other hand, do not have such a well-defined target domain” (Kövecses, 2002, p.33)

It is clear that structural metaphor – is a metaphorical system in which one complex concept (typically abstract) is presented in terms of some other (usually more concrete) concept

Structural conceptual metaphors are considered by Lakoff and Johnson

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(1980) as the group with the highest number In this kind of conceptual metaphor, complicated and abstract experiences are conceptualized based on the experience of simple and specific experiences

Structural metaphors also play an important role in creating new metaphors and metaphorical concept by supplying the richest source of embellishment It allows us to do much rather than just orient concepts, refer

to them, qualify them, etc, and to employ clearly delineated concepts to structure another (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980)

An example used to illustrate this type is the conceptual metaphor

“TIME IS MONEY” which is expressed through a series of the following expressions in English:

[5] - You’re wasting my time

- I don’t have the time to give you

- How do you spend your time these days?

- You’re running out of time

(Lakoff and Johnson, 1980) Through above examples, Lakoff and Johnson (1980) explained that an abstract conceptual domain “time” is understood through a specific conceptual domain of “money” Therefore, the concepts used in the sample expressions above come conceptual domain of “money” This is the basic characteristics of the structural conceptual metaphor Besides, in this group of conceptual metaphor, the phenomenon of highlighting and hiding in the conceptual domain is an important characteristic

We see that the notion of money (the source domain) delineates the notion of time (destination domain), which makes the two objects of time and money similar to one another This metaphor uses the structure of our concept

of money to explain and clarify the concept of time In this metaphor,

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expressions from the vocabulary of money (wasting, have, give, spend, and running out of) help people understand and experience time as the kind of thing that can be spent, waste, or squandered Thus, most structure metaphors provide this kind of structuring and understanding for the abstract target concept (Kövecses 2002, p.34)

According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), experience in an interactive process with the specific object or substance is the foundation for a wide variety of conceptual metaphors in which events, activities, feelings, ideas etc are considered as the essence

An ontological metaphor (a figure that provides "ways of viewing events, activities, emotions, ideas, etc., as entities and substances") is one of the three overlapping categories of conceptual metaphors identified by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in Metaphors We Live By (1980)

Ontological metaphors "are so natural and persuasive in our thought," say Lakoff and Johnson, "that they are usually taken as self-evident, direct descriptions of mental phenomena." Indeed, they say, ontological metaphors

"are among the most basic devices we have for comprehending our experience."

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Ontological metaphors can also be understood as entity and substance metaphors (Lackoff &Johnson 2003, p.26) Ontological metaphors are based

on our experience with the physical world around us When things we want to refer to are not very concrete and do not have a clear physical shape, we tend

to understand them as entities or substances This means that we can “refer to them, categorize them, group them, and qualify them” (Lakoff & Johnson

2003, p.26)

Take the INFLATION IS AN ENTITY metaphor from Metaphors We

Live By (Lakoff & Johnson 2003, p.27) as an example Inflation is understood

as an entity and it enables us to refer to and qualify it in the following sentences (Lakoff & Johnson 2003, p.27):

[6] Inflation is lowering our standard of living

If there’s much more inflation, we’ll never survive We need to combat

inflation

Inflation is hacking us in to a corner

In example [6], viewing inflation as an entity allows us to refer to it, quantify it, identify a particular aspect of it, see it as a cause, act with respect

to it, and perhaps even believe that we understand it Ontological metaphors like this are necessary for even attempting to deal rationally with our experiences

In the above cases, inflation is understood as something that can affect out lives and be combated It is clear that with the experience of rising prices, the concept of inflation is identified with the concept of the entity The use of ontological metaphor enables people to talk about and understand inflation as

a physical entity

 Orientation Metaphors

An orientational metaphor is a metaphor (or figurative comparison) that

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involves spatial relationships (such as UP-DOWN, IN-OUT, ON-OFF and FRONT-BACK)

An Orientational metaphor is a metaphor which organizes a whole system of concepts in terms of physical orientation Kovecses (2002, p.35) points out that “Orientational metaphors provide even less conceptual structure for the target concepts coherent in our conceptual system The name

“orientational metaphor” derives from the fact that most metaphor that serves this function has to do with basic human spatial orientation.”

An orientational metaphor (a figure that "organizes a whole system of concepts with respect to one another") is one of the three overlapping categories of conceptual metaphors identified by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in Metaphors We Live By (1980)

In orientational conceptual metaphors, a system of ideas is organized in the relation and interaction in space like up-down, inside-out, front-behind, shallow-deep, center-periphery etc Lakoff and Johnson (1980) call this group the orientational metaphor because they are related to the orientation in space The origin of this metaphor group is explained as follows by researcher Tran Van Co (2007):

“We are the physical entity limited in a certain space and separated from the rest of the world by our skin; we perceive the rest of the world as the world outside us Each of us is contained in limited space by the surface of the body, which is potentially orientational type of “inside-out” This orientation makes us imagine other physical objects also limited by the surface At the same time we also see them as containers with inner space and separated from the world outside.”

An example often cited to illustrate the orientational conceptual metaphor group is “HAPPY IS UP, SAD IS DOWN” (Lakoff & Johnson

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1980) illustrated in these examples:

[7] I’m feeling up

That boosted my spirits

My spirits rose

You‘re in high spirits

Thinking about her always gives me a lift

I’m feeling down

He’s really low these days

My spirits sank

Conceptual metaphor “HAPPY IS UP, SAD IS DOWN” is derived from the human body posture while they are happy or sad Normally, when people are depressed or sad they often bow down and when they are happy they raise up their head and straight up their back In the case HAPPY IS UP, SAD IS DOWN, the concept of happiness is identified with an upward orientation which tends to go together with the positive evaluation and the concept of sadness is characterized as a downward direction with negative one Kövecses points out: “Upward orientation tends to go together with positive evaluation, while downward orientation with a negative one" (Kövecses 2010)

Thus we see that the orientational conceptual metaphors are not arbitrary but based on culture and experiences Also according to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), the conceptual domain “up-down", “inside- outside” are the spatial domain concepts in the material world but the metaphors based on these conceptual domains may vary in different cultures For example, in some cultures, the future is seen as the front but other cultures see the future lying in the back

Most orientational metaphors are related to basic spatial orientations of

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human beings, such as up-down, center-periphery, and so on The cognitive function of orientational metaphor is a series of target concepts coherent in our conceptual system It could sometimes be called a “coherence metaphor”

In the following examples, an upward orientation characterizes certain target concepts, while their opposite concepts are characterized by a downward orientation (Kövecses 2002, p.36)

[8] MORE IS UP; LESS IS DOWN: Speak up, please Keep your voice

down, please

[9] HEALTHY IS UP; SICK IS DOWN: Lazarus rose from dead He fell ill [10] CONTROL IS UP; LACK OF CONTROL IS DOWN: I’m on top of the situation He is under my control

[11] HAPPY IS UP; SAD IS DOWN: I’m feeling up today He’s really low

these days

It should also be pointed out that the spatial orientation up-down is not the only spatial source image Orientational metaphors also utilize spatial images such as whole, center, link, balance, and so on (Kövecses 2002, p.36)

2.3 Summary

In chapter 2, we have reviewed the previous studies and theories of conceptual metaphor from the overviews of many linguists in which the studies of Lakoff and Johnson are significant in terms of theoretical background of this thesis Along with that, we have consulted the definitions and classifications of conceptual metaphors All of the above support us for analyzing the conceptual metaphor in slogan on saving environment in the next chapter in the light of this theory

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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHOD

This chapter is the presentation of methods and procedures of the thesis In the chapter, the design of the research is focused Then the research procedures are described Next, it presents how data are collected and analyzed to find out the result of the study

3.1 Research methods

In this thesis, some methods were combined: qualitative method, quantitative method, comparative and contrastive methods and inductive method

First of all, the qualitative method helped to identify metaphorical expressions used in the slogans

Secondly, the quantitative method was used to analyze the frequency of occurrence and the percentage of three types of conceptual metaphors

Next, the comparative and contrastive methods were employed to compare and contrast the frequency of conceptual metaphors between English and Vietnamese to find out the similarities and differences

Finally, we used inductive method to synthesize the finding and draw out conclusions

The source of the data was downloaded from the websites such as: Viralknot, Helpsavenature, Indiacelebrating, Vforum, Kenhsinhvien and so

on You can see Appendix for information

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The reason for choosing these sources of data is that they attract a diverse audience and is a global hot issue; second, we easily search and download; last but not least, they contain many metaphorical expressions for our analysis

3.3 Data analysis

On the basis of 113 slogans in English and Vietnamese were divided into two groups: 55 English slogans and 58 Vietnamese slogans, the analysis carried out based on the following steps:

- Identify, analyze and classify the data into the suitable categories of the thesis purpose: structural, ontological and orientational metaphors

- Compare and contrast data analyzed to find out the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese in term cognitive linguistics

3.4 Research procedures

The study was carried out according to the following steps:

- Decide the research topic

- Collect references to be used for discussion of the theoretical background and choosing methods to do research

- Build the detailed analytical frameworks for analysis and analyzing the collected data

- Suggest some implications for teaching, learning the language

- Revise the thesis and submitting it to the supervisor before examination

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CHAPTER 4 FINDING AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 Quantitative Analysis of Metaphor in the slogans on saving environment in English and Vietnamese

Of 190 slogans in English and Vietnamese (110 slogans in English; 80 slogans in Vietnamese) detected, 113 metaphorical expressions were found (55 slogans in English; 58 slogans in Vietnamese) Accordingly, the ratio of the frequency of metaphor was 59.5 percent of the slogans These expressions were classified into categories of Structural, Ontological and Orientational metaphors

Table 1 Types of conceptual metaphors and their occurrence frequency

used in slogans on saving environment in English Types of metaphor Number Percentage (%)

in English In particurly, ontological metaphors are used more universal because of bringing vividness and liveliness This make up the highest rate Especially, personification ontological metaphor is dominant, which account

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for 45.2% with the mapping NATURE IS A PERSON Structural metaphor is found to occur in English slogans with 25 samples such as NATURE IS A WAR, NATURE IS A TREASURE, NATURE IS A PATIENT, NATURE IS

A PICTURE, NATURE IS FOOD, NATURE IS A JOURNEY and NATURE

IS A HOME It is clearly seen that authors had used the structural metaphors creatively to make the language more interesting and exciting in their slogans From that, authors can transfer the message to readers

Table 2 Types of conceptual metaphors and their occurrence frequency

used in slogans on saving environment in Vietnamese Types of metaphor Number Percentage (%)

or as an entity that is very close to people Therefore they can use specific words for people or entities so that we can perceive and understand nature better

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So the number of metaphorical orientations appears very little Ontological and structural metaphors occur widely to help beautify and explore several different angles of nature in the slogans

Table 3 Subtypes of ontological metaphor and their occurrence frequency in slogans on saving environment in English

Numbers Subtypes of ontological

us to understand nonhuman entities as human motivations, characteristics and activities Typical mapping is NATURE IS A PERSON with 16 samples Other subtypes of ontological metaphors frequently used in the slogans were entity and container metaphors, which make up 26.9% and 7.7% respectively Natures were specified as substance or concrete physical objects and the concepts were represented as having an inside and outside boundary or capable of holding something else Substance metaphors took the lowest proportion with 3.9% These figures are presented in the above Table 3

Tiêu đề	An Investigation into Metaphors in Slogans on Saving the Environment in English and Vietnamese
Tác giả	Võ Thị Thu Hằng
Người hướng dẫn	Assoc. Prof. Nguyễn Tất Thắng
Trường học	Quy Nhơn University
Chuyên ngành	English Linguistics
Thể loại	Thesis
Năm xuất bản	2019
Thành phố	Quy Nhơn

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Số trang	110
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