04051001824 a cognitive study of conceptual metaphor economy is a living being in english and vietnamese press = Ẩn dụ Ý niệm kinh tế là một thực thể sống trong báo chí anh việt dưới góc nhìn của ngôn ngữ học tri nhận
INTRODUCTION
Rationale
Metaphor is a term that has its origin in the Greek word metapherin meaning ―transfer, carry over‖ The term ―metaphor‖, as the etymology of the word reveals, means transference of some quality from one object to another However, that is a very basic conceptualization of metaphor, and so far the term has been variably interpreted by different authors
According to Nguyen (2004), metaphor is a rhetorical figure used to transfer a word from one conceptual domain to another based on similarities between these two It is considered as a hidden or implicit comparison without comparative devices In other words, metaphor is a conceptual projection whereby one experiential domain (target) is partially understood in terms of another experiential domain (source) included in the same common experiential domain (similarity) For example, ―That woman is a witch‖, the target domain is that woman who is ugly and cruel projected by source domain which is a witch having magic powers and doing evil things Metaphor is regarded as a special transference of meaning commonly used not only in poetry, drama, music, novels but also proliferating in daily life language
Recently, a wide range of studies about metaphor have been carried out in the Cognitive Linguistics framework, focusing on conceptual metaphor which is constructed through conceptual mapping of two conceptual domains which are source domain and target domain
Proposed by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), conceptual metaphor refers to the process of establishing cognitive links, or mappings, between several concepts (conceptual structures), pertaining to different domains For example, in the mapping LOVE IS A JOURNEY, an abstract domain such as LOVE becomes more concrete like a TRAVELLER, VEHICLE, OBSTACLES ENCOUNTED or DECISIONS ABOUT DIRECTION Lakoff and Johnson (1980) also argue that knowledge of the sort specified by the conceptual metaphor is crucial for the imagination and comprehension of conceptual metaphors It means without knowledge and individual experience, no one would not be able to understand some concepts of the more abstract domain LOVE (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980)
Until now, inspired by Lakoff and Johnson and other authors, conceptual metaphor has become an interesting topic to many language researchers in the world One of the leading authors in this tendency is Kovesces (2010) who has carried out remarkable studies on conceptual metaphors For instance, according to Kovecses (2010), there are many conceptual metaphors for happiness in English but three of them have been recognized as major metaphors: HAPPINESS IS UP ―I‘m feeling up‖,
―He/She is on nine cloud‖, HAPPINESS IS LIGHT ―He beams with a smile‖,
―Her/his face is brightened up‖, or HAPPINESS IS A FLUID IN A CONTAINER ―He‘s bursting with joy‖, ―His heart is filled with happiness‖
In Vietnam, the study of the conceptual metaphor WOMAN IS FOOD in Vietnamese language by Nguyen Thi Bich Hop (2021) shows the thinking and features of Vietnamese culture about the position of women In this study, food is the source with sub-domains such as name of food, taste of food, activities of people with food, thoughts of humans with food The system of metaphorical concepts includes appearance of women as a form of food,
3 characteristics of women as characteristic of food, activities for women as operated with food, and women's status as kinds of food This study demonstrates the important role and position of women in lives, consciousness and thought in Vietnam‘s culture
A constrastive analysis about the EMOTION-IS-LIQUID metaphor in English and Vietnamese by Nhu Quynh Luu Nguyen (2013) should be also mentioned In her study, she finds out that English and Vietnamese share the conceptual metaphor EMOTION IS LIQUID She also demonstrates that the conceptual metaphor in both languages share the same type of coherence, and this coherence is shaped by the mapping model
However, the number of research on conceptual metaphor related to economy is still limited It is therefore necessary for researchers and language teachers to explore the application of conceptual metaphor in daily life communication as well as in academic texts As a student of English linguistics major, and my concern about how to conceptual metaphor is formulated in economic press, I take this opportunity to conduct this study on the conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING in English and Vietnamese economic press under the light of cognitive linguistics
In this study, the conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING are analyzed mainly based on the framework of Lakoff and Johnson
(1980) and Kovecses (2003) Moreover, to identify metaphorical expressions, the theory Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) proposed by Pragglejaz Group (2007) and Frame Semantics by C.J Fillmore (1982) are exploited In addition, the similaritires and differences in the use of the conceptual metaphor related to economic terms between English and Vietnamese language are investigated after categorizing and analyzing data I hope that
4 this study will make a little contribution to the understanding the role of conceptual metaphor in translation as well as teaching foreign language At the same time, this will be an efficient material to provide the following researchers with basic knowledge of the effects of conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING in economic press.
Aim and objectives of the study
This present research aims to study the way the conceptual metaphor of
―ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING‖ is expressed in English and Vietnamese press from cognitive linguistic perspective, then analyze the similarities and differences between these two so as to provide several necessary recommendations for foreign language teaching and translation The research will also show the effect of conceptual metaphor of ―ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING‖ applied in economic texts in both English and Vietnamese articles from cognitive linguistic view In so doing, the study seeks to answer the following research questions:
(1) What are the frequencies of the conceptual metaphor “ECONOMY
IS A LIVING BEING” in English and Vietnamese press?
(2) How is the metaphor of “ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING” conceptualized and expressed in English and Vietnamese press under cognitive linguistic view?
(3) What are the similarities and differences in English and Vietnamese expressions of this metaphor?
The scope of the study
The present research focuses on investigating the conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING used in English and Vietnamese
5 economic press The analysis is mostly based on the theoretical framework by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and Kovecses (2003) To identify the metaphorical expressions, the theory of Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) proposed by Pragglejaz Group (2007) and Frame Semantics by C.J Fillmore (1982) are exploited
In my research paper, attention is paid to the similarities and differences in the use of this conceptual metaphor in English and Vietnamese press, especially economic texts For the purpose of this minor thesis, I collected fifty-nine articles from six well-known economic presses of English and Vietnamese language because they are written in native languages with trustworthy information and neutral style These selected articles provide 903 metaphorical expressions for the study
Moreover, this is a mixed method study to provide in-depth data and generalize research findings and prove a hypothesis However, it tends to be qualitative study because it depends heavily on the researcher‘s own opinion about conceptual metaphor.
The structure of the thesis
The thesis consists of five chapters
- Chapter 1: Introduction presents a brief background of conceptual metaphor used in economic articles in English and Vietnamese in the realm of cognitive linguistic It also gives an overview about the research including the rationale, research questions, the aim and the scope of the study
- Chapter 2: Literature Review focuses on theoretical background and definitions, namely metaphor, conceptual metaphor, cognitive linguistics as presented by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and Kovecses (2003) as well as several functions of conceptual metaphor and its use in economic articles in English and Vietnamese
- Chapter 3: Methodology includes selection of data, data collection procedure, and methods of data analysis
- Chapter 4 presents major findings of the study and discussions
- Chapter 5 draws conclusion, implications, limitations and recommendations for further research
LITERATURE REVIEW
Cognitive linguistics
Cognitive linguistics is a modern approach to the study of language which is based on human perception and conceptualization of the world It studis how human beings perceive and conceptualize the world and how they express their perception and conceptualization through language In other words, cognitive linguistics is about how human beings perceive and conceptualize the world and how they express their perception and conceptualization through language According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), conceptual metaphor is when we understand one conceptual domain in terms of another conceptual domain
Briefly, cognitive linguistics is defined a school of linguistic thought and practice, concerned with investigating the relationship between human language, the mind and sociophysical (embodied) experience
When it comes to its history, cognitive linguistics has emerged in the last twenty-five years as a powerful approach to the study of language, conceptual systems, human cognition, and general meaning construction
Originated in the 1970s, cognitive linguistics was conducted by a small number of researchers, such as Fillmore, George Lakoff, Lakoff & Thompson Ronald Langacker and Talmy This approach has been increasingly emerged
8 since the 1980s In over thirty years, a large amount of research focusing on semantics, syntax, morphology or phonology has been exploited from the cognitive linguistic view
Cognitive linguistics goes beyond the visible structure of language and investigates the considerably more complex backstage operations of cognition that create grammar, conceptualization, discourse, and thought itself The theoretical insights of cognitive linguistics are based on extensive empirical observation in multiple contexts, and on experimental work in psychology and neuroscience
Cognitive linguistics first started as a reaction against generative approaches to language Chomskyan-generative tradition had built a view of language which made very strong commitments about the primacy of syntax, disregarding the role of semantics and pragmatics in linguistic theorizing This was considered highly inappropiate for many authors, who, like Langacker, thought that:
―Meaning is what language is all about; the analyst who ignores it to concentrate solely on matters of form severely impoverishes the natural and necessary subject matter of the discipline and ultimately distorts the character of the phenomena described‖
Other aspects of the generative agenda were also extremely controversial, namely, the assumption of innate structures for grammar and language, especially in the form of a ―universal grammar‖, and the assumption that linguistic knowledge is isolated from the rest of cognitive faculties, which resulted in the claim of the autonomy of syntax and the modularity of language, that is, the existence of a specialized brain module dedicated to processing language in an encapsulated manner
Metaphor
Firstly, it is necessary to review several noticeable definitions of linguistic metaphors according to traditional views
Metaphor is the transference of meaning from one object to another based on similarities between these two In other words, we call one object by the name of another because we compare these objects and find common features between them
“Metaphor is the transference of meaning (name) from one object to another, based on similarity between the two objects.”
(H Nguyen, 2004, p.106) According to Lakoff & Johnson in ―Metaphor we live by‖ (1980), metaphor has been thought to be “a matter of extraordinary rather than ordinary language”(p.3)
Unlike simile, metaphor is viewed as implicit or hidden comparison without comparison links such as ―like, as‖ Metaphor is formed on the basis of similarity between objects and used in both daily life and literature to achieve aesthetic effects, for example, based on the position: the foot of mountain; shape: the teeth of saw or function: education is the key to success in the future According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), metaphor refers to a poetic, imaginational and rhetorical device which spreads pervasively in daily life, in thought and action Barcelona (2000) states that metaphor is the cognitive mechanism in which one experiential domain is partially mapped or projected onto a different experiential domain so that the second domain is partially understood as the first one
There have been a number of linguistic scholars making a real attempt
10 to provide a definition of metaphors Several noticeable definitions of linguistic metaphors according to traditional views will be presented as below
Aristotle (1954) provides us with the first extant definition of metaphors, which states that metaphor is the application of a word that belongs to another thing In other words, metaphor is an instance in which the name customarily used to signify one thing is used in reference to a thing that is customarily signified by another name According to Aristotle (1954), this transference of the name of one thing to another can take place in four principle ways: ―either from genus to species, species to genus, species to species, or by analogy.‖
Similarly, Murray Knowles (2005) considers metaphors as the use of language to refer to something other than what it was originally applied to, or what it literally means, in order to suggest some resemblance or make a connection between the two things Furthermore, Murray also associates metaphors with ―creative, poetic expression and idea‖ which are typical of literature in a way that they are non-literal and figurative uses of languages
The idea that metaphors are only used and considered ―as a mere ornament or embellishment‖ is also shared by a number of previous language researchers‖ (Cassirer, 1946)
Lakoff (1980), one of the most influential cognitive linguists, say that traditionally and for most people, ―metaphor is a device of poetic imagination and the rhetorical flourish.‖ That is to say, metaphor is conventionally considered to be a matter of ―extraordinary language rather than ordinary language.‖ (p.3)
From these traditional views on metaphor, it can be said that metaphor is a figurative usage of speech which can be frequently found in literature
11 although quite limited in everyday communication Additionally, metaphor functions properly thanks to the similarity among objects under the figuration of writers That is to say, metaphors have been isolated from daily use of language, and the cognitive mechanism for the receivers of the massage to understand the underlining meaning of metaphor has been ignored
In brief, metaphor is defined as the transference of meaning from one object to another based on similar relationship between these two objects in traditional views Most traditional views on metaphor claim that it is a figurative usage of speech frequently used in literature than in daily use However, in the light of cognitive linguistics, metaphor is not merely a means of communication but also a means of cognition, a means for people to understand and explain about the real world.
Conceptual metaphor under the light of cognitive linguistics
Conceptual metaphor is a term which is first introduced by Lakoff
(1980) as an underlying identification of an abstract concept with a more basic or concrete concept (or a mapping between a concrete domain and an abstract domain) Conceptual metaphors imply the coherence between whole sets of ordinary language expressions According to Lakoff and Johnson
(1980), human beings structure their understanding of their experiences in the world via conceptual metaphors which are derived from basic sensorimotor and spatial concepts (spatial primitives and image schemata) learned during their infancy and early childhood Moreover, in their view, metaphor is not just a matter of language; it is being in ―the way we think, what we experience, and what we do every day‖ (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980/2003, p.3)
In other words, metaphor is one concept understood by other concepts or one domain of experience understood by others (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980/2003,
12 p.117) Therefore, conceptual metaphor is not only the means for poetry, it can be used in everyday language We still use conceptual metaphor every day and everywhere but we perhaps do not realize that Conceptual metaphor is not comparison, it is not only the matter of language but also matter of our thought, mind, etc or we can say that our thought and action is the matter of conceptualization
Kovecses, one of the famous researchers on metaphor, defined the term of ―conceptual metaphor‖ in Metaphor: A Practical Introduction (2002): ―A convenient shorthand way of capturing this view of metaphor is the following:
CONCEPTUAL DOMAIN A IS CONCEPTUAL DOMAIN B, which is what is called a conceptual metaphor‖, ―A conceptual metaphor consists of two conceptual domains, in which one domain is understood in terms of another‖ (Kovesces, 2002, p.4)
Similarly, Barcelona (2000) claims that metaphor is the cognitive mechanism whereby one experiential domain is partially mapped For example, projected onto a different experiential domain so that the second domain is partially understood in terms of another experiential domain
Radden (2007) uses the term ―experiential domain‖ to describe conceptual metaphor He defines conceptual metaphor as "a means of understanding abstract domains by relating them to better-known domains and experiences in the physical world"
After reviewing some definitions of conceptual metaphors under the light of cognitive linguistics, it can draw some principal conclusions Firstly, conceptual metaphor is a matter of ordinary use of language that can be noticed in every case of communication Secondly, conceptual metaphor functions by the association between the target domain which is abstract and
13 the source domain which is concrete Finally, conceptual metaphor plays a vital role in the human‗s process of understanding phenomenon in the world, without which the human being‗s exploration of the world will be considerably limited
Next, some main points of conceptual metaphor are presented as below.
Source domain and Target domain
In conceptual metaphor, there are two domains: source domain and target domain, and an expression of conceptual metaphor is structured by the model TARGET DOMAIN IS SOURCE DOMAIN In this pattern, source domain, which is concrete, draws a metaphorical expression while target domain, which is abstract, represents any part of the human experience
Kovecses (2010) made out common source domains which are very clear and practical Both speakers and writers can easily base on their theoretical framework to produce metaphors when writing and speaking and also readers and listeners can use their ideals of common source and target domains to analyze phenomena of meaning transference in cases of metaphor
Take an example of LOVE in everyday English expressions:
Our love has hit a dead-end street
We may have to go our separate ways
The relationship isn‘t going anywhere
The marriage is on the rocks
Our relationship is off the track
In this case, LOVE is conceptualised as a JOURNEY Other ways of mapping TARGET DOMAIN and SOURCE DOMAIN can be elaborated as follows:
For example: The Love-is-a-Journey mapping
The lovers correspond to travellers
The love relationship corresponds to the vehicle
The lovers‘ common goals correspond to their common destinations on the journey
Difficulties in the relationship correspond to impediments to travel
Other examples of the formation of conceptual metaphor ―TARGET DOMAIN IS SOURCE DOMAIN‖ are illutrated in the table below:
Table 1 The formation of conceptual metaphor
“TARGET DOMAIN IS SOURCE DOMAIN”
1 Your claims are indefensible argument war
2 That is well-constructed theories theory building
3 He is filled with anger emotion liquid
4 She is on cloud nine happiness up
5 This idea is very clear knowledge light
Lakoff and Johnson build up a formula: A (target domain) IS B (source domain) to describe the metaphorical link between the two domains Conceptual metaphor theory sees the connection between concept areas in
15 terms of correspondences or mappings between elements within source and target domain A typical feature in the concept area or source domain responds to or maps onto one typical feature in the target domain A metaphor is therefore a conceptual mapping between two domains However, it should be noted that not all aspects of a source necessarily map onto the target since some mappings are much more extensive than others
The mapping between source and target domains involves two sorts of correspondences, epistemic and ontological
Ontological correspondences show relations between elements of one domain and elements of the other domain
Source: HEAT OF FLUID Target: ANGER
Pressure in container Experienced pressure
Agitation of boiling fluid Experienced agitation
Limit of container‗s resistance Limit of person‗s ability to suppress anger
Epistemic correspondences demonstrate relations holding between elements in one domain and relations between elements in the other domain
When fluid in a container is heated beyond a certain limit, pressure increases to point at which container explodes
When anger increases beyond a certain
An explosion is damaging to container and dangerous to bystanders
Loss of control is damaging to person and dangerous to others
Explosion can be prevented by applying sufficient force and counter-pressure
Anger can be suppressed by force of will
In short, correspondences, or mapping, between two domains are presented in conceptual system, and therefore are fully conventionalized among members of a speech community That is also a requirement for a conceptual metaphor to function properly
Based on its function, Lakoff and Johnson (1980) divide conceptual metaphor into three main types:
- Orientational metaphors are grounded in the physical experience of our bodies and the way they function in relation to our physical environment, most of them are spatial in character, such as up-down, front-back, near-far, etc For example, HAPPY IS UP, SAD IS DOWN, GOOD IS UP, BAD IS DOWN Lakoff and Johnson argue that in this kind of metaphor, one that
Conceptual metaphor in economics
To begin with, it is crucial to have a look at the term business cycle or economic cycle It refers to economic activities in production and trade which are identified as having four distinct economic stages: expansion, peak, contraction, and trough In other words, the business cycle is defined as the real fluctuations in economic activity and GDP (gross domestic product) over a period of time
The business cycle can be identified as a sequence of four phases that were classified and studied by two American economists, Arthur Burns and Wesley Mitchell in their book "Measuring Business Cycles." The four primary phases of the business cycle include:
Phrase 1 - Expansion: A speedup in the pace of economic activity defined by high growth, low unemployment, and increasing prices The period marked from trough to peak
Phrase 2 - Peak: The upper turning point of a business cycle and the point at which expansion turns into contraction
Phrase 3 - Contraction: A slowdown in the pace of economic activity defined by low or stagnant growth, high unemployment, and declining prices It is the period from peak to trough
Phrase 4 - Trough: The lowest turning point of a business cycle in which a contraction turns into an expansion This turning point is also called Recovery
From a conceptual perspective, the economic cycle is the upward and downward movements of levels of GDP and refers to periods of expansion and contraction in the level of economic activities around a long-term growth trend
Conceptual metaphor in economics is a complex and abstract subject matter that nevertheless concerns most people to some degree, making it a subject where metaphor is very useful, both to close lexical gaps, communicate new information efficiently to, for example, a layperson, and using metaphor can make ideas more persuasive
The following diagram shows the metaphorical structuring of the field of economics as it is mapped out by Richardt (2005, p.144):
Figure 2 The metaphorical structuring of the field of economics mapped by
The conceptual metaphors in Richardt‘s model are common and are generally accepted; however, other researchers have found other conceptual metaphors and different levels, particularly of ECONOMY IS A PATIENT.
Previous studies on conceptual metaphor ―ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING‖
As a living organism, economy has such concepts as demand, growth, business cycles, human capital, market forces, economic machine and fine tuning and so on A human life experiences many different stages like UP –
DOWN, similarly, the economics share the same states like development, grow up, healthy, accelerating growth rate (UP) or recession or depression
(DOWN) like a human getting depressed Sometimes, economy is conceptualized as a war with cut-throat battles, rivals or firms compete severely
Actually, there has been a little research into the use of conceptual metaphor in economic press in English and other languages In previous studies, economy is conceptualized as patient, plant, market movements with physical state or natural disasters
In their study, Wang et al (2013) focuses on the crisis of economy which is conceptualized as a living organism and a sick organism by using the pragmatic analysis They show that metaphoric expressions in English occur more than in Russian articles which were borrowed English economic terms then translated into Russian
Silva Bratoz (2004) conducts a comparative study of conceptual metaphor used in popular economic discourse between English and Slovene The research shows that these two languages share the same conceptualizations of the economy as an organism and downward market
23 movements as natural disasters However, the study of common domains and the value of conceptual metaphors in communication tend to be ignored
Eva Kovacz (2000) has been successful in identifying five major conceptual metaphors in popular economic discourse as below:
BUSINESS/ECONOMY IS A HUMAN BEING
BUSINESS IS A GAME AND A SPORT
BUSINESS IS ACTING IN A THEATER/ CONCERT
The author provides an analysis of each conceptual metaphor, which is definitely to lay a foundation for further study on the same field However, the frequency of each conceptual metaphors is not mentioned in the study
Ho Thi Hai Yen (2014) also examines conceptual metaphors denoting ECONOMY IS HUMAN BODY in New York Times This paper particularly looks at a specific conceptual metaphor That is to say, it is likely that a number of other conceptual metaphors have been ignored in the research
Another research, Nguyen Thuy Phuong Lan (2014) investigates the use of metaphor in economic textbooks in university She concludes the understanding of metaphor in economics helps learners gain better outcome and make teacher‘s lesson more attractive and more lively However, the implications for students and translators are not mentioned in her study
A study on conceptual metaphors in economic reports in The New York
Times carried out by Trieu Khanh Toan (2016) from the perspective of cognitive linguistics shows economic activities are mapped as A JOURNEY, WAR, A GAME AND SPORTS, A HUMAN BEING These source domains
24 are more frequently used in the discussion of economic terms Furthermore, conceptual metaphors are expected to bring rhetorical effects, emotional value and conceptual function to the discourse Nonetheless, he does not mention how to categorize the sub-mapping of source domains used in economic papers and the numbers of data is not big enough to reflect
In the comparative analysis in English and Danish news articles about the credit crisis 2008 by Esager (2011), she shows that there exist several similarities and differences of conceptual metaphors used in two languages in the field of economy Besides the differences, both languages share some common features like ECONOMIC CHANGE IS MOVEMENT UP / DOWN, MONEY IS LIQUID, ECONOMY IS A MACHINE, and ECONOMIC CRISIS IS ILLNESS / ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IS MEDICAL TREATMENT However, the examples are not provided detailed and the analysis of the similarities and differences of conceptual metaphors used in two languages is still vague
To conclude, studies on conceptual metaphor in economic newspapers are not a new trend in linguistics However, most previous studies consider the conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING as one of the domains to conceptualize economic activities In other words, it is still an open question: what detailed domains are commonly used when it comes to economic articles To answer these questions, this study attempts to investigate ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING with physical and psychological state and growing as a plant then analyze the use of conceptual metaphor in English and Vietnamese economic journal texts in the perspective of cognitive linguistics Then suggestions for teachers and translators when studying conceptual metaphor in economic field are provided.
METHODOLOGY
Research design
The research attemtps to answer the research questions of what mapping of ―Economy is a living being‖ is conceptualized in English press and what are the effects of using conceptual metaphor in economic press
Qualitative and quantitative approach are used to classify and analize the data Moreover, 59 articles related to economics were randomly chosen from five online economic articles namely The Economist, The New York Times, CNBC, Thời Báo Kinh Doanh, The Saigon Times and VOV They are reputable editions about various aspects ranging from business, international conflicts, foreign affairs, politics, science, travel or culture on a global scale
These articles were collected in the period from 2019 to October
2021 which brings the reader update information as well as hot burning economic problems in Vietnam and in the world It is suitable for reflecting the fast pace of economy‘s growing.
Research methods
This paper uses the mixed method, which is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods in a study According to Creswell (2013), the mixed method is ‗more than simply collecting and analyzing both kinds of data; it also involves the use of both approaches in tandem so that the overall strength of a study is greater than either qualitative or quantitative research‘
The qualitative approach provides in-depth, rich data during the
26 analysis process and quantitative is particularly useful towards generalizing research findings and prove a hypothesis However, the weight is given to more qualitative versus quantitative in this thesis because it depends heavily on the researcher‘s own opinion about conceptual metaphor used in economic press between English and Vietnamese at word level Through the qualitative approach, the data is collected, analyzed and classified according to frequency of using conceptual metaphor among articles
From the qualitative data, the quantitative analysis is then introduced to describe and generalize the data in terms of the frequency of conceptual metaphor used in English and Vietnamese economic press along with illustrations.
Methods of identifying metaphorical expressions, source domain and target
The conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING is analyzed regarding how target domain, source domains and the mappings are identified to connect two entities based on the metaphor identification procedure theory and by Pragglejaz Group (2007) and Frame Semantics developed by C.J Fillmore (1982) This process is conducted by two stages which are described as follows
Stage 1: Using the Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) to identify metaphorical words
The metaphor identification procedure (MIP) proposed by Pragglejaz Group (2007) is used to identify metaphorical expressions Based on this theory, the metaphorical words are identified in context as simple as possible
It requires researchers to determine how they will proceed when encountering specific instances of language in varying contexts such as multiword units, discourse type or polysemy
The MIP is demonstrated as follow:
Step 1: Read the entire text-discourse to establish a general understanding of the meaning
Step 2: Determine the lexical units in the text-discourse
Step 3: (a) For each lexical unit in the text, establish its meaning in context, that is, how it applies to an entity, relation, or attribute in the situation evoked by the text (contextual meaning) Take into account what comes before and after the lexical unit
(b) For each lexical unit, determine if it has a more basic contemporary meaning in other contexts than the one in the given context For our purposes, basic meanings tend to be
- More concrete; what they evoke is easier to imagine, see, hear, feel, smell, and taste
- More precise (as opposed to vague)
Basic meanings are not necessarily the most frequent meanings of the lexical unit
(c) If the lexical unit has a more basic current–contemporary meaning in other contexts than the given context, decide whether the contextual meaning contrasts with the basic meaning but can be understood in comparison with it
Step 4 If yes, mark the lexical unit as metaphorical
The use of MIP procudure to identify metaphorically used words will
28 be demonstrated by one sentence from the article Prospective Fed nominee Shelton says global economy in „very dangerous situation‟ like 1930s by Jeff
Cox published August 1, 2019 on CNBC:
“Trump has wanted the Fed to loosen policy, saying that a series of rate hikes have been hampering economic growth that is nonetheless running well above what had been trend in a recovery that began in mid-2009.”
At step 1, a reading of the whole article reveals the prediction of a Fed nominee – Judy Shelton about the global economy at that time is that it is in a very dangerous situation She referred to the U.S central banks lowers rates and devalues their respective currencies to undercut competitors This monetary policy could not cause any growth to be stimulated but it pushes the U.S econony in a very dangerous situation She askes the Fed to be more aggressive with its rate cuts Additionally, President Donald Trump has stated his intention to nominate Shelton for a Federal Reserve governor‘s position
At step 2, the lexical units in the sentence are identified as follows with indicating the boundaries between lexical units:
“Trump / has wanted / the Fed / to / loosen / policy / , saying / that / a series of / rate hikes / have been hampering / economic growth / that / is / nonetheless / running well / above / what / had been trend / in / a recovery / that / began / in mid-2009.”
At step 3, each lexical unit is considered in turn, starting from the begining of the sentence
(a)conceptual meaning: ‗Trump‘ is a proper noun which functions as a subject in the sentence referring to the U.S President from 2017 to 2020
(b)basic meaning: As a proper noun, ‗Trump‘ has a concrete and basic meaning which is a proper name of a particular person
(c)contextual meaning versus basic meaning: Considering as a proper name, ‗Trump‘ has a more basic meaning than contextual meaning It can be identified by comparison between the contextual meaning with the basic meaning, we have found that there is no contextual meaning for this word
Metaphorically used? No has wanted
(a)conceptual meaning: ‗has wanted‘ refers to the intention of President
Trump to nominate Shelton for a Federal Reserve governor‘s position
(b)basic meaning: the verb ‗want‘ has a basic meaning of a desire or a wish for something or somebody
(c)contextual meaning versus basic meaning: Considering as a verb,
‗has wanted‘ has a more basic meaning than contextual meaning It means we have found that there is no contextual meaning
Metaphorically used? No the Fed
(a)conceptual meaning: ‗the Fed‘ functions as an object referring to Federal Reserve System, the organization that controls the supply of money in the USA
(b)basic meaning: the noun ‗the Fed‘ has a basic meaning of central banking system of the USA
(c)contextual meaning versus basic meaning: The contextual meaning contrasts with the basic meaning and can be understood by comparison with
30 it There is no contextual meaning for the word ‗the Fed‘ in the above example
(a)conceptual meaning: ‗loosen‘ refers to President Trump‘s desire to lower rates to avoid a depression like the situation that the world‘s economy faced in the 1930s
(b)basic meaning: the verb ‗loosen‘ has a more basic meaning of making something less tight or strongly fixed
(c)contextual meaning versus basic meaning: The contextual meaning contrasts with the basic meaning and can be understood by comparison with it We can understand that the current situation of the U.S economy should be controlled by the action of tightening the monetary policy
Metaphorically used? Yes has been hampering
(a)conceptual meaning: ‗hamper‘ refers to the increasing in rate will limit the growth of the U.S economy
(b)basic meaning: the verb ‗loosen‘ has a more basic meaning of preventing somebody from easily doing or achieving something
(c)contextual meaning versus basic meaning: The contextual meaning contrasts with the basic meaning and can be understood by comparison with it We can understand that the growth of the U.S economy can be limited by the action of rate hikes
(a)conceptual meaning: In the context, ‗a recovery‘ can be understood as the process of improving and becoming stronger again of the U.S economy in the period of 2009 after the economic crisis in 2008
(b)basic meaning: the noun ‗a recovery‘ has a more basic meaning of the process to become well again after an illness or injury
(c)contextual meaning versus basic meaning: The contextual meaning contrasts with the basic meaning and can be understood by comparison with it We can understand that the situation of the U.S economy in the period of
2009 had some signals to get out of gloomy days and gradually grow the economy
Stage 2: Using Frame Semantics Theory (FST) to find out the source domain for the economy as the target
According to Lakoff & Johnson (1980), conceptual metaphor is a mapping from a source domain to a target domain It means it is a mapping between a concrete domain and an abstract domain In this mapping, the source domain is more concrete and more directly related to experience, in contrast with the target domain, which is more abstract and diffuse and lacks clear delineation
To be specific, the source domain is a domain that allows us to draw a metaphorical expression from it Meanwhile, the target domain can represent any part of the human experience, it represents something we attempt to understand
For example, the target domain IDEAS can be understood via the
32 source domain PLANT The metaphorical expressions actually present the mappings of hightlighted elements from the source domain to corresponding elements in the target domain
His ideas have finally come to fruition
The idea died on the vine
The seeds of his great ideas were planted in his youth
Data collection
The data were gathered from three English language newspapers (CNBC, The Economist and The New York Times) and three Vietnamese newspapers
(Sai Gon Times, Thoi Bao Kinh Doanh and VOV) All articles cover the world's economic activities from 2017 to October 2021 There are 29 articles in English,
17 articles from CNBC (9490 words), five articles from The New York Times
(4022 words), and seven articles The Economist (5144 words)
Moreover, 30 articles in Vietnamese are analysed, 13 from Sai Gon Times (15134 words), nine articles from Thoi Bao Kinh Doanh (10112 words) and eight from VOV (5878 words) This is a very small study to provide an overview of the conceptual metaphors used in economic journalism between two languages, English and Vietnamese
First, The New York Times is an American daily newspaper headquartered in New York City with the readership worldwide Established in 1851, with its long history, The New York Times has become one of the world‘s great newspapers As a penny paper, The New York Times specializes in reporting news of many sectors with a restrained and objective style It has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper and has been regarded within the industry as a national newspaper of record In 2019, it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S
Similar to The New York Times, CNBC is an American business news with business day coverage of the U.S and international financial markets It is recognized as the world leader in business news and provides real-time financial market coverage and business content consumed by more than 355 million people per month across all platforms
CNBC also offers content through its vast portfolio of digital products such as: CNBC.com, which provides real-time financial market news and information to CNBC‘s investor audience; CNBC Make It, a digital destination focused on making you smarter about how you earn, save and
36 spend your money or CNBC PRO, a premium service that provides in-depth access to Wall Street
Founded in 1843 in London, The Economist, a weekly magazine of news and opinion is published and generally regarded as one of the world‘s preeminent journals of its kind It provides wide-ranging coverage of general news and particularly of international and political developments and prospects bearing on the world‘s economy In 2019, its average global print circulation was over 909,476; this, combined with its digital presence, runs to over 1.6 million
Besides, data in Vietnamese language are from trustworthy sources of The Saigon Times, Thoi Bao Kinh Doanh and VOV
The Saigon Times is a Vietnamese media organization with two Vietnamese- and two English language publications Its flagship publication is Thoi Bao Kinh Te Saigon, the most widely read weekly economics and business news magazine in the Vietnamese language It also publishes Saigon Times Daily, one of the two major English language daily newspapers (the other being the daily Vietnam News, published by the Vietnam News Agency)
The next press is Thoi Bao Kinh Doanh established since 1993, it specializes in providing the up-to-date information on finance, market and economy of Vietnam and the world with a fast speed
The last one is VOV which is a National Broadcaster having all kinds of platforms of delivery such as Radio, TV, Print and Online VOV has so far established cooperative ties on bilateral and and multilateral basis with approximately 60 broadcasting institutions worldwide of many aspects of daily life namely economy, sports, culture, health and so on
It can be said that these newspapers have enjoyed a good reputation among certain audiences for their prompt and accurate information as well as neutral and objective writings Especially, with their use of cognitive linguistics when describing economic phenomenon, it deserves to be exploited as data to analyze some economic activities in a rich and dynamic way
Furthermore, all articles were published in the stage from 2017 to October 2021, a time of fluctuations in the world economy, especially during the Covid pandemic (2020-2021) These two years have seen the bankruptcy of some financial institutions or programs bailed out by the governments They are also reputable editions about various aspects ranging from business, international conflicts, foreign affairs, politics, science, travel or culture on a global scale and in Vietnam
These articles collected in the period from 2017 to October 2021 bring the reader update information as well as hot burning economic problems in the world and Vietnam It is suitable for reflecting the fast pace of economy‘s growing with full of states as a human being
By applying the metaphor identification procedure by Pragglejaz Group
(2007) and frame semantics theory among 59 articles, there are a total of 903 metaphorical expressions describing economical activities under the mapping model of ―Economy is a living being‖ in two languages Based on the characteristics of a living body, the economy is expressed and classified into three main types which are Economy is a Living Being with Physical State, Economy is a Living Being with Psychological State and Economy is a Living Being with Growing Activities
The number of conceptual metaphorcial expression is illustrated as the tables below:
Table 3 Frequency of metaphorical expressions used in English and
1 Economy is a Living Being with
2 Economy is a Living Being with
3 Economy is a Living Being with
Table 4 Frequency of metaphorical expressions used in English economic press
1 Economy is a Living Being with
2 Economy is a Living Being with
3 Economy is a Living Being with
Table 5 Frequency of metaphorical expressions used in Vietnamese economic press
1 Economy is a Living Being with
2 Economy is a Living Being with
3 Economy is a Living Being with
The tables above give an overview of conceptual metaphors used in English and Vietnamse economic press The frequency is calculated by both the number of metaphorical expressions and the percentage of expressions reflecting each conceptual metaphor It can be seen from the chart that the mapping of ―Economy is a Living Being with Physical State‖ is the most frequently used in both languages (732 times) which accounts for 81.06 % of the total occurance It is followed by the concept of ―Economy is a Living Being with Psychological State‖ with 108 times (11.96 %) and the smallest proportion belongs to ―Economy is a Living Being with Growing Activities‖ with 63 times (6.98 %).
Data analysis
Another method is to analyze the data used in this study is critical metaphor analysis (CMA) This method analyses the language with an extensive variety of discourses in its natural use The process of CMA includes three stages which are identification, comprehension, and explanation (Phan The Hung, 2012)
The first stage is identification of conceptual metaphors with two steps:
(1) read the text carefully and note possible metaphors under given characteristics, (2) study the context to decide whether the metaphors have a ordinary of a metaphoric conceptualization
Next, the understanding of conceptual metaphors includes the establishment of the relationship between the metaphors and other cognitive elements in the metaphors
Finally, the explanation of metaphors involves the realization of some features like society, culture, emotion, and the embodiment of creating and using conceptual metaphors.
Research procedures
The research is conducted through the four distinct stages
59 economic articles are randomly collected from six websites written in English and Vietnamese including www.nytimes.com, www.economist.com, www.cnbc.com, www.thesaigontimes.vn, thoibaokinhdoanh.vn, and vov.vn Moreover, these articles meets three requirements: (1) the length of text is from 300 to 2000 words; (2) it is from the sections of business news; (3) it was published between 2017 and 2021
This stage is to study the text carefully and note all metaphors in the collected texts
Stage 3: Figuring out the frequency of metaphors
Based on the number of conceptual metaphor expressions, it is necessary to figure out the frequency of metaphors in each article and the frequency of each domain in the texts by calculations
The study ends with analyzing the similarities and differences and then gives some discussions about the effects in the use of conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING in economic press between English and Vietnamese
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING in English economic press
4.1.1 Economy is a Living Being with Physical State a ECONOMY IS PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES
This conceptual metaphor is the most common and directional in economic papers in two languages The use of this metaphor represents the up and down movement of economic activity with UP for things going up, an increase or a positive, similarly, DOWN for things going down, a decrease or a loss
Compared as a living organism which can be a human, an animal or a plant, economy is expressed with lively physical state such as ―healthy‖,
―weak‖, ―painful‖, the survival after crisis or the movements of GOOD IS
In their life, human always experiences different stages from early childhood to adult along with their ups and downs Similarly, the economy goes pass numerous episodes in its cycle like ups and downs The application of orientational metaphor GOOD/MORE IS UP, BAD/LESS IS DOWN which is grounded in the physical experience of human‘s bodies and the way they function in relation to our physical environment gives the readers lively movements of economy growth such as upward, downturn, heating up, breakdown, rising, falling and so on
(1) ―they will undershoot the inflation targets they are meant to hit — presumably because their various economies will grow too weakly to generate much upward pressure on wages and prices‖ [9]
(2) ―Many investors have expressed the view that China is prepared to accept an economic downturn (and thus a global economic downturn) to prevent President Trump‘s reelection,‖ [7]
(3) ―The breakdown looks very different than it did when Forbes first published the Global 2000 in 2003.‖ [15]
(4) ―As the current situation demonstrates, this makes it easier for the rest of an economy to keep going when factories slow down.‖ [2]
(5) ―Its household-debt-to-GDP ratio continues to fall It is rising household debt which economists have most convincingly linked to finance- sector-driven downturns, particularly when it is accompanied by a consumption boom.‖ [21]
Some economic processes are also represented by some verbs or nouns refering to physical movements, for instance, drop, shake, decline, increase, rise or reach
(6) ―The industry reported yesterday a 1.9 percent drop in daily circulation, and a 2.5 percent decline on Sundays, over the last six months, compared with the period a year ago.‖ [17]
(7) ―The weak numbers for 814 daily newspapers, reported by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, represent the largest circulation losses for the industry in more than a decade, and indicate an acceleration of the decline.‖ [3]
(8) ―Among the newspapers that showed the biggest declines were the large regional dailies owned by the Tribune Company, which has been shaken by a circulation scandal at Newsday, its newspaper on Long Island.‖ [10]
(9) ―Daily circulation rose to 1.14 million and Sunday circulation reached about 1.68 million.‖ [11]
(10) ―The Wall Street Journal said its weekday circulation declined 0.8 percent, to about 2.07 million after aggressive price increases.” [16]
Sometimes, the economy has the same other physical activities as the human like loosen, tighten, cut, boost, stimulus or dominate These expressions give the readers aesthetic effectiveness which are strong feeling and pictorial imagination
(11) ―The president and his top economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, have called for a half-point cut and an immediate cessation to what Trump calls
(12) ―The Fed lowered its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point Wednesday, and others, including the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan, have stated their intentions to loosen monetary policy as well.‖ [4]
(13) ―Since early 2018, the central bank has cut the RRR six times to boost lending, especially for small and private firms, but banks‘ reluctance to lend has left exporters and manufacturers struggling to pay bills.‖ [5]
(14) ―East has been restructuring Rolls-Royce to ramp up civil aerospace production and cut losses on the sale of its engines, which it later aims to make up through maintenance programmes.‖ [8]
(15) ―A more constructive conclusion might be that the Fed was right to shift to a more doveish stance in the past few months, and that low inflation leaves it well placed to apply more stimulus if necessary.‖ [20]
(16) ―Recently, this trend has been reinforced by another: investment as a whole is increasingly dominated by big technology firms, which are spending lavishly both on research and on physical infrastructure.‖ [24]
From the analysis above, it can be said that the human‘s physical
45 movements like UP and DOWN, shake, tighten, loosen, dominate or cut can be well mapped on the economic domain The mapping gives realistic, vivid and pictorial overview about economy which is abstract and not easy to understand to general readers
Finally, another mapping should not be ignored is the economic activities are violent behviors with the use of a series of strong, fast and destroying actions like hit, destroy, fight or combat
(17) ―The travel industry - including airlines, hotels, agencies - has been hit the hardest as the government issued stay-at-home advisories‖ [27]
(18) ―Congress and the Fed have worked in tandem to combat the negative economic effects of Covid-19 with an unprecedented cocktail of fiscal spending, near-zero interest rates and subsidized loan programs.‖ [20]
Hit or combat also show the violent actions of a living organism which comes against somebody with force and can cause damage or injury This conceptual metaphor is really useful for the authors to describe the fierce nature of the economy as a living being b ECONOMY IS A PHYSICAL BODY
Sometimes, the economy is conceptualized as a living being who has a body with its parts like bone, heart, nerve, head or hand Some particular parts of human body which operate to contribute to the whole body are also employed as the source domain so as to humanize such economic concepts as market and business and make it easier to reason about them It is shown in the following examples:
(19) ―Interest rates were cut to the bone, fiscal stimulus packages of varying sizes announced, and electronic money created through quantitative easing.‖
(20) ―It took a year for the financial crisis to come to a head but it did so on
15 September 2008 when the US government allowed the investment bank Lehman Brothers to go bankrupt.‖ [5]
(21) ―the Fed announced it would buy up $500bn-worth of Treasuries and
$200bn-worth of mortgage-backed securities By taking assets off the banks‘ hands, it enables them to expand lending‖ [20]
ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING in Vietnamese economic press
Similar to English economic press, these five sub-metaphors are detected and utilized in Vietnamese press such as, ECONOMY IS A LIFE CYCLE, and ECONOMY IS A PATIENT Despite these similarities, some collocations related to mental state and growing are used less in Vietnamese languages than in English press It might be due to some cultural-specific features in Vietnam‘s context Several similarities and differences in the metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING in Vietnamese economic press compared to English language are explained below
4.2.1 Economy is a Living Being with Physical State a ECONOMY IS PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES
This conceptualization is the most popular and it is a directional metaphor used in economic papers not only in two languages but also many languages in the world The use of this metaphor represents the up and down movement of economic activity with UP for things going up, an increase or a positive, similarly, DOWN for things going down, a decrease or a loss
In terms of linguistics, movement and direction concern to the spatial approaches Reporters and writers take advantage of spatial orientation to describe the economic phenomena In fact, things can stay at a fixed location or they may move (are moved) to other places through space Prepositions like up – down; in – out etc are accompanied with verbs to denote directions And those kinds of movement as well as directions do not construct concepts economic terms like commodity, price, recession, operation, GDP etc but instead organizes a whole system of concepts with respect to the changes of the economic phenomena And orientational metaphor is constituted in such a way
(46) ―Cùng với việc vàng giao ngay vượt mốc 1.920 đô la/ounce, hợp đồng vàng tương lai giao tháng 8 đã tăng lên mức 1.922,7 đô la/ounce.‖ [32]
(47) ―Mặt bằng giá đất có thể tăng lên rất nhanh trong một thời gian ngắn nếu có những kỳ vọng về sự cải thiện về cơ sở hạ tầng, và điều đó là một diễn biến hợp lý thể hiện sự hiệu quả của nền kinh tế thị trường [40]
(48) ―Sự tăng giá chỉ thực sự bất ổn khi nó xuất phát từ hành động đầu cơ của những người tham gia thị trường ‖ [33]
(49) ―Ngược lại, tiền và các khoản đầu tư tài chính ngắn hạn giảm xuống mức 4.249 tỷ đồng, tức giảm 35% với đầu năm.‖ [36]
(50) ―Thanh khoản tiếp tục nóng lên trên thị trường tiền tệ‖ [46]
(51) ―Thị trường căn hộ giảm tốc sau giai đoạn tăng trưởng nóng‖ [35]
(52) ―Để giảm sự can thiệp của nhà nước, các chính phủ trên thế giới theo đuổi chính sách trọng cung ưu tiên cắt giảm các loại thuế khóa, đặc biệt là thuế thu nhập doanh nghiệp và thu nhập cá nhân, và đẩy mạnh tư hữu hóa khu vực doanh nghiệp nhà nước.‖ [49]
(53) ―Có thể thấy, chỉ tính riêng 7 tháng đầu năm, mặt bằng lãi suất tiền gửi đã hạ xuống thấp hơn từ 1 - 2% so với cuối năm 2019 ở phần lớn các ngân hàng thương mại.‖ [48]
(54) ―Nửa đầu năm 2020 là khoảng thời gian "đáng quên" đối với các doanh nghiệp hàng không, trong bối cảnh dịch Covid-19 lan rộng kéo theo nhu cầu đi lại bằng máy bay sụt giảm đến 90%, đồng thời các quốc gia trên thế giới
"đóng cửa" biên giới khiến doanh thu sụt giảm nghiêm trọng‖ [46]
(55) ―Tại Việt Nam, kể từ năm 2012, sau thất bại của chính sách kích cầu năm 2009-2010 khiến lạm phát tăng vọt trở lại vào năm 2011, Chính phủ đã lần lượt áp dụng những nguyên lý cơ bản của chủ thuyết kinh tế trọng cung.‖
(56) ― Gavin Wendt – nhà phân tích cấp cao về tài nguyên tại MineLife Pty, nhận định: "Đà tăng mạnh mẽ là một điều tất yếu khi chúng ta bước vào giai đoạn giống như thời điểm sau khủng hoảng tài chính toàn cầu – khi giá vàng tăng vọt lên mức kỷ lục nhờ lượng tiền lớn của Fed được bơm vào hệ thống tài chính Ngoài ra, động lực còn có đồng đô la đang suy yếu và lãi suất thực ở mức âm." [32]
From data above, we find that orientational metaphors deal with spatial orientations; in terms of direction, we usually say UP (lên) to refer to things in good situation, and DOWN (xuống) to refer to things in bad situation Some verbs like tăng (increase) or giảm (decrease) using with some prepositions describe sucessfully the economic situation which increase or decrease in terms of quantity or quality It is similar to the UP and DOWN lines in the business cycles that it is mentioned in the literature review
Other physical activities of a living being is also compared to economic activities in order to give the pictorial images to the general readers who have
55 a little understanding knowlegde about the economy like rượt đuổi (chase), phá tan (break), nới lỏng (loosen), thắt chặt (tighten), đóng cửa (close the door) or đạt (gain) These collocations are repeated many times in
(57) ―giá vàng thế giới rượt đuổi giá vàng trong nước‖ [32]
(58) ―Một số ngân hàng đã hoàn tất việc mua lại nợ xấu đã bán cho công ty Quản lý tài sản của các tổ chức tín dụng Việt Nam (VAMC) và liên tục rao bán tài sản đảm bảo là các khoản nợ xấu, cho thấy sự quyết liệt phá tan ―cục máu đông‖ nợ xấu.‖ [48]
(59) ―lạm phát không phải là yếu tố duy nhất cần phải tính đến khi cơ quan quản lý duy trì một chính sách tiền tệ nới lỏng trong thời gian dài.‖ [43]
(60) ―Với trường hợp của Việt Nam, trong khi lạm phát đang được kiểm soát ổn định nhiều năm trở lại đây, lo ngại về việc bong bóng tài sản hình thành cần được cơ quan quản lý lưu tâm hơn trong việc quyết định tiếp tục sử dụng chính sách tiền tệ nới lỏng để hỗ trợ tăng trưởng.‖ [ 43]
(61) ―mặc dù thị trường xuất khẩu của ngành may mặc ít bị ảnh hưởng, nhưng do nhiều nhà máy dệt tại Trung Quốc có thể đóng cửa trong tháng 2, nên đầu vào - khâu cung ứng nguyên liệu sẽ bị ảnh hưởng.‖ [51]
Similarities and differences concerning the conceptual metaphor ECONOMY
After analyzing the use of conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING in English and Vietnamese economic press, it can be said that the frequency of the conceptual metaphors in the field of economics between English and Vietnamese are similar
Firstly , there is a wide diversity of source domains that can be used in these two languages However, it should also be noted that not all domains are applied with the same frequency The four most frequently used source domains include A PHYSICAL STATE with the frequency of more than 80% in English press and 70% in Vietnamese press, A LIFE CYLCE, A PATIENT AND and PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES On the other hand, such source domains as A PLANT of under 10% each domain Furthermore, the more
68 similarities the source domain shares with the target domain of economy, the more frequently it is applied in economic reports On the other hand, several source domain shares only a few common things with the target domain and, therefore, it is of limited used in the articles
Secondly, the conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES, ECONOMY IS A PHYSICAL BODY, ECONOMY ACTIVITY IS A LIFE CYCLE and ECONOMY IS A PATIENT are very similar in both languages The common comparison in this source domain is that the economic activities are associated with some physical movements, health state and growing stages as a living organism such as cutting down, loosening, being sick with symtomps of weakness, growing or death
Furthermore, ECONOMY IS A PHYSICAL STATE is equally frequent in both languages, but there are more instances of this mapping in English However, the conceptual metaphor related to ECONOMY IS PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES are more vivid in Vietnamese
Additionally, the conceptual metaphor ECONOMOMY IS A BEING LIVING WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE which can feel the pain or pressure are used equally in economic press of two languages
Based on the quantitative analysis, it can be said that there are some conceptual metaphors which are so rare or little instances in two languages, that is ECONOMY IS A PLANT
In terms of the effect, the use of conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING creates a strong impression to the readers When designing titles for the article, the reporters always choose the words which can attract the readers at the first and raise their curiosity so they tend to use the conceptual metaphor to make some abstract and technical terms become more
69 familiar and understandable with a wide range of readers of different ages and background
However, there are some differences in the use of ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING between two languages; particularly, Vietnamese language has a strong preference for expressions for the domain of patient
The following conceptual metaphors are more frequent in English than in Vietnamese which is ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE, mostly due to the high frequency of expressions related to human feeling to describe financial state, especially in crisis In other words, English has a preference for describing the state of the economy using terminology from the domain of psychology The conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A PATIENT is slightly more frequent in English, but more various in Vietnamese
After all, it can be concluded that the similarities and differences in the use of the conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING can be explained by some reasons First, the similarities are the universality of language and the same sharing of perception and conceptualization about economic activities However, the dissimilarities in the use of the conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING between two languages are due to differences in cultural aspects.
Effects of using conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING in
These two languages belong to two different cultures but they share some similarities in the way to conceptualize economic activities due to the universality of language when perceiving the objective world It can be
70 undeniable that the similarity is due to the fact that both languages use embodied experience and universal cognitive metaphorical models when mapping economic entities and activities However, the cultural and psychosocial differences between the two languages create different cognitive expressions Despite of some dissimilarities, it is clear that the use of conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING in English and Vietnamese economic press give some certain strong effects and attract the target readers
First of all, the use of conceptual metaphors in economic field helps abstract concepts in economics become more defined, concrete and closer to readers It supports the readers easily visualize and feel economic activities that are difficult to understand and abstract with all their senses such as seeing, hearing and feeling Therefore, it does not limit readers by age and educational or cultural background because it is universal and very specific The readers can not only feel the pain and sickness of economy but also witness its progress like a plant from the first stage to aging
Moreover, conceptual metaphor in economics is very useful for journalists in the process of making headlines because it will attract readers' attention and curiosity from the very first words Especially in Vietnam's economic press, journalists often tend to put headlines that are shocking, or brief in word count, but impressive in content due to Vietnam's reading culture People often pay attention to hot and sex-related content or sometimes exaggerated news, and due to the competition between newspapers, they often use tricks to make headlines and attract the attention of the audience with words showing the fast pace of economic movements or money flow, for example, ―Vàng thế giới lập đỉnh lịch sử liên tiếp rượt đuổi giá vàng trong nước”, “Khẩu trang y tế cháy hàng, các nhà thuốc buộc phải xé lẻ để bán” or “Đau đầu tìm phương án thay thế thị trường Trung Quốc”.
Finally, with the aid of conceptual metaphor, economic articles have artistic, emotional, and pictorial beauty as work of art It is said that the content related to economy is often abstract, academic, incomprehensible and unfamiliar with general reader Nevertheless, by the virtue of using conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING, economic states are expressed in an interesting and vivid way For instance, the conceptualization GOOD/MORE IS UP, BAD/LESS IS DOWN to show the fluctuations of an economy is based on the movements UP and DOWN that are observed in the reality It definitely creates a vivid picture with many lines UP and DOWN like in the business cycle in front of the reader.
Discussion of conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING in
As mentionned in literature review, conceptual metaphor is now attracting many researchers in the field linguistics The finding of this research is a clue to illustrate the significance of conceptual metaphors, especially in economic press
This study only focuses on the use of conceptual metaphors ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING, and its frequency and effects is the main aim of the study as well as the similarities by virtue of the universality of conceptual metaphor and differences due to cultural factors of this mapping in two languages
Compared to previous study, this paper provides a deep look at the frequency of conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING in six economic press of two languages Therefore, it is so early to prove the frequency of conceptual metaphors in different laguages and other domains should be equally considered
It is undeniable that conceptual metaphors are used in a natural and systematical way in English and Vietnamese economic reports That may lead the readers to the curiosity about the contribution it makes to the discourse This part of the paper is to look deeply into the value that conceptual metaphors add to the articles
It can be also said that conceptual metaphor gives the pictorial, imaginative and attractive effects for economic reports which are boring and abstract for the readers It even evokes all of senses for the readers like feeling, touching, sighting, tasting and smelling Economic activities are appeared as a vivid organism in front of the readers with its physical movements People also can feel its pain and joy when it is sad or happy or worry when it gets sick Finally, economy also exists and grows as a tree with roots, branches and development stages
In addition, the use of conceptual metaphor ECONOMY IS A LIVING BEING in English and Vietnamese economic press in making headlines by metaphorical expressions which arouses the curiosity at the very first words
In brief, it is obvious that conceptual metaphors are of high frequency in oeconomic articles in two languages This consolidates the statement that conceptual metaphors should be an ordinary matter of language rather than an extraordinary aspect Secondly, the conceptual metaphors in economic reports are featured by six different source domains identified form the research, each with different rates of frequency Finally, a contrastive analysis of metaphorical expressions between English and Vietnamese economic press suggest that the use of conceptual metaphors improves the attractiveness of the articles and is necessary in our comprehension of a great number of terms in the field of economy