A study on metaphors of love in english songs in the late 20th century from cognitive perspective

This study focuses on the metaphors of love and lovers in the English love songs in the late 20th century from the cognitive perspective.. The researcher clarifies the metaphorical image

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

-o0o -

NGUYỄN THỊ HỒNG THU

A STUDY ON METAPHORS OF LOVE IN SOME ENGLISH

COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE Nghiên cứu ẩn dụ về tình yêu và tình nhân trong một số bản tình ca tiếng Anh

ở cuối thế kỷ 20 từ góc nhìn tri nhận

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Major: English Linguistics

Code: 60220201

Ha Noi, 2015

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

-o0o -

NGUYỄN THỊ HỒNG THU

A STUDY ON METAPHORS OF LOVE IN SOME ENGLISH

COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE Nghiên cứu ẩn dụ về tình yêu và tình nhân trong một số bản tình ca tiếng Anh

ở cuối thế kỷ 20 từ góc nhìn tri nhận

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Major: English Linguistics

Code: 60220201

Supervisors: Associate Professor Vo ̃ Đa ̣i Quang, Ph.D

Ha Noi, 2015

DECLARATION

I certify that this thesis A study on metaphors of love in some

English love songs in the late 20th century from the cognitive perspective

is the result of my own research and the substance of this thesis has not been submitted for a degree to any other university or institution

The work was done under the guidance of Assoc Prof Dr Võ Đại Quang, my supervisor

Ha Noi, November 2015

Nguyen Thi Hong Thu

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the following people for their great supports during my two-year time for the MA course

First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Assoc Prof

Dr Võ Đại Quang, my supervisor, for his clear guidance, insightful comments and dutiful supervision

My deep thanks also go to all the lecturers at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University- Ha Noi for their knowledge, experience and enthusiasm in their lectures, from which I have acquired valuable knowledge and inspiration to fulfill this minor thesis

With the passion for literature and semantics, I am really interested in the lectures of Prof Dr Nguyen Hoa and Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Thom which have inspired me to do this study

I also would like to express my sincere thanks to my family any many of my friends and colleagues for their valuable sharing and encouragements

Finally, my sincere thanks are for the people who will give me the precious comments after reading the graduation thesis

ABSTRACT

In this thesis, the researcher has tried to give an overview of the relevant literature review in the concern of the knowledge related to metaphors basing on the theory of the famous writers, especially Lakoff and Kovecses This study focuses on the metaphors of love and lovers in the English love songs in the late 20th century from the cognitive perspective It will help the readers have a deeper sight into theoretical knowledge on metaphors in order to be able to find out, comprehend and analyze the interesting metaphors in songs The writer also suggests some suitable ways for learners to learn English better, for teachers to give the effective lectures and for readers to translate the texts more exactly

In the paper, the researcher introduces, analyzes 86 quotes from 68 songs in 16 basic sets of metaphors: "Love is a natural phenomenon," "Love is Game", "Love is war "," Love is music "," Love is the light "," Love is the concrete objects, "" Love is madness "," Love is abstract things " "Love is closeness", "Love is heaven", "Love is a religion", "Love is a journey", "Love is living creature", "Love is magic", and "Love is fire", "Love is high/deep" The researcher clarifies the metaphorical images of love in songs, analyzes and categorizes them into 3 subtypes: ontological, structural or orientational metaphors with 16 sets of metaphors Then, the writer introduces and explains the ways how these metaphors are used as well as their artistic value in these songs

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

PART A INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale of the study 1

2 Aims and objectives of the study 1

3 Significance of the study 2

4 Scope of the study 2

5 Method of the study 3

6 Organization of study 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

1.1 Review of theoretical background 4

1.1.1 Word and its meanings 4

1.1.2 Change of meaning 5

1.1.3 Components of Word Meaning 5

1.1.4 Concepts of metaphor Error! Bookmark not defined 1.1.5 Classification of metaphor 7

1.1.6 Conceptual (cognitive) metaphors 7

1.1.7 Classification of conceptual (cognitive) metaphors 8

1.1.8 Target domain and source domain of conceptual metaphor 9

1.2 Review of previous works related to the theme of the thesis 10

1.2.1 ―Metaphor we live by‖ (1980) by Lakoff and Johnson 10

1.2.2 ―A holographic study of metaphors concerning love in Chinese‖ by Renying Yang 10

1.2.3 Richard Nordquist on his article ―Love is metaphor" 10

1.3 Summary 11

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 12

2.1 Research-governing orientations 12

2.1.1 Research questions 12

2.1.2 Research types 12

2.1.3 Research approach 12

2.1.4 Research methods 13

2.2 Data collection and data analysis 14

2.2.1 Data 14

2.2.2 Data collections instruments 14

2.2.3 Data analysis techniques 14

2.2.4 Data analysis 15

2.3 Research procedures 15

2.4 Reliability and validity 16

2.5 Summary 16

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 17

3.1 The typical metaphorical images of love and lovers in love songs in the late 20th century from cognitive perspective 17

3.1.1 Ontological metaphors 17

3.1.1.1 Love is a concrete and real object 17

3.1.1.2 Love is a living creature 20

3.1.1.3 Love is a natural phenomenon 21

3.1.1.4 Love is a game 22

3.1.2 Structural metaphors 23

3.1.2.1 Love is light 24

3.1.2.2 Love is madness 24

3.1.2.3 Love is the abstract thing 25

3.1.2.4 Love is religion 27

3.1.2.5 Love is closeness 28

3.1.2.6 Love is magic 31

3.1.2.7 Love is music 32

3.1.2.8 Love is a journey 33

3.1.2.9 Love is the heaven 34

3.1.2.10 Love is fire 34

3.1.2.11 Love is a war 36

3.1.2 Orientational metaphors 37

3.2 How these metaphorical images are expressed in songs 38

3.3 The artistic value of the metaphorical images in songs 39

3.4 Discussion of findings 39

3.4.1 Occurrence of linguistic items used metaphorically in songs 39

3.4.2 Occurrence of love metaphors in English songs in three subtypes 41

3.5 Summary 42

PART C: CONCLUSION 43

1 Concluding remarks and Implications 43

1.1 Concluding remarks 43

1.1.1 The typical metaphorical images of love and lovers in English songs 43

1.1.2 How these metaphorical images are expressed in songs 43

1.1.3 The value of these metaphorical images in songs Error! Bookmark not defined 1.2 Implications 43

1.2.1 Implications for learners 44

1.2.2 Implications for teachers 45

1.2.3 Implications for translators 46

2 Limitations and suggestions for further studies 47

REFERENCES 49

PART A INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

Metaphor in language is like a flower of life Life becomes more beautiful with the colorful flowers and language becomes more legend and lovely with the metaphorical images Understanding metaphors is crucial to comprehend figurative language in literature and to enhance practicing skills of learning English

Metaphors are used to describe something that the author cannot adequately represent in a literal fashion or in a simple declarative sentence They can broaden

or bring a fresh perspective to a familiar or overused subject Writers use metaphors

to give clarity to their writing or to paint a visual picture by words Whatever the author's intent, analyzing the context in which metaphors are used will reveal much about the poem's or prose work's meaning Adding metaphors when writing stories, poems or songs means adding interest and depth to writing Metaphors create more specific and clearer visual images of what the writer is trying to express

Metaphors, which are traditionally believed to be associated with literary or poetic language, are an ideal new land in music world for musicians and the language learners It is an effective device to make the communication more lively and colorful

By teaching students how to understand metaphors, we can lead them unleash their creativity and imagination Metaphors can also be effective in training learners in abstract thought as well as familiarizing them early with literary skills they will need later in their education

Love is a beautiful song in life People in love create the unique words to give the lovely messengers to each other and with the power of metaphor, love becomes the wings in sky Metaphors are wonderful device for musicians to write the love songs Through the love songs, metaphor is understood and studied more interestingly and effectively

2 Aims and objectives of the study

2.1 Aims of the study

This paper is to investigate metaphorical images of love and lovers used in English songs

in the late 20th century from the cognitive perspective It will help the readers:

- Have a deeper sight into theoretical knowledge on metaphor in order to be able to find, comprehend and analyze the interesting metaphors in songs

- Create some suitable ways for learners to learn English better, for teachers to give the effective lectures and for readers to translate the texts more exactly

2.2 Objectives of the study

In order to achieve the aims of the study, the objectives will be elaborated into the

following research questions:

1 What are the typical metaphors of love in English love songs in the late 20th century from the cognitive perspective?

2 How are the metaphors of love expressed in the love songs?

3 Significance of the study

3.1 Theoretical significance

This study is to find out typical metaphorical images of love and lovers in the famous English love songs with a view to contributing to the studies of linguistics from cognitive prospective That how these metaphorical images are expressed in cognition and the artistic value of these images in songs will be analyzed specifically can provide a new look into English literature

3.2 Practical significance

This research is performed with the purpose of helping Vietnamese learners and teacher of English better understand conceptual metaphors in English songs and then create the suitable tips to apply language flexibly As a result, they will be able to learn and teach English effectively In addition, it can contribute to the teaching of literature, semantics, cultural linguistics applied in Vietnamese universities of foreign languages Especially, the translators will take the

necessary notes when working with metaphors in the process of translation

4 Scope of the study

Basing on the theory of the famous writers, especially Lakoff and Kovecses, this study focuses on the metaphors of love and lovers in the famous English love songs

in the late 20th century from the cognitive perspective

5 Method of the study

The study is mainly carried out through the documentary analysis and descriptive study with the support of qualitative and quantitative approach The data is quantitatively analyzed in terms of the percentage of the occurrence of metaphorical images in all the songs to see the preference for which sets of expressions as well as frequencies of three types of metaphors: structural, ontological, and orientational Through qualitative approach, the metaphors, after being divided into categories according to the procedure of transferring meaning from the vehicles to the tenors guided by a theoretical lens, will be analyzed in details, synthesized and evaluated

6 Organization of the study

This study includes three parts and 3 chapters:

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Review of theoretical background

1.1.1 Word and its meanings

It is obvious that language is a tool for expressing human thought It reflects the way people think and view the world around them Each language has a different characteristic but it is generally expressed through a simply meaning form of language: word

In linguistics, a word is the smallest element that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content In ―Understanding English Semantics‖ by Nguyen Hoa (2004: 67) the word is regarded as the smallest indivisible meaningful units of a language which can operate independently The new point of this definition

is that it clarifies the independent characteristic of the word as a language unit Jackson & Amvela (2000: 50) mention the word as an uninterruptible unit of structure consisting of one or more morphemes and which typically occurs in the structure of phrases Hoang Tat Truong has an investigation in the independent characteristic of words in Basic English Lexicology (1993:2) in which the word is defined as dialectical unity of form and content, independent unit of language capable

to form a sentence by itself It can be seen from the definitions of the author that the word is the meaningful smallest unit that consists of the form and the content Words are divided into two basic types: Lexical words and grammatical words

The meaning of any word is a matter of what we do with our language, not something hidden inside anyone's mind or brain so Patrick Hogan (2010: 42) takes another definition ―Word meaning relates to the semantic value‖ that is conventionally associated with individual lexical items, which is to say word Because this paper partly depends on senses of words and semantic change to discover the metaphorical concepts of love, the following part is to focus on change of word meaning

1.1.2 Change of meaning

Language is a thing that is just changing all the time The change can affect any part

of language such as sounds, pronouncing, words combination According to Bloomfield, Leonard (1933: 425) ―innovation which change the lexical meaning rather than the grammatical function of a form, are classed as change of meaning or semantic change‖ The definition emphasizes lexical meaning change, whatever structure types the word belongs to Trier (1931: 134) with the studies beyond the analysis of single words has claimed that every semantic change of a word would

affect all other words in lexical term

All words have a meaning, but since English first appeared from its base language, the meanings of words have undergone changes Semantic change is the evolution

of word usage — usually to the point that the modern meaning is radically different from the original usage It is a change in one of the meanings of a word Every word has a variety of senses and connotations, which can be added, removed, or altered over time, often to the extent that cognates across space and time have very different meanings

An example of semantic change is metaphor as stated by Bloomfield, Leonard (1933), ―Poetic metaphor is largely an outgrowth of transferred uses of ordinary speech‖ Metaphor is a semantic change based on the association of similarity between referents The basic structure of the metaphor is very simple There is a thing we are talking about and that to which we are comparing it

Love is just a game, broken all the same (The Magic Numbers - Love Is Just a Game) This quotation expresses a metaphor because the love is not literally a game By figuratively asserting that the Love is just a game, the writer uses the points of comparison between the love and a game to convey an understanding about the characteristic of the love as a game – false and temporary

1.1.3 Components of Word Meaning

According to John Lyon (1996: 437), there are four major components of word meaning:

(a) Denotation: It includes conceptual and referential meanings which exist by virtue of what it refers to

(b) Connotation: It includes stylistic, affective, evaluative, and intensifying meaning that is the pragmatic communicative value of the words

(c) Structural meaning: is the meaning of a word acquires by virtue of its membership in a system or a set

(d) Categorical meaning: is the meaning which serves as a classificatory basis

In Understanding English Semantics, Nguyen Hoa (2004: 98) refers to denotation as the ability of a word or expression to identify all the objects covered by a word While connotation is the communicative value of a word or an expression by virtue

of what it refers to, over and above its purely conceptual content

If semantics components serve as material to analyze metaphors

1.1.4 Concepts of metaphor

Language is a very powerful tool as it reflects the way we categorize and conceptualize the world we live in It is almost impossible to understand a thing without grouping it with other category members that share the same properties In doing so, we acquire different kinds of concepts and, as a result, build our general knowledge Metaphors supply these requirements Often we treat them only as stylistic devices, but in fact metaphorical expressions verbally represent the way of human thinking and reasoning People tend to conceptualize emotions, love being one of them, metaphorically because both emotions and metaphors connected with them are inevitable parts of everyday live

''Without our ability to categorize, we would not function at all, either in the physical world or in our social and intellectual lives'' (1990: 6) Lakoff explains So many definitions of metaphor are created but it can be understood in the most common way: According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980: 4), ―Metaphor is for most people a device of the poetic imagination and the rhetorical flourish - a matter of extraordinary language rather than ordinary language‖ A metaphor can be defined

in the other ways for instance, ―The application of a word or phrase to

an object or concept it does not literally denote, suggesting comparison to

that object or concept‖ (Baars B.J, 1998:4) It is clear that the term metaphor refers

to the meaning of the word that can be expanded beyond its literal meaning For example, "a sea of troubles" or "All the world's a stage" (Shakespeare)

As it is stated by Vo Dai Quang (2005:169), metaphor is word meaning transference based on similarity between two things as regards function, character, size, shape, age, color etc Having the same idea, Trần Văn Cơ (2011: 4) confirmed that metaphor is meaning transference These definitions give the readers the insight into the metaphorical nature of the concepts that structure our everyday activities Metaphor is one kind of comparisons It is the name given to a way of using language in a way that relies more on imagination than literal reality For examples:

―Love is a rose‖,In this example, the word rose has a connotative meaning that is

thought to be a very beautiful and fresh object to people The essence of love is likened and understood in terms of a characteristic of a rose So, this meaning is transferred to refer to the characteristic of love to imply that love is lovely and wonderful

1.1.5 Classification of metaphor

There are many ways to classify the metaphor According to Lakoff and Johnson, three types of metaphoric concepts can be distinguished, marginal metaphoric concepts ( Lakoff and Johnson 1980: 55), conventional metaphoric concepts (Lakoff and Johnson 1980: 4), and new metaphoric concepts (Lakoff and Johnson 1980: 145) Metaphoric concepts take public form in metaphoric expressions, also called

―metaphors‖ Metaphors, like any other stylistic devices, can be classified according

to their degree of unexpectedness As it is stated by Nguyen Hoa (2004: 109), basing

on the degree of unexpectedness, there are three main types of metaphors namely living metaphors, faded metaphors and dead metaphors

1.1.6 Conceptual (cognitive) metaphors

George Lakoff and Mark Johnson claimed that metaphor is not just a matter of language, but a matter of thought (1980: 7) They believe that language is an indicator of the nature of our conceptual system, and metaphor is so pervasive in language that it actually structures how we make sense of and interact with the world around us Hence the term ‗conceptual metaphor‘ appeared

Metaphor is a way of understanding a concept and according to Lakoff and Johnson,

meaning and truth depend on understanding Truth is not objective, but depends on context; it relies on a human thinker Thus, metaphors structure what we perceive as truth Kövecses believes that metaphor involves using one conceptual domain to understand another conceptual domain (Kövecses, 2002:4)

Cognitive Linguistics allows us to understand that metaphorical thinking is crucial to human cognition Thus, Lakoff and Johnson propose a cognitive theory of metaphor,

as a process thanks to which one concept is understood using another concept (Lakoff 1980: 5) The best example of this is talking about love in terms of journey

As mentioned previously, our ability to categorize allowed us to gather knowledge about journeys that we can depend on in understanding love Kövecses emphasizes that we need to differentiate conceptual metaphor from metaphorical linguistic expressions He proves that the latter disclose the existence of the former ―To know

a conceptual metaphor is to know this set of mappings A is B It was also pointed that metaphor in cognitive linguistic view is primarily conceptual metaphor

1.1.7 Classification of conceptual (cognitive) metaphors

According to Lakoff and Johnson in Metaphors We Live By (1980) and Zoltan Kovecses in Metaphor: A Practical Introduction, there are 3 kinds of conceptual

metaphors: structural metaphors, orientational metaphors, ontological metaphors

a Structural metaphors:

Structural metaphors are generally understood conceptual metaphors where one concept is metaphorically structured in terms of another Structural metaphor is the most productive type of all conceptual metaphors ‗Structural metaphors‘ occur when a concept is metaphorically structured by another concept ‖, as Lakoff and

Johnson (1980: 61) write, e.g Love is a journey In Metaphors we live by Lakoff

and Johnson state that 'the conceptual system is metaphorical in nature' (Lakoff, 1980:4)

b Orientational metaphors:

Orientational metaphors organize immaterial concepts in terms of physical orientation: happiness is up (high spirits) and sadness is down (feeling low), the future is ahead and the past behind The group of orientational metaphors is said to

be connected with our orientation in space (Lakoff, 1980:16)

c Ontological metaphors:

In ontological metaphors experiences are treated as concrete objects e.g containers (I put a lot of energy into preparing decorations) When we deal with them in such a way we can "refer to them, categorize them, group them, and quantify them - and, by these means, reason about them" (Lakoff, 1980:25)

LOVE IS FIRE metaphor is an example for structural metaphor

―My heart is on fire, I do not want to get burned again, that kindled love in his heart.‖ Thanks to the metaphorical expression that kindled love in his heart, we can conceptualize love as having a beginning and an end just as fire has When the fire is kindled, the love begins; when it goes out, the love ends These examples also prove that we not only talk about love in terms of fire The lover can be consumed by love when he/she is so in love that it is all that he/she thinks about If the lover does not want to get burned again it may mean he/she does not want to experience the same serious disappointment after an unsuccessful relationship

1.1.8 Target domain and source domain of conceptual metaphor

Conceptualist views consider metaphor as a cognitive mechanism used to structure our knowledge in the mind by means of one domain of experience understood in terms of the first one

A metaphor has two conceptual domains One is the thing that is to be understood, which is called the target domain, and the other is the thing that is used to understand the first one, and it is called the source domain (Kövecses, 2002:4) The source domain and the target domain interact in ―a set of systematic correspondences between the source and the target‖ which ―are often referred to as mappings‖ (Kövecses, 2002:6)

According to Barcelona (2000:3), Metaphor isthe cognitive mechanism whereby one experiential domain is partially mapped or projected onto a different experiential domain so that the second domain is partially understood in terms of the first one In the example ―love is a game‖, "love" is compared to a game, describing it with the attributes of "game"; "love" is the tenor, and "a game" is the vehicle

1.2 Review of previous works related to the theme of the thesis

Up to now, there have been various studies on the metaphor based on theories of linguistic scholars such as:

1.2.1 “Metaphor we live by” (1980) by Lakoff and Johnson

Lakoff and Johnson are the most remarkable writers with the famous books on

metaphor that introduce the overview and deep knowledge on metaphor Of all,

―Metaphor we live by‖ (1980) is most helpful and worth for the researcher to take

as a basic theoretical background for their thesis The book has a great influence on our understanding of metaphor and its role in language and the mind The authors supply an afterword surveying how their theory of metaphor has developed within the cognitive sciences to become central to the contemporary understanding of how

we think and how we express our thoughts in language Lakoff and Johnson launch into a stimulating deconstruction of what they term "conceptual metaphors", and the complex way in which they interact to structure our experience of reality

Lakoff sets out to show that metaphors are a fundamental part of our thought processes whenever we try to think abstractly His book does not provide a rigorous scientific proof, but it does present a lot of evidence in favor of the thesis

1.2.2 “A holographic study of metaphors concerning love in Chinese” by Renying Yang

This work makes a thorough analysis of love metaphors in Chinese Based the conceptual study of emotional metaphors by Lakoff, Kovecses and the others, this paper structures a conceptual metaphor of love in Chinese and reveals an understanding of its characteristics and cultural models It also presents the cultural-specific characteristics by giving a diachronic study of love metaphors in Chinese

1.2.3 Richard Nordquist on his article “Love is metaphor"

The writer lists 99 metaphors of love in many literature works These metaphors come from the real and concrete things in our life such as rose, star, journey, flame, razor…However, this is only the examples of love metaphors The readers expect to have a more specific interpretation on these kinds of metaphors basing on the theoretical background

In short, these works play an important role in building language instructions in general and instructions for use of metaphors in particular However, up to now, not many studies base on the cognitive perspective to analyze the metaphors of love in songs deeply and systematically Also, the number of metaphors of love quoted are not diverse and various In addition, these have little authentic and practical value in teaching and translation It is the reason why I have decided to do the research

entitled ―A study on love and lovers in some English songs in the late 20th century

from the cognitive perspective‖ with the hope to give the reader the interesting

experience through the metaphoric images in songs as well as their artistic value and from this analysis to make a meaningful contribution to learning English in

reading and writing skills for learners, teachers and translators

1.3 Summary

To sum up, in this chapter, the researcher has tried to give an overview of the relevant literature in the concern of the study It has dealt with the knowledge related to metaphors such as word, word meaning, meaning transference as well as detailed description about metaphors introduced such as definitions of metaphor, cognitive metaphor, types, mapping Furthermore, the chapter helps the readers understand more profoundly and typically about metaphors – a very important knowledge to learn, teach, translate and study

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2.1 Research-governing orientations

With the aim of achieving the study on linguistic features and the distinctive features of metaphors as well as interpreting the metaphorical images of love and lover in songs, the thesis is carried out through the documentary analysis method combined with the descriptive, qualitative and quantitative approaches Besides, inductive analytic method and description are also used in this research

journals about metaphor such as the famous works ― Metaphor we live by ‖by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), Metaphor: A Practical Introduction by Zoltan Kovecses (2002), Understanding English Semantics by Nguyen Hoa (2004), ect

The study is a means of discovering new meaning of love and lover, describing what exists in the world of emotion on the basis of the data on metaphors that have been collected through songs Research papers allow the writer to take their new thoughts thanks to the knowledge acquired through previous works to be applied toward her own topic of choice ―A study on metaphors of ―love‖ and ―lovers‖ English love songs‖ The research also includes the personal knowledge, intellectual application in the investigation of the topic

2.1.3 Research approach

This study is mainly carried out according to qualitative and quantitative

approach However, qualitative method is dominantly used Quantitative research is based on analyzing the data, measuring with numbers, and using statistical techniques to find out the percentage of metaphorical systems occurring in the songs collected By contrast, qualitative research involves an interpretive and naturalistic approach: researcher studies metaphors in their natural settings, attempts to make sense of, to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings such as love is fire, love is a game, ect

Mixed methods research is an approach to inquiry involving collecting both quantitative and qualitative data, integrating the two forms of data, and using distinct designs that may involve philosophical assumptions and theoretical frameworks

The research based on qualitative approach tends to be inductive This involves a move from the specific to the general and is sometimes called a bottom-up approach in which

a theory is looked for and developed on the basis of the data that collected From analyzing the samples or quotes from many love songs guided by a theoretical lens which provides a framework for the investigation, the last result, 16 settings of love metaphor are referred and categorized

2.1.4 Research methods

The major methods which are used for this thesis are documentary analysis and descriptive research methods Documentary analysis is a form of qualitative research in which documents are interpreted by the researcher It refers to the various procedures: First of all, official documents related to metaphor are collected The task for the researcher is not to take such documents at face value In addition to finding out the vital theoretical knowledge on metaphors, the researcher must realize where the metaphorical images used are in songs, what terms they belong to, how they were constructed, and how they are used and interpreted After analyzing and interpreting data generated from the examination of documents and records, the findings will be categorized and synthesized Descriptive research will provide an accurate portrayal of characteristics of metaphor and typical metaphorical images of love and lovers in English songs basing on theoretical

framework

2.2 Data collection and data analysis

2.2.1 Data

The data for analysis are mainly samples taken from the famous English love songs

of all kinds in the late 20th century There are 68 songs used with 86 sentences quoted They almost come from the collections of Carpenter, Beatles, Holly Knight, Blink, Amy Wine house ect They are collected from websites, newspapers, magazines, books… In this way, the natural and practical manner of the material will reinforce the accuracy of the results The major method to collect data is surveying with observation of instances of linguistic expressions used to signal metaphor, selecting the samples related to the topic

2.2.2 Data collections instruments

Reading, reviewing and selecting documentary are considered as the main instruments for collecting data that is collected in textual form on the basis of observation of previous works, songs and references related The author read any and all kinds of documentation related to metaphors used to provide useful information

To gather the various and valuable data, the author had to listen to any songs she heard by chance anywhere and write down all the sentences related metaphor, then categorize them according to the criteria such as time published, types and choose the ones suitable for the topic After the process of researching and collecting data, the information continues to be classified into different categories depending on the requirements of the research in order to make it easy for the researcher to find and to analyze the data

2.2.3 Data analysis techniques

After the process of reading and collecting data from the songs found, the researcher starts to analyze the image of love in terms of conceptual metaphor From numerous samples, the researcher tries to choose the most interesting and concrete ones to illustrate important points under the investigation The next step is

to synthesize the information analyzed in order to fit into the thesis The stage of

analyzing and synthesizing are all conducted manually By analyzing and synthesizing, the researcher hopes to be on the right way of mapping out the images

of love in songs

2.2.4 Data analysis

All the samples are categorized and described, then qualitatively and quantitatively processed In order to achieve the aims of this study, both quantitative and qualitative methods are adopted for data analysis The data is qualitatively analyzed and in 16 sets of expressions denoting love according to conceptual metaphor theory, Lakoff & Johnson (1980) and Kovecses (1986): love is conceptualized as natural phenomena, games, war, music, light, concrete things, madness, abstract things, closeness, heaven, religion, journey, living creature, magic, and fire

The data is also quantitatively analyzed in terms of the percentage of occurrence of metaphorical images in all the songs to see the preference for which sets of expressions as well as frequencies of structural, ontological, and orientational metaphors which are suggested by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) The metaphors, after being divided into categories according to the procedure of transferring meaning from the vehicles to the tenors, will be analyzed in details In the procedure of analyzing, the writer will make clear the value of figure language in songs

2.3 Research procedures

After choosing the topic, the author will orient the research by the appropriate steps to support the content At the same time, reading and searching the relevant materials related to metaphor are compulsory Then, the author must determine the reason why she chooses the topic by clarifying the aim and objectives with three research questions above When reading the materials on metaphor, the writer will collect the important and representative theoretical framework of metaphors for discussing in order to guide the study The most decisive process is collecting and analyzing data because of its effect the whole procedures of the study After reading and considering a great number

of songs, the author finally decides to choose 68 representative love songs from the late 20th century with 86 quotes

Next, all the collected data are mostly qualitatively processed Metaphors are divided

into different categories to analyze according to the procedure of transferring meanings from the vehicles to the tenors In this model, conceptual metaphors are classified into three different kinds, namely structural metaphors, ontological metaphor, and orientational metaphors Afterwards, they are categorized and synthesized basing on similarities and differences of metaphors of love Then, the writer suggests some ways

of perceiving metaphors and look for their distribution in the value of songs Last but not least, the implication for learning, teaching and translating together with the limitations, and suggestions for further study will be presented

2.4 Reliability and validity

Any information quoted in this study is exactly the same as the original materials with clear references of its author(s), the same publishers, the time and place of publication as well as the page numbers where the information is extracted Therefore, both data and the background for the study are reliable

In terms of validity, all of expressions analyzed in this study are truly representative The data are enough but not much and this may not allow us to discover more types of metaphors along with the linguistic devices apart from those that have traditionally been employed Also, the data analysis based mostly on our inference from the linguistic context may lead to subjective decision on the metaphors

2.5 Summary

In this chapter, a brief summary about the research methodology used in this study such as the research types, approach and methods, data collection, da ta analysis, research procedures This research methodology is very important because it helps the author collect the valuable data, choose the appropriate

methods and orient the analysis well

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 The typical metaphorical images of love in the love songs in the late 20th century from cognitive perspective

In this section, the writer will present the metaphors of love found in the data Various kinds of metaphors of love present the different aspects of the most powerful emotion of human beings Only a few of them, the most fascinating and outstanding ones have been chosen In spite of the fact that it is impossible to present all the sides of this special feeling, the writer tries to give a general overview on metaphor Therefore it is very important to comprehend this abstract feeling by using more concrete concepts such as a journey, war or fire, ect Thanks

to metaphors, we create in our minds the breathtaking pictures of an incredible world we live in

There are a variety of ways to classify metaphors, as Kövecses (2002: 46) states As for this thesis, the metaphors found in the lyrics are categorized under appropriate conceptual metaphors, which in turn are classified either as, ontological, structural

or orientational metaphors

3.1.1 Ontological metaphors

Ontological metaphors, according to Kövecses (2002: 328), arise from speakers‘ experiences in terms of objects, substances, and containers They usually show something abstract through something concrete ‗Ontological metaphors‘ usually show something abstract through something concrete‖ Lakoff and Johnson (1980/2003) say that our understanding of our experiences in terms of objects and substances makes it possible for us to reason about them and to make them more concrete, so to speak Followings are the ontological metaphors of love and lovers

3.1.1.1 Love is a concrete and real object

Kovecses (2002:4) proposed that in the majority of cases, the roles of source and target domains are irreversible since our experience lays a foundation for the comprehension of more abstract domains ―Love‖ is an abstract emotion but thanks

to metaphor – an effective language tool, it turns out a concrete thing that we can possess, can use senses to perceive Therefore, we can conceptualize this knowledge to reason for ―love is a concrete thing‖ metaphor

Relationships as real objects are perceived to develop in a natural order from infancy to maturity They are born, they grow, they mature, they require nurturing, and they can wither and die They are like ―love‖ They have five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch to receive knowledge of things in the world around The heart can use its‘ eyes to catch the images of love in these examples below:

Here's the morning that my heart had seen

Here's the morning that just had to come through

(The Carpenters /Those Good Old Dreams ) The eyes of the heart are really sensitive and gentle to feel everything in the world, especially the changes in love stories: love can be a pristine and fresh morning with the exciting new feeling and full emotion of the lovers It also can be a sunset when the souls are closed and blue It is not easy to have the sophistication in ones‘ mind unless they are in the real love

Love is a part of mental life It is familiar and essential as a part of body

You were my eyes when I couldn't see

(Celine Dion - Because you love me)

A imagine is so touching that it can make everyone arouse strong feelings of sympathy: lovers are the eyes and the light of each other no matter how dark it is and how blind the lovers‘ eyes are An eye is enough for them to go to the end of life He is every reason, every hope, and every dream she has ever had, and no matter what happens to them in the future, everyday they are together is the greatest day of my life

In feeling of lover, the heart is a melody, sound of which only lovers can hear:

Take my heart, don't lose it

Listen to your heart (Modern Talking- Cherry lady)

It's hard to find words to tell how much lovers mean to each other Maybe, the man doesn't say anything at all But the girl will understand, will realize what his heart is

whispering

We can see sweet taste of love through the song lyrics in English

You'll always be a part of me

If you should find you miss the sweet and tender love we used to share

(Naked Eyes - Always Something There To Remind Me)

To the world, you may be one person, but to one person you are the world That is

the message lovers want to send to each other ―You'll always be a part of me‖ That part belongs to body and it is indispensable in life.―You‖ are all what ―I‖ live for.―You‖ and ―I‖ are growing up and together go through the storms of life My love for you is like a sweet and tender candy both taste That love experiences the wonderful memories which make their love be a beautiful never-ending story

Love can be the concrete things such as: the voice when a person couldn't speak, the

shoulder to cry on in the moment of disappointment, the strength or power to make lovers stronger; Here are some other examples:

You were my strength when I was weak

You were my voice when I couldn't speak

(Celine Dion because you love me)

Chiquitita, tell me the truth

I'm a shoulder you can cry on

And your love's a blown out candle (ABBA - Chiquitita)

You cut away the heart of my life (Rockwell- knife)

You're the power and I'm in it

I've been a miner for a heart of gold(Neil Young - Heart of Gold)

Ooh you're a holiday, every day, such a holiday

Now it's my turn to say, and I say you're a holiday

(Bee Gees - Holiday Lyrics) Being deeply loved by someone gives her/him strength and loving someone deeply gives courage and power to overcome every difficulty and challenge in life It is love that givesus strength to transform pain to power In the hardest situations, when

a person falls down to an abyss, the other will find the way to save her That strong person can break through the walls, love you through the pain, pull you from the dark life, and is a reliable shoulder to lean and cry

3.1.1.2 Love is a living creature

a Love is a human being

Love is like a body of a human being that is sometimes weak, but sometimes very strong, as a result, there is also the eternal love but there is also temporary love like

a wrong arrangement of God Like a person, it has the different tones of emotion such as waiting, being angry, being jealous…

Don‘t tell me that love‘s not waiting for us

(Tokyo Square- That is love) But without carefulness, it may pass away:

And yet you don‘t believe her when she says her love is dead.(Carpenters Someday)

Like a creature, love is born with the shaking of the heart, and when it is over, love cannot exist With the word ―dead‖, the listener can feel all the feelings of hurt and the upset of the character Love has a life cycle like human

I've tried too hard just to keep love alive

That I had your love and let it go

b Love is a tree/ plant

In the eyes of people who are in love, sometimes love becomes a living thing Like

a plant, it needs nutrition to grow up and develop It needs supplying fertilizer to bloom and fructify Kövecses (2002/2010) opens the conceptual metaphor by explaining the use of plants as a source domain They have different growth stages and they consist of different parts – all of which can be used for metaphoric expressions A part of the plant can represent the whole, the growth of the plant can represent the development of love, the flowering of the plant can represent the best

of times in a love relationship, the fruits can represent beneficial consequences of the love (such as children), and so on

When a dozen red roses came my way

Warmed up my heart '(Minogue - Count the Days‘)

A dozen red roses from a lover is a token of love; the lover wishes to express her/his love – and more metaphorically, the red roses represent love As Ferber writes, especially in Renaissance poetry red is one of the colors of love (1999: 169) The language of flowers, the messages the given flowers convey from the giver to the recipient, tells us that red roses convey passionate love

c Love is a bird

Love is a bird, she needs to fly

Let all the hurt inside of you die (Madonna-"Frozen")

This metaphor is saying that love can be held inside and locked up but once its captive is opened up, love is free to go wherever it wants just like a bird Love now turns into a living creature that now has a life and a soul It makes decisions, it feels, and it hurts Love is not a prison Metaphors are all about creating connections between seemingly-related ideas Birds and flying are connected ideas, so the metaphor is either that love is like a bird, or that love needs to be free

3.1.1.3 Love is a natural phenomenon

The most common metaphors of love are natural phenomena Many natural sources like the sun, the star or the moon are used to express the power as well as the importance of love

a Love is the sun

Sunlight and dark belong to the most fundamental terms used metaphorically The sun usually represents goodness or knowledge In many religions the sun is brought

to the world by or originates from a God Love can be interpreted as a positive feeling, representing righteousness and virtue when one is pure at heart, one is innocent and virtuous

And brightened my day…

Now it all seems, light years away (Carpenters- Cant smile without you)

The sun provides people with light, heat and energy Without the sun, nothing can exist here When she metaphorically refers him as the sun, it has demonstrated the essential role which her love has played in his life

Who sings of all of love‘s eternity

Whose shines so bright (Tangerine Dream -Love by the sun)

This metaphor is built based on the similarity in function of both objects: the sun and the lover The sun lights up the earth, while the lover lights up the life of the singer, makes it warmer and more colorful And because the sun is eternal, the singer hopes that the magic of love will go with him until the end

b Love is the moon/ the stars

The moon and stars are the beautiful images in literature and art Love shows the lover in the best possible light: lovely and luminescent

The moon that rose now descended,

And the love one shared now had ended

(Carpenters-Another song)

You ask me why the moon is bright…

Love is like the moon in your heart

(Jessica Jay –Love is like the moon)

You're a falling star, you're the get away car

You're the line in the sand when I go too far

(Michael buble-Everything) Perhaps the writer wants to point out that when in love, we tend to see the object of our love through rose-colored glasses We see only the good sides and close our eyes from the worse ones But then again, to see the good in people is virtuous and as love neither counts wrongs nor dishonors others, this is indeed seeing people lovely in their lights Light can bring enlightenment and it can illuminate minds as well

Girl, this game can't last forever (Modern Talking - Brother Louie)