MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M A THESIS CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS OF LIFE IN BRITISH NOVELS IN THE 21st CENTURY (Ẩn dụ ý niệm về cuộc sống trong những tiểu thuyết nước Anh.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M.A THESIS CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS OF LIFE IN BRITISH NOVELS IN THE 21st CENTURY (Ẩn dụ ý niệm cuộc sống tiểu thuyết nước Anh của thế kỷ 21 ) NGUYỄN THỊ HỒNG LIÊN Field: English Language Code: 22 02 01 Hanoi – 2022 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M.A THESIS CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS OF LIFE IN BRITISH NOVELS IN THE 21st CENTURY (Ẩn dụ ý niệm cuộc sống tiểu thuyết nước Anh của thế kỷ 21 ) NGUYỄN THỊ HỒNG LIÊN Field: English Language Code: 22 02 01 Supervisor: Dr Tran Thi Le Dung Hanoi – 2022 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled “Conceptual Metaphors of Life in British Novels in the 21st Century” submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Language Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis Hanoi, 2022 Nguyễn Thị Hồng Liên Approved by SUPERVISOR Trần Thị Lệ Dung Date: …………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It has been a long journey for me to finish my thesis There are also many people who walked along with me to support and motivate me during the time of doing the research First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Ms Tran Thi Le Dung, Ph D., my supervisor, who has patiently and constantly supported me through the stages of the study, and whose stimulating ideas, expertise, and suggestions have inspired me greatly through my growth as an academic researcher My thanks also go to all my lecturers at Hanoi Open University for their precious knowledge which lay the foundation for this study, my colleagues and many others whose support and encouragement help me to have this thesis accomplished Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family and friends for their patience, endless love, and devotion Whatever choices I have made, they have always stood by me and believed in me I am immensely thankful for all the assistance they have given to me ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii ABSTRACT iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .1 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims and objectives of the study 1.2.1 Aims of the study 1.2.2 Objectives of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Methods of the study .2 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study .4 1.7 Structure of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Previous studies .6 2.2 Cognitive science 2.2.1 Cognitive Linguistics 2.2.2 Cognitive Semantics 10 2.3 Figurative language .11 2.3.1 Definition of figurative language .11 2.3.2 Kinds of figurative language 12 2.4 Metaphor .14 2.4.1 Definition of metaphor .14 2.4.2 Metaphor in cognitive semantics 16 2.5 Conceptual metaphor 18 2.5.1 Classifications of conceptual metaphors 20 2.5.1.1 Structural metaphors .21 2.5.1.2 Ontological Metaphors 22 iii 2.5.1.3 Orientational metaphors 23 2.5.2 Conceptual metaphor domain 25 2.5.2.1 Source domain .26 2.5.2.2 Target domain 26 2.6 Novels and life .26 2.6.1 Novels 26 2.6.2 Conceptual metaphor of life 28 2.7 Summary .29 CHAPTER 3: CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS OF LIFE IN BRITISH NOVELS 30 3.1 British Novel Presentation 30 3.1.1 Half Broken Things 30 3.1.2 Millennium People 30 3.1.3 Black Butterfly 30 3.1.4 Wolf Hall 31 3.1.5 Me before You 31 3.1.6 Oblivion .31 3.1.7 Life after Life 32 3.1.8 The Unexpected Consequences of Love 32 3.1.9 The Girl on the Train 32 3.2 Structural metaphors of life in the selected British novels .33 3.2.1 LIFE IS A JOURNEY .33 3.2.2 LIFETIME IS PASSING OF TIME 37 3.2.3 LIFE IS A STORY .40 3.2.4 LIFE IS A WAR 42 3.2.5 LIFE IS A GAME .45 3.2.6 Summary of structural metaphors 46 3.3 Ontological metaphors of life in the selected British novels 47 3.3.1 LIFE IS AN ENTITY .47 3.3.2 LIFE IS A CONTAINER 50 3.3.3 LIFE IS A PERSONAL POSSESSION 51 3.3.4 LIFE IS A PERSON 53 3.3.5 LIFE IS A MACHINE 55 3.3.6 Summary of ontological metaphors 57 iv 3.4 Summary 58 CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION 59 4.1 Recapitulation .59 4.2 Concluding remarks 59 4.3 Limitations of the research 60 4.4 The implications 60 4.4.1 Implications for teachers 61 4.4.2 Implications for learners 62 4.5 Recommendations and suggestions for further research 62 REFERENCES 63 APPENDICES 65 v ABSTRACT In this study, life metaphors in contemporary British novels are examined conceptually in the framework theory of Lakoff and Johnson (1980/2003), Kovecses (2002) The structural and ontological metaphors used in the thesis will be examined to determine how they represent the authors' views on life The study is mainly carried out through the documentary analysis and descriptive study with the support of qualitative and quantitative approach Alternatively said, the lines of books serve as the research's data source According to the study's findings, there are ten conceptual metaphors that are employed to describe life They are journey, passing of time, a story, a war, a game, an entity, a container, a personal possession, a person and a machine Each of these ten conceptual metaphor source domains has its own distinct view of what life is The source domains demonstrate how the abstraction of life might be expressed in more precise conceptual metaphoric domains Finally, the study concluded by demonstrating the presence of conceptual metaphor in daily life Thus, it is crucial and helpful to learn mental metaphor and apply it in daily life Besides, it not only aids students while they learn English but also enables them to more readily reach the outside world and broaden their knowledge of several languages iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CM: Conceptual Metaphor SM: Structural Metaphor OM: Ontological Metaphor OrM: Orientational Metaphor SD: Source Domain TD: Target Domain v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: 21st century’s selected British novels Table 2: Frequency of Structural Metaphors denoting LIFE .46 Table 3: Frequency of Ontological Metaphors denoting LIFE 57 Figure Types and frequency of CM in British novels in 21st century 58 vi ... ideational, manipulative, heuristic, and imaginative capacities For example, metaphors can be used persuasively in descriptions or arguments The ability for learners to identify and objectively or critically... 1994) and Radden (1997) examine the concept of time as conceptualized in terms of moving objects Evans (2004) is a book-length study of time In Viet Nam, there are some noticeable cognitive linguists,... cognovi, congnitum, which means to know, conceptualize, or perceive) and is defined in the Oxford Advanced Learner''s Dictionary (Hornby, 2000) as "the process by which knowledge and understanding