VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ THU HẰNG METAPHORS USED IN HEADLINES OF SOME ELECTRONIC ARTICLES ON US[.]
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ THU HẰNG METAPHORS USED IN HEADLINES OF SOME ELECTRONIC ARTICLES ON US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2012: A STUDY FROM COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE (Các phép ẩn dụ tiêu đề số báo điện tử viết chiến dịch tranh cử tổng thống Mỹ năm 2012: Nghiên cứu từ góc độ tri nhận) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Hanoi, 2016 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ THU HẰNG METAPHORS USED IN HEADLINES OF SOME ELECTRONIC ARTICLES ON US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2012: A STUDY FROM COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE (Các phép ẩn dụ tiêu đề số báo điện tử viết chiến dịch tranh cử tổng thống Mỹ năm 2012: Nghiên cứu từ góc độ tri nhận) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Lâm Quang Đông Hanoi, 2016 DECLARATION I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled “Metaphors used in headlines of some electronic articles on US presidential election campaign 2012: A study from cognitive perspective” submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Linguistics Except where the reference is indicated, no other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis Hanoi, 2016 Nguyen Thi Thu Hang i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would have never been able to complete my MA thesis without the enthusiastic guidance of Assoc Prof Dr Lam Quang Dong, my supervisor, who has patiently and constantly supported me through each stage of my study as well as provided me with invaluable comments I am also grateful for his precious ideas which have inspired me greatly through my growth as an academic researcher A special thank also goes to all the lecturers and the staff in Faculty of PostGraduate Studies and many others, who have created favorable conditions for me to fulfill my MA dissertation, and without whose encouragement it would never have been possible for me to have this thesis accomplished A special appreciation is also sent to my peers in Master classes, Cohort 22 for their both in-time advices and priceless suggestions which they have supplied me I am indebted to them for their time and sympathies that they have shared with me during the process of my research writing Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family for the sacrifice they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work ii ABSTRACT This MA minor thesis investigates the use of metaphors in headlines of some electronic articles on US presidential election campaign 2012 As the study applied the theoretical framework proposed by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), all three kinds of metaphors including structural, orientational, and ontological metaphors were found in 75 news headlines Among 85 metaphorical expressions discovered in 75 article headlines, 67 were labeled as structural metaphors, making up 78.8% It turned out that war terms appeared with the highest frequency among other source domains like sport competition, race, game, and business While orientational metaphors were realized through 10 metaphorical expressions (corresponding to 11.8%), ontological metaphors were depicted in only (equivalent to 9.4%) By analyzing how three kinds of metaphors employed in such political news headlines, the study is expected to partly reveal the conceptual frame of American people towards politics in general and election news in particular iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Aims of the study Scope of the study Significance of the study Research methodology 5.1 Research questions 5.2 Research approach 5.3 Research methods 5.4 Data analysis 5.5 Data collection procedures Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW Theoretical background 1.1 Cognitive linguistics 1.2 Metaphor 1.2.1 Traditional views on metaphor 1.2.2 Metaphor under the light of cognitive linguistics 1.2.3 Classification of metaphor Literature review 10 2.1 Metaphors in news headlines 10 2.2 Metaphors in politics 12 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 15 2.1 Research questions 15 2.2 Research methods 15 2.3 Research procedures 15 iv 2.4 Data collection and data analysis 16 2.4.1 Data collection 16 2.4.2 Data analysis 16 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS 19 3.1 Structural metaphors 19 3.1.1 Politics is war 19 3.1.2 Politics is sport competition 20 3.1.3 Politics is race 21 3.1.4 Politics is game 22 3.1.5 Politics is business 23 3.2 Orientational metaphors 25 3.2.1 Having control is up 25 3.2.2 More is up, less is down 25 3.2.3 Less is behind 26 3.2.4 Foreseeable future events are ahead 27 3.3 Ontological metaphors 27 3.3.1 Nonhuman entities carry human capacities 28 3.3.2 Abstracts are things 28 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 31 4.1 Findings 31 4.2 Discussion 32 PART C: CONCLUSION 35 Recapitulation 35 Limitations and suggestions for further research 35 Implications 36 REFERENCES 38 APPENDIX I APPENDIX VI v LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS Table 3.1: Frequency of source domains in structural metaphors Chart 4.1: Proportions of three kinds of metaphors Chart 4.2: Proportions of source domains used in structural metaphors vi PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale It is taken for granted that politics-related language is rigid, standardized and conventional However, metaphor, which is considered a very interesting linguistic phenomenon, can also be employed effectively in the field of politics, making political news become friendlier and less superior to the public For this reason, the author is desirous of investigating how metaphors are used in the headlines of some electronic articles on US presidential election campaign 2012 It is undeniable that metaphors are not only a promising land for writers‟ creativity to take off but also a product of minds, intellect and cognitive system According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), this rhetorical device is not only considered a characteristic of language, but it is also a matter of thought and action Likewise, it is hoped that, under the lens of cognitive linguistics, this research paper will provide readers with a clear description of metaphors used in the headlines of such political articles Among series of political events during the last years, the US election campaign in 2012 emerged as the most striking one that the whole world kept track of As a matter of fact, the political campaign was actually the close race between the President Barack Obama – a prominent representative of Democratic Party and Mitt Romney – an outstanding nominee of Republican Party Therefore, it comes as no surprise that almost all of the headlines used to analyze in this dissertation portray the fierce competition between these two candidates With the hope of elaborating on the nature of metaphors in political news, the research paper will discuss the relationship between the source domains and target domains in structural metaphors as well as uncover kinds of metaphors employed in those headlines It is also expected that the researcher can discover the most pervasive kind of metaphor, the most dominant source domain in order to show readers the logical relationship between the human conceptual system and the language of politics Last but not least, there is little research exploring metaphors in the context of politics, which urges the author to investigate how this kind of meaning transference is employed in such election news Aims of the study The research paper is aimed at: - Pointing out the kinds of metaphors exploited in those political headlines This aim can be achieved on the ground of Lakoff and Johnson‟s view in their famous book titled “Metaphors we live by” (2003) - Exploring how those metaphors are used in such political headlines, and identifying the most pervasive source domains of structural metaphors - Suggesting some implications for the process of teaching, learning and translating metaphors Scope of the study The study focuses on the headlines of electronic articles whose contents are about the US presidential election 2012 These articles are taken from such electronic newspaper agencies as Red Alert Politics, Huff Post, CNN News, USA Today, New York Times, and CBS News All of them are famous, prestigious newspaper agencies which always updated American people and global citizens on the developments of the US presidential election in 2012 Significance of the study In terms of theoretical aspect, the research paper may not only provide useful contributions to studies of linguistic units from cognitive perspective but also shed light on other studies in the field of politics In terms of practical significance, the research is expected to encourage other linguistic researchers to carry out similar studies investigating the function of metaphors in the field of politics Besides, it is hoped that this MA thesis will supply readers a deeper understanding about how metaphors are used in election news The study is also believed to reveal the pervasive usage of sport and war terms in structural metaphors found in those political headlines Lastly, some applications in teaching and translating are also found to be useful for both English teachers and translators Research methodology 5.1 - Research questions How can the metaphors in the chosen newspaper headlines be categorized based on the classification of Lakoff and Johnson? - I had to struggle to protect my viewpoint - He successfully defends his ideas in most arguments - His criticisms were right on target - He shot down all my arguments Here, we talk about argument by borrowing the language used in war like struggle, defends, right on target, and shot down 1.2.3.2 Orientational metaphors Orientational metaphors not structure one concept in terms of another, but rather, “organizes a whole system of concepts with respect to one another” (Lakoff & Johnson, 2003: 14) Most orientational metaphors deal with spatial orientations based on the physical experiences of our bodies: “metaphor is motivated by, and grounded in, our bodily experience – how our bodies function in and interact with the world” (Yu, 1998: 23) For instance, orientational metaphors such as HAPPY IS UP and SAD IS DOWN are built with the physical basis that drooping posture is typically associated with sadness and depression while erect posture with a positive emotional state Some expressions are attributed to these two orientational metaphors we commonly catch in real life include: - He is in low spirits these days - I am feeling up today - I fall into a depression - That boosted my spirits However, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (1980) also emphasized that the orientational metaphors which were based on spatial orientation: up-down, in-out, front-back, on-off, etc., could be different in different cultures Specifically, while some cultures conceptualize future ahead of us, the cognitive systems of other cultures orient it behind us 1.2.3.3 Ontological metaphors Ontological metaphors are often referred to in association with entities and substances In terms of ontological metaphors or entity and substance metaphors, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (2003: 25) claim that no sooner have we identified “our experiences as entities or substances than we can refer to them, categorize them, group them, and quantify them.” Likewise, ontological metaphors are employed, based on the human beings‟ experiences about the physical objects, the visible entities, and substances around us Both orientational metaphors and ontological metaphors are viewed in close relationship with our physical experiences; however, the latter provide reasonable basis to consider events, activities, emotions, ideas, etc., as entities and objects With the ontological metaphor INFLATION IS AN ENTITY, many metaphorical expressions entail: - If there is much more inflation, we will never survive - We need to combat inflation - Buying land is the best way of dealing with inflation From these metaphorical expressions, we can see that inflation – initially an abstract concept is described as a tangible entity which human beings can quantify, measure, combat and deal with This characteristic of ontological metaphors is believed to be partly similar to structural metaphors Literature review 2.1 Metaphors in news headlines Headlines are regarded as a special and typical kind of text which appears at the top of articles, and are usually typed in large and bold letters It is said that the more concise news headlines are, the more easily readers can remember them Bruce (1972) has implied that the function of report headlines is to highlight the brief content of the whole article, to help readers quickly find the pieces of news that interest them most, and to urge the readers to read more Meanwhile, Studer (2008) has recommended two pragmatic functions of news headlines: one is to advertise or polish the contents of the reports; the other is to introduce or summarize the topic of articles It is believed that such figures of speech as puns, irony, metaphors and 10 similes are frequently employed in report headlines in order to make those headlines appear more appealing in the eyes of readers It comes as no surprise that metaphors, as a typical representation among other rhetorical devices, are often splashed across the front pages of newspapers and other means of media Undeniably, this figure of speech is believed to not only breathe a new life into these headlines themselves but also bring certain image effects to the readers‟ minds Subsequently, those news headlines can linger on the minds of targeted audiences for a long time Fowler (1991: 4) has argued that language influences thoughts as its “structure channels” contain our mental experience of the world and that “news is a representation of the world.” Indeed, the exploration of how conceptual metaphors are used in newspapers headlines will unlock the secret of how language can shape the world, and investigate how human cognition reflects the world in the language of news In fact, there are few studies on the effects of metaphors in newspapers and news headlines One of them is the research conducted by a Chinese scholar - Jian-Shiung Shie (2012) with the title “Conceptual metaphor as a news-story promoter: The cases of ENL (English-as-a-native-language) and EIL (English-as-an-internationallanguage) headlines.” His study focuses on the realizations of conceptual metaphors in the headlines of the corresponding New York Times and Time Supplement news stories As a matter of fact, New York Times is designed for English native speakers while Times Supplement for English-as-foreign-language learners By analyzing the rhetorical functions of conceptual metaphors in those corresponding headlines, the author reveals the pragmatic roles of those metaphors as a news-story promoter Additionally, he presented a noticeable discovery, which was, metaphors in New York Times tended to be sophisticated, unconventional and far away from the true messages that the headlines actually deliver to the readers Meanwhile, metaphors in headlines of articles for English-as-a-foreign-language speakers like Times Supplement newspapers are clear, conventional (easy to look up in dictionaries, other reading materials or on the Internet), and at a closer distance with 11 the true intentions of articles‟ authors That was really a valuable finding of this Taiwanese linguistic professor; nevertheless, he has not mentioned how difficult metaphors are in different themes He should compare and contrast metaphors in terms of their conventionality and conceptual distance in newspapers with different target audiences, but the same topic If the articles‟ contents belong to the same theme, this Taiwanese scholar can measure the process of acquiring metaphors of different readers more accurately This MA thesis is expected to open a new window in the analysis of how metaphors are used in politics generally and in headlines of election news particularly 2.2 Metaphors in politics Lakoff and Johnson are pioneers who are closest to the conclusion that everyday language is metaphorical in nature They suggested “metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language, but in thought and action.” Therefore, politics or political language is also naturally metaphorical It seems that language in political contexts can affect attitudes of people towards political candidates and more generally, elections (Matlock, 2012) Tennie Matlock (2012) – a very active scholar whose interest is metaphor in political campaigns also suggested “two seemingly subtle but powerful ways that language influences how people think about political candidates and elections.” These two ways include grammar and metaphor Particularly, there are many phrases like “race”, “run”, “jogging” and “finish line” used in political campaigns so frequently that their literal meanings fade away People regularly exploit them to talk about political campaigns without noticing that they are regarded as metaphorical colors He has also found out that motion metaphors are pervasive in framing messages in political campaigns because "it is in line with a large body of findings in cognitive science on how human are wired to mentally simulate motion in all sorts of conditions, including even when nothing is actually moving.” In terms of motion metaphors in political races, Matlock (2013) pointed out three frequently-employed 12 metaphorical structures, including ... this reason, the author is desirous of investigating how metaphors are used in the headlines of some electronic articles on US presidential election campaign 2012 It is undeniable that metaphors. .. description of metaphors used in the headlines of such political articles Among series of political events during the last years, the US election campaign in 2012 emerged as the most striking one... NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ THU HẰNG METAPHORS USED IN HEADLINES OF SOME ELECTRONIC ARTICLES ON US PRESIDENTIAL