an exploratory study of conceptual metaphors in english news articles implications for translation study at ho chi minh university of banking khóa luận tốt nghiệp đại học

39 4.2 Metaphorical mapping process of difference structural metaphors in English business news articles.... Therefore, the undergraduate thesis “AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF CONCEPTUAL METAP

HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF BANKING FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

GRADUATION THESIS

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS IN ENGLISH NEWS ARTICLES: IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSLATION STUDY AT

HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF BANKING

Student: PHẠM LÊ THUỲ DIỄM Class: DH36AV04

Batch: K36 (2020 – 2024) Student number: 030436200028

Supervisor: NGUYỄN HỒNG OANH, M.A

Ho Chi Minh City, 28th February, 2024

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am deeply grateful to the individuals who have supported me during my year academic journey Their guidance, advice, and encouragement have been invaluable to the completion of this thesis

four-First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Ms Nguyen Hong Oanh for her unwavering support and insightful guidance throughout every stage of my graduation thesis Her wisdom, knowledge, and sense of humor have been a constant source of inspiration

I extend my heartfelt thanks to Dr Le Thi Thuy Nhung, the Head of the English Linguistics Division, for her invaluable assistance and constructive suggestions at the outset of my research journey

I am also grateful to the Faculty of Foreign Language for their administrative support, particularly to Ms Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, whose assistance has been indispensable throughout the entire process

To my college friends, thank you for your endless support and enthusiasm for my academic endeavors Special thanks to my dormitory sisters for providing me with both intellectual nourishment and much-needed laughter during challenging times

Finally, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my beloved parents for their unconditional love Their encouragement has been my guiding light, and I am forever thankful for their presence in my life

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DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP

I, the undersigned Phạm Lê Thuỳ Diễm hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis To the best of my knowledge this thesis contains no material previously published by any other person except where due acknowledgement has

been made

Student

Phạm Lê Thuỳ Diễm

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ABSTRACT

This research explores structural metaphors in business discourse through the lens of Conceptual Metaphor Theory Using quantitative and qualitative methodologies, the study examines a self-compiled corpus of 45 articles from The Guardian, The Economist, The New York Times, The Independence, and the Wall Street Journal published online in 2020 These news articles were written by different journalists, focusing on business issues in general Analysis reveals 318 metaphorical expressions organized into seven structural metaphors: (i) ECONOMY IS A WAR, (ii) ECONOMY IS A BUILDING, (iii) ECONOMY IS A MACHINE, (iv) ECONOMY IS A JOURNEY, (v) ECONOMY IS A PLANT, (vi) ECONOMY IS A GAME/SPORT, and (vii) ECONOMY IS A NATURAL PHENOMENON Among these, the WAR domain prevails in quantity, reflecting its significance in the business register Furthermore, the study delineates the usage and meaning of these metaphors through analogical mappings, juxtaposing properties of the source and target domains The findings offer implications for embedding structural metaphors in translation courses within the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking

Keywords: conceptual metaphor, structural metaphor, business English, news, translation

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ABBREVIATIONS

1.6 Significance of the Study 5

1.7 The Structure of the Thesis 5

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Lexical Metaphors 6

2.2 Conceptual Metaphors 7

2.2.1 Conceptual Metaphor Theory 8

2.2.2 Classification of Conceptual Metaphors 10

2.2.3 Cross-domain mapping 13

2.3 Metaphor in English news articles 14

2.3.1 General overview of news articles 14

2.3.2 The role of conceptual metaphors in business news articles 15

2.3.3 Conceptual source domains in business news articles 16

2.4 The Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) 18

2.5 Cognitive approaches to metaphor translation 20

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3.2 Research Instrument 24

3.3 Data Collection Procedures 26

3.4 Data Analysis 26

3.5 Validity and Reliability 27

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 28

4.1 Types of different structural metaphors denoting ECONOMY 28

4.1.6 ECONOMY IS A GAME/A SPORT 38

4.1.7 ECONOMY IS A NATURAL PHENOMENON 39

4.2 Metaphorical mapping process of difference structural metaphors in English business news articles 39

4.2.1 The mapping process in ECONOMY IS A WAR 40

4.2.2 The mapping process in ECONOMY IS A BUILDING 45

4.2.4 The mapping process in ECONOMY IS A JOURNEY 50

4.2.5 The mapping process in ECONOMY IS A PLANT 53

4.2.6 The mapping process in ECONOMY IS A GAME / A SPORT 55

4.2.7 The mapping process in ECONOMY IS A NATURAL PHENOMENON 58

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 The mapping of conceptual metaphor LOVE IS A JOURNEY 10

Table 2.2 The cross-domain mapping of ARGUMENT IS WAR 12

Table 2.3 The main steps of MIP 19

Table 4.1 Distribution of types of structural metaphors 29

Table 4.2 Metaphorical expressions' analysis of the conceptual model ECONOMY IS A WAR 30

Table 4.3 Metaphorical expressions' analysis of the conceptual model ECONOMY IS A BUILDING 33

Table 4.4 Metaphorical expressions' analysis of the conceptual model ECONOMY IS A MACHINE 35

Table 4.5 Metaphorical expressions' analysis of the conceptual model ECONOMY IS A JOURNEY 36

Table 4.6 Metaphorical expressions' analysis of the conceptual model ECONOMY IS A PLANT 37

Table 4.7 Metaphorical expressions' analysis of the conceptual model ECONOMY IS A GAME/A SPORT 38

Table 4.8 Metaphorical expressions' analysis of the conceptual model ECONOMY IS A NATURAL PHENOMENON 39

Table 4.9 Metaphorical mapping process of ECONOMY IS A WAR 40

Table 4.10 Metaphorical mapping process of ECONOMY IS A BUILDING 46

Table 4.11 Metaphorical mapping process of ECONOMY IS A MACHINE 48

Table 4.12 Metaphorical mapping process of ECONOMY IS A JOURNEY 50

Table 4.13 Metaphorical mapping process of ECONOMY IS A PLANT 53

Table 4.14 Metaphorical mapping process of ECONOMY IS A GAME/ A SPORT 56 Table 4.15 Metaphorical mapping process of ECONOMY IS A NATURAL PHENOMENON 58

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study

The exploration of metaphor has consistently been a focal point in linguistic research According to traditional linguists, metaphors have been exclusively employed in literature for aesthetic, expressive, and ornamental purposes This view dates back to the era of Aristotle, who first recognized the role of metaphors in poetry (Zhu, 2022) In 1980, Lakoff and Johnson put forward the conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) with the publication of their renowned work Metaphor We live by They argued that the metaphor is a rhetorical device and a cognitive mechanism that facilitates understanding abstract concepts via more familiar and concrete entities Therefore, metaphors are omnipresent in everyday language and are essential in shaping how humans perceive and react to the world (Lakoff & Johnson, 2003)

Since then, the scope of research has expanded to various fields beyond the confines of poems or novels In particular, many scholars have increasingly emphasized employing conceptual metaphors in the news language (Jawad & Noori, 2021; Nuzulia & Firmonasari, 2023; Ying, 2023; Alaoui & Jalid, 2023) The utilization of metaphors in news media represents a strategic choice to influence how readers perceive and interpret information As Lakoff & Johnson said (2003), conceptual metaphors can highlight some aspects while simultaneously hiding other aspects in news media Additionally, metaphors in journalistic articles generally produce a "creative impact by juxtaposing unrelated domains, potentially conveying a subjective experience unique to a specific culture" (Alaoui & Jalid, 2023, p 18) What is more, metaphors are valuable means by which the news can be more readily accessible to lay readers since they assist in familiarizing non-expert readers with complex and abstract concepts in the process of sharing knowledge (Thibodeau et al., 2019)

Furthermore, news translation has recently garnered significant attention from scholars, who have been particularly interested in the challenges in translating this genre Translating news differs from literature, as news aims to communicate factual information rather than create artistic imagery through language use (Zheng, 2019) Shafia (2021) claimed that news translators must be concerned with metaphors' pervasiveness and roles to avoid misunderstanding or misinterpretation, as metaphors

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may be seen as mere aesthetic features rather than integral parts of the news messages Moreover, Newmark (1988) emphasized that finding the TL equivalent expression is not always possible because of cultural and linguistic differences between the SL and TL This problem is no exception to news translation

Among the five translation methods suggested by Newmark (1988), communicative translation is an appropriate option for handling the translation of news articles featuring lexical and grammatical characteristics since they are closely affiliated with information transmission (Wu, 2017) Communicative translation generates cultural words and functional terms through explanations and compromises the original grammatical structure to make the translation easy for the target reader to read to In the same vein, news translators also adopt faithful translation to transfer cultural terms and grammatical structures into the TL while attempting to be faithful to the intentions and the text-realization of the SL writers (Rizkiana, 2015) It is essential for translators to have a thorough understanding of the cultural aspects of both the source and target texts In this respect, gaining insights into conceptual metaphors can help translators bridge the knowledge gaps of culture between TL and SL since it facilitates a deeper understanding of how metaphorical expressions are culturally embedded across languages (Alshunnag, 2016)

Moreover, a single individual generally performs both the responsibilities of a translator and a journalist, contributing to the overall news production process, even if the person is a non-professional translator (Bielsa, 2007) Generally speaking, the process of converting L2 news content into L1, technically, involves journalists receiving input from a local L2 news station, reading the L1 information, analyzing it, and then recoding it In this process, if translators cannot comprehend L2 conceptual metaphors, they will find it impossible to elaborate and articulate L1 content effectively Türker (2015) has demonstrated that translators are capable of interpreting L2 metaphors based on their conceptual knowledge, which reflects their familiarity and experience with the source and target domains of the L1 and L2 conceptual metaphors, respectively

Through translation courses, the Faculty of Foreign Languages of Ho Chi Minh University of Banking aims to provide students with the skills and knowledge necessary to become proficient translators, both in English and Vietnamese The curriculum

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emphasizes the development of essential translation techniques, including cultural awareness, text analysis, text coding and decoding process, and ultimately, interpretation However, introducing conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) into translation courses for students of the Faculty of Foreign Languages to enhance translation skills has yet to be investigated The existing literature indicates that CMT provides a fresh perspective on sparking students' interest in text analysis, cultural awareness, and the coding, decoding, and recoding processes involved in translation practices Therefore, the undergraduate thesis “AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS IN ENGLISH NEWS ARTICLES: IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSLATION STUDY AT HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF BANKING” aims to raise awareness and advance the understanding of conceptual metaphor theory within Ho Chi Minh University of Banking's context

1.2 Research Gaps

In Vietnam, the emergence of cognitive linguistics has sparked local scholars to delve into conceptual metaphors in various discourse genres Current studies have primarily focused on exploring conceptual metaphors based on the corpus of poems, idioms, and songs in Vietnamese language or in contrastive analysis with English Phan and Luong (2014) analyzed conceptual metaphors used to denote images of lovers in English and Vietnamese poems and songs Vu (2022) explored the conceptual domain of marriage and family in modern prose In addition, Phan and Trinh (2023) uncovered metaphorical expressions that highlight the significance of love in human life, drawing from English and Vietnamese poetry and guided by conceptual metaphor theory As a result, the majority of research conducted by Vietnamese linguists and researchers focuses on the significance of CM as a means of beautifying literary texts

No research has been conducted to date that examines conceptual metaphors in the context of the Faculty of Foreign Language at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking Hence, this study offers an excellent opportunity to conduct further research and enrich the empirical evidence It will make a humble contribution to the curriculum of business English courses, in general, and those for business translation, in particular

1.3 Scope of the Study

Considering the limitations presented by the time of an undergraduate thesis and the researcher's research competence, this study has opted to focus exclusively on

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examining structural metaphor - one of the three subtypes of a conceptual metaphor Lakoff and Johnson (2003) defined structural metaphors as conceptual metaphors where one idea is structurally constructed in the form of another

Given that news as a genre includes various sub-genres such as politics, sports, science and technology, business, and health, the scope of the research is confined to analyzing English business articles because the economic situation often is a hot spot in many newspapers The choice is also driven by the fact that economic publications can influence public opinions and perceptions through metaphors (Tang, 2019) At the same time, the use of metaphor within economic reporting is a shortcut to comprehending the complexities of economic status Therefore, the research scope ensures that the exploration of the intersection between structural metaphors and economic discourse contributes to implications for translation courses in the business context

Lastly, the thesis concentrated on online news texts as online news offers readers advantages such as “24/7 updates, unlimited storage, hypertextuality, searchability, multimedia, customization, and interactivity” (Nguyen, 2008, p 91) The choice is further motivated by the independence from spatial and temporal constraints, streamlining data collection

This study aims to answer the following questions:

1 What categories of structural metaphors are used in English business news articles?

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2 What is the mapping process for each structural metaphor identified in English business news articles?

1.6 Significance of the Study

This study attempts to spread the understanding of conceptual metaphor to students and its implications for translation courses at the Ho Chi Minh University of Banking Practically, the study makes a modest contribution to demonstrating Lakoff and Johnson's theory (2003) that metaphors are pervasive in cognitive processes, and their significance extends beyond the literature works In addition, the research offers a system of common source domains portraying the economy while establishing the mapping process to clarify how structural metaphors operate and are constructed in business news These findings are intended to encourage L2 learners, translators, and teachers to consider the analysis of conceptual metaphors for understanding cultural nuances in L1 business news, thus enhancing translation skills and qualities in business contexts and academic settings Finally, the researcher expects to spark students’ interest in this research subject and motivate similar studies at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking to improve translation learning among English majors

1.7 The Structure of the Thesis

The thesis is divided into five chapters

Chapter One discusses a detailed background, research problems, the purpose of the study, research questions, research objectives, and the significance of the study

In Chapter Two, metaphors are explored within the theoretical framework of cognitive linguistics and other perspectives This section provides a brief introduction to conceptual metaphor theory and relevant studies

In Chapter Three, the methodology used for this study is discussed in detail, as well as the reasons for selecting them The purpose of this chapter is to present the research design, the data collection methods, and the data analysis methods

In Chapter Four, the study's data analysis and discussion are discussed

Lastly, Chapter Five summarizes the main points and discusses the implications for future research

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CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Chapter Two is divided into six parts The first part lays out the theoretical dimensions of the lexical metaphors in traditional linguistics philosophies The second part then introduces cognitive views of metaphors in cognitive linguistics and the conceptual metaphor theory, which is the core theoretical framework of the research The third part covers the application of metaphors in English news articles, particularly in the economic domain The fourth part concern the knowledge of metaphor identification procedures adopted in English news articles for this research The fifth part touches upon cognitive approach in translation studies The final part conclude the main points in the literature review

2.1 Lexical Metaphors

Scholars of linguistics have defined metaphors in various ways over time The

English term “metaphor” itself stems from the Greek word “metaphora”, where “meta” is “over'' and “phora” is “to carry”, indicating the transference of one idea to another

Taverniers (2004) defined lexical metaphor as the possibility of a word or phrase expressing metaphorical meanings in addition to its literal meaning

Awareness of metaphor is not recent, having first been described by Aristotle in the 4th century BCE Aristotle considered metaphors as a type of semiotic displacement In other words, metaphors are intentionally used to replace one agreed meaning for an object, concept, or experience with another (Veale et al., 2016) Besides, this Greek philosopher also highlighted the importance of metaphors in terms of rhetorical roles Metaphors are powerful in promoting imagination and creativity According to Warner (1973, as cited in Tang 2019), the Aristotelian theory of metaphor has led to two viewpoints, namely the substitution theory and the comparison theory The former proposes that the creation of metaphors occurs when one word is replaced by another that has a similar meaning It hypothesizes that a substitution process is the

primary mechanism for establishing metaphors Thus, the metaphor “He trumpeted out

the new” can be replaced by “He told to anyone who wanted to listen” (Werner 1975,

15) On the other hand, the latter sees metaphor as “a kind of comparison, a condensed

simile” based on similarity (Trčková, 2014, p 25) Thus, the metaphor “You are the

light in my life” is viewed as a reduced version of “You are like the light in my life”

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However, the comparison theory has a limitation in that it fails to differentiate between comparison and categorization According to Trčková (2014), metaphors are a fascinating phenomenon in that they can construc similarities between seemingly unrelated entities instead of merely comparing similar concepts He also critisized the comparison perspective for overlooking metaphor use in scientific contexts In essence, the aforementioned theories consider metaphor as a linguistic matter, specifically, an aberrant form of language compared with the literal language being perceived as the norm and the convention

Contrary to the comparison and the substitution theories, the “interaction” theory of metaphor, the third approach to metaphor, does not treat metaphor as a figurative statement that could have been said literally but instead as a way of constructing new meanings (Black, 1990) This approach is based on the work of Richards (1936), who introduced the terms "vehicle" and "tenor" to refer to figurative and literal elements of an expression, respectively As noted by Trčková (2014), the interaction theory asserts that a metaphor consists of a primary subject (metaphorical focus) and a subsidiary subject (literal frame) During the metaphorical process, a set of associated implications from the subsidiary subject is projected onto the primary subject This process requires a strategic emphasis or de-emphasis on specific traits of the primary subject This process requires using statements consistent with the qualities of the associated implicative complex of the subsidiary subject For example, the metaphor “man is a wolf” conveys a profound message through the interplay of human cognition and the associations of man and wolves (Soskice and Harré, 1995, p 289) Metaphor taps into the idea that both entities possess an innate wildness and ferocity Notably, this theory also pays attention to the cognitive aspects of metaphors

In short, metaphors were traditionally perceived as a linguistic deviation from a literal expression However, the interaction theory of metaphors highlighted the cognitive dimensions, aligning with the follow-up theory's critical aspect The following section presents a detailed account of the fundamental concepts of cognitive theory

2.2 Conceptual Metaphors

The emergence of cognitive linguistics dates back to the 1970s, when there was an increasing interest in cognitive science (Sinha, 2010) This field, which integrates

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cognitive psychology and linguistics, has since evolved significantly, focusing on cognitive semantics and approaches to grammar (Evans & Green, 2006) Besides, cognitive approaches to grammar refer to “the study of the symbolic linguistic units that comprise language” (Evans & Green, 2006, p 50)

On the other hand, cognitive semantics investigates the relationship between human experience, the conceptual system in the human mind, and the semantic structure encoded by language (Evans and Green, 2006) In opposition to traditional semantic philosophies, it is asserted that human experience is an essential component of language organization and manifestation (Ünal et al., 2019) In other words, language can only be fully understood by considering how people perceive and experience the world around them Accordingly, cognitive semantics scholars investigate knowledge representation (conceptual structure) and meaning construction (conceptualization) As Evans and Green (2006) stated, four guiding principles collectively characterize the collection of approaches that fall within cognitive semantics Firstly, conceptual structure is embodied Secondly, semantic structure is conceptual structure Thirdly, meaning representation is encyclopaedic Fourthly, meaning construction is conceptualization

Numerous research works have contributed to cognitive linguistics, yet George Lakoff and Mark Johnson are pioneering scholars in the Conceptual Metaphor Theory

2.2.1 Conceptual Metaphor Theory

Conceptual metaphor is a central to cognitive semantics (Lakoff & Johnson, 2003) Metaphor is a figure of speech and cognitive tools that shape our understanding and responses to the world around us “The locus of metaphor is in how we conceptualize one mental domain in terms of another” (Lakoff, 2006, p.185) In addition, Grady (2006) indicated that metaphors provide a “pattern of conceptual association” for understanding complex issues through the lens of familiar concepts (p.188) As Lakoff and Johnson (2003) defined:

Metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature (p 3)

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In other words, metaphors appear to rely on things people already know and experience (known as the source domain) to convey new or complex ideas (known as the target domain) Therefore, metaphors facilitate the perception of the physical, mental, and emotional world

CMT provides an alternative approach to metaphor analysis and its application in language teaching and learning Many studies have asserted the functions of metaphors as a cognitive mechanism rather than the previous period Conceptual metaphors establish close connections and facilitate the comprehension of complex concepts and concrete ones through embodied experiences (Radden & Dirven, 2007; Tran, 2009) It introduces the critical components of metaphor, including “source domain” and “target domain”, to replace the terms “tenor” and “vehicle” from traditional philosophies The source domain is the object from which the metaphor originates, whilst the target domain is the subject to which the metaphor is applied Evans and Green (2006) claimed that the target domain may represent higher-level notions, so their nature is more abstract, diffuse, and unclear For this reason, the need for metaphorical conceptualization arises (Kövecses, 2010) On the other hand, the source domain can be more tangible and relate to concrete entities or aspects based on embodied experiences Cameron (2003) also argued that source domains typically involve physical objects or movements To express the relationship between the two domains, the structure of CONCEPTUAL DOMAIN X IS CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR Y is formulated Writing conceptual metaphors in small capital letters is conventional while metaphorical expressions are usually depicted in italics (Kövecses, 2010) Notably, metaphorical projection occurs only from the source to the target domain, i.e., the process is unidirectional CMT argues that the source domain is the primary driver in metaphorical reasoning, in contrast to the aforementioned “interaction view”

The correlation between metaphor and semantics is well-established and delineated in cross-domain mapping In the classic example Lakoff and Johnson (1998) presented, LOVE IS A JOURNEY metaphor has two domains: LOVE as the target and JOURNEY as the source This metaphor implies that love has phases, challenges, progress, and destinations, similar to people on a journey In particular, cross-domain mapping involves mapping the concept from a more concrete source domain to a more abstract target domain – from JOURNEY to LOVE In this case, the source domain of

The vehicle → The love relationship itself The journey → The length of the relationship The obstacles encountered → Events in the relationship The destination of the journey → The goal of the relationship

The obstacles encountered → The difficulties experienced Decisions about which way to go → Choices about what to do

Source: Adapted from Metaphor we live by, by Lakoff & Johnson, 2003

Moreover, when undertaking a mapping process, it is critical to consider the inherent qualities and attributes typical of that domain and the distinctive relationships, situations, events, and other elements that characterize that specific domain (Grady, 2007) The illustration below shows how metaphor emerges from cross-domain mapping Moreover, complex metaphors like LOVE IS A JOURNEY are made up of simpler conceptual metaphors, such as PURPOSES ARE DESTINATIONS, A RELATIONSHIP IS A CONTAINER, and INTIMACY IS CLOSENESS In brief, mapping is a collection of systematic correspondences where the target domain is projected onto the source domain (Lakoff, 2008)

2.2.2 Classification of Conceptual Metaphors

Lakoff and Johnson (2003) classified conceptual metaphors into three main types based on source domains: ontological metaphors, orientational metaphors, and structural metaphors

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2.2.2.1 Ontological Metaphors

According to Lakoff and Johnson (2003), ontological metaphors are metaphors whose cognitive function is to generalize abstract categories by more concrete objects or matters In other words, they reflect how emotions, feelings, ideas, and activities are perceived as physical things It is widely accepted that ontological metaphors are rooted in people’s daily experiences These metaphors are built through sensory and motor experiences, which allow distinctive ideas to have similar features The invisible gap between abstract notions and human real-life experiences tends to be eliminated to conceptualize abstract thoughts, experiences, and processes into something that can be physically experienced, referenced, categorized, and measured by humans In the example of conceptualizing happiness, “It was only later in life that she found her

happiness”, her happiness is transformed into a more tangible and easily-grasped object

so that she can find it In addition, personification, in which non-human entities are given certain human qualities, can be characterized as an ontological metaphor subtype

In the instance, “Life has cheated her”, life is personified by assigning it a human-like

quality of deceit

2.2.3.2 Orientational Metaphors

As noted by Lakoff and Johnson (2003), orientational metaphors describe abstract concepts in terms of a range of spatial structures, such as up or down, front or back, in or out, on or off, central or peripheral, deep or shallow, and so on These metaphors stem from first-hand experiences based on how ordinary people perceive spatial orientation in the physical and natural environment As a result, a non-physical, abstract structure spatially projects onto a physical, non-abstract one Expressions like

“I'm feeling up today” and “I'm feeling down this week” are typical examples of

orientational metaphors, where happiness is associated with an upward direction and sadness with a downward direction (Lakoff and Johnson, 2003, p 23-24) Generally, positive feelings are correlated with an upward movement; negative ones are correlated with a downward movement

2.2.2.3 Structural Metaphors

Lakoff and Johnson (2003) defined structural metaphors as conceptual metaphors in which the structure of one concept is metaphorically utilized to understand another The target domain “borrows” the attributes from the source domain For

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instance, in the metaphor ARGUMENT IS WAR, the argument is conceptualized as possessing similar properties to war To restate, the structural similarities between the two domains are built that the nature of arguments is identical to that of wars Many

daily expressions employ this metaphor, such as “His criticism was right on the target”, “He attacked every weak point in my argument”, and “I’ve never won an argument with

him” The interpretation is that our language can provoke conflict, despite the lack of

physical harm during debates The viewpoint of opponents is viewed as a target, while the speakers aim to defend their opinions Remarkably, the conceptual mapping is parallel and structured between the source and target domains, as in the following illustration

Table 2.2 The cross-domain mapping of ARGUMENT IS WAR Source domain

WAR

Mappings

→

Target domain ARGUMENT

Source: Adapted from Metaphor we live by, by Lakoff & Johnson, 2003

Among the three categories of metaphors, structural metaphors are the most commonly used ones in news articles (Chen & Li, 2021; Liang, 2021) Hence, the main focus of this thesis is to analyze the use of structural metaphors in English news articles related to economics and business Additionally, the author suggests the interpretation of these metaphors through the cross-domain mappings

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2.2.3 Cross-domain mapping

According to Charteris-Black (2004), a mapping is a systematic collection of correspondences that subsist between constituent elements of the source domain (SD) and the target domain (TD) In other words, the systematic identification of the SD and TD is known as a metaphorical mapping process or a cross-domain mapping Lakoff (1993) argues that such metaphorical mappings uphold the cognitive topology of the SD in a manner that is consistent with the inherent structure of the TD Therefore, conceptual metaphors are characterized by a set of conceptual correspondences between elements of the SD and TD These correspondences can also exist within a domain between two mental spaces, technically termed mappings The mapping links the two domains by associating aspects of the SD with the TD To create a metaphor, people attempt to encode the mapping between the SD and TD under the mechanism of conceptualization This approach is intended to promote brevity

To illustrate how the correspondences, or mappings, the conceptual metaphor ANGER IS FIRE is provided (Kovecses, 2010) Before establising the systematic conceptual mappings that constitute this metaphor, Kovecses (2010) suggested to found some linguistic metaphors in the following examples:

Therefore, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people, So that He

abhorred His own inheritance (Charteris-Black, 2017, p 80)

McInturff backed McCain’s decision to ignore the minister’s inflammatory

anti-America comments because it would have been seen as race-baiting and

sparked racial anger and protests (Charteris-Black, 2017, p 44)

Her ears were burning with rage It was a commingling of pride, anger, pain

and frustration that determined what she was able to do in the next few moments (Charteris-Black, 2017, p 49)

I see him now – his eyes blazing forth with indignation and his rusty tousled

head of hair standing on end – leading forth on the miseries of the Gorbals district and the East End of Glasgow: I was quite moved: I thought everybody

appreciated to the full the enthusiastic and fiery speech: The whole passion of

the man called out for justice to be handed out to the working classes in the various parts of the city (Charteris-Black, 2017, p 164)

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There are six linguistic metaphors in the below texts, including: (i) That kindled my ire; (ii) Those were inflammatory remarks; (iii) Smoke was coming out of his ears; (iv) She was burning with anger; (v) He was spitting fire; (vi) The incident set the people ablaze with anger Given such examples, the following set of correspondences, or mappings, can be proposed: (i) the cause of fire ➔ the cause of anger; (ii) causing the fire ➔ causing the anger; (iii) the thing on fire ➔ the angry person; (iv) the fire ➔ the anger; (v) the intensity of fire ➔ the intensity of anger

2.3 Metaphor in English news articles

2.3.1 General overview of news articles

News plays a critical role in informing people about important events on local and international levels According to Newson and Wollert (1988, as cited in Cotter, 2010), news is whatever people want and need to know or, more broadly, by society As one of the text types in a newspaper, news articles are written based on the mass of facts or event data Additionally, there are two common types of news reporting that are widely recognized among media professionals: hard news and soft news The hard news is reports on political, economic, and scientific news worldwide, while the soft news is about entertainment and unusual news of our daily lives (Wang, 2018)

In terms of news structure, most news has both headlines and sub-headlines Headlines are the primary tool to attract readers to any news piece (Djurayev, 2020) According to Al-Hadmani (2020), “The reason behind this is that a headline contains the main information about an article; hence, catching the reader’s attention and determining whether the article is worth reading or not Headline writing, thus, contributes in one way or another to determining the successfulness of news articles, newspapers, and magazines all around the world.” (p 2) The present tense is the prevailing tense used in headlines, while the past tense is rarely used and is avoided when translating (p 14)

Wang (2018) further notes that the special rule of news writing is “Let the fact speak itself” (p 23) This means that news reporters should use facts to prove the reality of the news they are reporting, which helps maintain the “cognitive regularity of readers” (p 23) In order to make “Let the fact speak itself” easier to realize, news reporters should use the third person point of view, mark the source where they get this

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news, and try their best to state all the facts as much as possible When writing a news story, there are five necessary elements that should be included: who, what, why, where, and when Any piece of news must contain those five elements, which are usually covered in the first part of the article, using the inverted pyramid structure of news reporting This means that the important information is presented first, followed by supporting details and background information

As a traditional mode of news reporting, print has started to be neglected in recent years, and the spread of digital news articles, accompanied by the rise of social media, has made news more accessible to a wider audience However, just because the news has become more accessible does not mean that the readers can understand all of the news This is true, especially if the news comes from international sources, as some readers might be unfamiliar with the language used Additionally, the language used in writing the news needs to be changed to make it understandable to a broader community, achieved through translation (Junining & Kusuma, 2020) Translation of news functions as a mediator between different cultural backgrounds, languages, and societies Therefore, Troqe and Marchan (2017) said “that translation is a crucial factor in disseminating news in the (inter)national arena” (p 277)

The workflow of news publishing entails various phases, ranging from the selection and refinement of original texts by in-house editors to the discussion and ultimate approval of chosen texts at editorial board meetings (Doroteja, 2022) In the process, the role of a news translator is to comprehend the fundamentals of general news writing in order to produce a flawless general news translation (Wang, 2018) Specifically, in a news agency, translators translate, edit, and introduce meaning alterations when necessary This modification reflects the translator’s dynamic position, influenced not only by linguistic and cultural factors but also by historical, cultural, and socioeconomic circumstances (Azodi & Salmani, 2015) Hence, a translator must possess bilingual skills and an understanding of bi-cultures or multinational cultures to translate new articles effectively from a source to a target language

2.3.2 The role of conceptual metaphors in business news articles

It is noteworthy that the language in news articles is rich with metaphors Journalists employ metaphors to mirror their diverse conceptualizations of news work

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and they subtly persuade and interpret events through the adoption of metaphoric anaphora (Saíz, 2010) Similarly, some studies indicated that metaphors in journalistic texts could highlight new events, manipulate public opinion, and define or redefine facts by changing the focus (Lakoff, 2008; Cammaert, 2012) The purpose of using metaphors is also to capture the reader's interest and make them more appealing In English news discourse, employing metaphors is a complex phenomenon that requires careful consideration of various factors Sociocultural context, political and geographical differences, and the specific genre of the news significantly impact the way authors use metaphors in their news articles (Requejo & Romano, 2013) An example of this complexity can be found in the economic and business news, which is an essential part of every newspaper and their websites

Metaphor studies on economic-related articles have grown in importance since CMT was adopted as a theoretical framework to research this type of news The first discussions and analyses of the metaphorical use of language in the economic domain emerged during the 1980s (Henderson, 1980; McCloskey, 1983; Krugman, 1985) These scholars noticed that metaphor is often used to discuss the economy Significantly, economics is heavily reliant on metaphors, which are a part of its empirical reality Even the lines, curves, points on the diagram and graphs are used metaphorically to represent economy or economic variables A metaphor also serves as a heuristic device when it comes to conveying economic information in economic modeling Undoubtedly, metaphor is vital to write economic news Its importance was highlighted in Dalalau’s exploration study (2001) where conceptual metaphors are used in business press articles as one of the significant characteristics to simplify complicated ideas

2.3.3 Conceptual source domains in business news articles

The analysis of conceptual metaphors has received considerable results in some economic domains, including finance, the stock market, money, advertising, and business

In foreign studies, Charteris-Black and Musolff (2003) claimed that UP-DOWN movement and HEALTH metaphors are used mainly to describe the Euro currency in the comparative studies on English and German press Physical combat metaphors are utilized in British reporting, wherein the Euro is portrayed as an active participant that

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“hits out” and “suffers” In the studies on analyzing financial news reports,

Charteris-Black (2004) observed that the economy is often metaphorically described as a living organism A range of expressions are created to refer to the state of the economy, such as growth, infant, healthy, decay, ailing, depression, and so on Similarly, Bratoz (2004) found that ECONOMY IS AN ORGANISM metaphor appeared both in English and Slovene economic discourse The health metaphor projects the state of an economy, just as one would describe the health of human beings Koller (2004) identified that WAR metaphors are common in business news discourse Other metaphorical expressions relating to SPORTS and GAME were also found in marketing discourse, coupled with FIGHTING, MATING and FEEDING in articles reporting mergers and acquisitions news Kovacs (2007) proposed several major conceptual metaphors in business discourse as follows:

• BUSINESS IS A GAME AND SPORT • BUSINESS IS MARRIAGE

• BUSINESS IS ACTING IN THEATER / CINEMA / CONCERT • BUSINESS IS DANCING

Kovecses (2010) argued that the economy is a target domain, frequently metaphorized with source domains like BUILDINGS, PLANTS, JOURNEY, MACHINE, and HUMAN BEINGS Additionally, Chow (2010) also discussed the prevalence of metaphors in economic discourse, focusing on two metaphors: mechanistic and organic The mechanistic metaphor portrays the economy as a machine, especially the characteristics of efficiency, output, and operation In contrast, the organic metaphor views aspects of the economy as features of an organism, such as health-related metaphors A sick or healthy organism describes the up and down states of the economy Spatial metaphors, such as vertical and horizontal movements, are also explored with a focus on how they conceptualize economic processes Moreover, the research delved into exploring the JOURNEY metaphor, which is common in economic discourse, and briefly mentioned other metaphors like WATERY, WARFARE, SHIPS and SAILING, and SPORTS metaphors Based on the corpus of news headlines, Gao (2016) explored some conceptual metaphors, including JOURNEY, GAME, WAR, STUDENT, MARRIAGE, AGRICULTURE, LIGHT, and HEATH metaphors Chen and Li (2021) figured out that structural metaphors are commonly used in finance and

2.4 The Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP)

Metaphor analysis presents the challenge of identifying them in text discourse While several scholars have discussed metaphors in their research, the criteria or process for determining whether a linguistic expression is metaphorical or not is unclear (Pragglejaz Group, 2007) In 2007, Pragglejaz Group of esteemed scholars in the field proposed a solution to the question of how these metaphorical expressions are identified in a discourse – the introduction of Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) A number of individuals have contributed to the development of MIP, including Zoltán Kövecses, Raymond W Gibbs Jr., Gerard Steen, Graham Low, Peter Crisp, Alan Cienki, Lynne Cameron, Elena Semino, and Alice Deignan Their proposed approach simplifies the metaphor identification process so that even people without linguistic expertise can understand it MIP can be a reliable research tool that helps find metaphorical content while ensuring the process is free from subjectivity and an individual-based approach Several recent studies have applied MIP successfully to reveal the metaphorical expression (Tcaciuc, 2013; Steen, 2014; Alshunnag, 2016; Shuttleworth, 2017)

A central principle of MIP is that each lexical unit examines its specific context and distinguishes between its basic meaning and its contextual meaning The procedure

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includes the following steps: First, understand the messages and context by reading the text; second, find out the lexical units in the text; third, determine basic meaning and contextual meaning of each lexical unit; fourth, evaluate whether the distinction have between basic meaning and contextual meaning (Pragglejaz Group, 2007) Basic meanings do not necessarily reflect the most common meanings of the lexical unit In general, the answer is affirmative when the contextual meanings of lexical units contrast with those of the basic senses but are still understandable in relation to those of the basic sense Consequently, the researchers can classify lexical units as metaphorical

As a demonstration of the applicability of the MIP, this study presents the following example:

Table 2.3 The main steps of MIP

Step 1

Reading the entire text–discourse

“Will winning the battle for locked-down Western stomachs ever translate into profits?” (“Food-delivery wars heat up,” 2020)

Step 2

Determine the boundaries between lexical units within the text discourse Will | winning | the | battle | for | locked-down | Western | stomachs | ever | translate | into | profits?

Step 3

(a) Establish the meaning of lexical units in context battle -> difficulty and failure

(b) Establish the literal meaning of lexical units battle -> a fight with armies

(c) Determine if the contextual meaning contrasts with the basic meaning but can be interpreted in comparison with the above example

The answer is yes The abstract conflict or struggle can be understood in terms

of a physical fight between organized armed forces

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Step 4

If the answer to step 3(c) is yes, mark the lexical unit as metaphorical

Therefore, the lexical unit “battle” is being metaphorically used in this

context

Source: Adapted from MIP: A method for identifying metaphorically used words in

discourse, by Pragglejaz Group, 2007 The MIP focuses on clarifying both the literal meanings and the contextual meanings within the same metaphorical units If a word is considered metaphorical, its contextual meaning must differ from its basic meaning but still be understandable in relation to it In this case, the use of dictionaries can be beneficial As mentioned by Steen et al (2010), employing dictionaries is significant to realize fundamental meanings A meaning is not considered fundamental if it is not covered in the contemporary dictionaries accessed by the public users The use of dictionaries in this research helps to check and confirm the metaphorical status of lexical units Consequently, there is less dependence on individual intuition, which makes the identification process more evident and limits misinterpretations

2.5 Cognitive approaches to metaphor translation 2.5.1 Overview of translation

Translation is a complex process by which a translator decodes a message from one language (the source language) and encodes it into another language (the target language) This linguistic transformation is essential for communication across different languages and cultures As discussed in Section 2.4.1, translation is vital in disseminating news globally News agencies rely on translation to expand their reach and maximize their audience in different countries Many media outlets offer news in multiple languages to cater to a diverse readership The role of translation in journalism cannot be overstated According to Vybiralova (2012), translation is crucial for dominant countries to expand their journalistic activities in foreign markets

Darwish (2009) observed that translation quality depends on several factors ranging from lexical, semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic to functional and semiotic levels The translator's task is challenging as it involves dealing with a different language and culture that may be vastly different from their own With the advent of

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Cognitive Metaphor Theory (CMT) by Lakoff and Johnson (2003), translation studies have focused to handle these translation’s problem through the cognitive aspects of metaphor translation Metaphors are considered as one of the crucial elements of translation theory, and their translation poses a significant challenge in different cultures, as per Newmark's (1988) observations

2.5.2 Translation strategies

Christina Schaffner has contributed significantly to the field of translation studies by applying cognitive linguistics principles to translation It has been suggested by Schaffner (2004) that the interpretation of metaphors should consider their cognitive function since metaphors are fundamentally cognitive in nature His philosophy is in accord with the viewpoint of Lakoff and Johnson (2003), which views metaphors as more than mere embellishments or rhetorical devices The emphasis has shifted from examining metaphorical equivalents in the source text to examining conceptual systems at the cultural level in both source and target cultures During the translation process, conceptual metaphors are shifted or changed from the source language to the target language The translation, however, is not necessarily inaccurate as a result of such a shift or change As long as the translator captures the intended meaning and conveys it accurately in the TL, the translation will be accurate

A number of translation strategies for conceptual metaphors have been developed based on the revision and improvement of traditional metaphor approaches proposed by Newmark (1981, 1988), van den Broeck (1981), and Toury (1995) In the first case, a metaphor is directly translated without modifying the metaphorical expression (direct translation) The second method involves substituting a metaphor in the target language which has a similar or equivalent meaning to the image in the source text (substitution) As a third approach (paraphrasing), metaphorical expressions may be transformed into non-figurative equivalents through paraphrasing The fourth option is to omit a metaphor from the translation (omission) Fifth, a metaphor in the target text is used to represent a non-metaphorical expression in the source text The final strategy involves the inclusion of a metaphor in the target text without any linguistic motivation in the source text (Schaffner, 2004, p.76)

Based on the suggestion of Schaffner (2014), some studies applied a cognitive approach to metaphor translation in analysis of conceptual metaphors employed in

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political discourse During his analysis of conceptual metaphors used in European Union political discourse, Dvorak (2011) identified three commonly used translation strategies These strategies include the reproduction of the same image in the target language, converting metaphors into their essence, and the replacement of metaphors with standard images in the target language (p.67) Similarly, an examination of three political speeches delivered by the late former Egyptian President, Mohammed Morsi, was carried out by Issa (2018) to explore the conceptual metaphors employed and their translation from Arabic to English Her study found that literal translation approaches were employed as a main strategy This entails direct translation, defined by Schaffner (2004), and involves the transfer of the sense, meaning, and imagery of the source language's metaphor to an equivalent metaphor in the target language

In terms of economic discourse, Tcaciuc (2013) identified the techniques employed by translators to deal with metaphorical language in economic documents of the European Central Bank and examined how the translations were influenced by the cultural and linguistic differences between English and Romanian The translators have used five strategies for translation, listed below: (i) Retaining the conceptual metaphor or borrowing the English term into the Romanian, (ii) shifting the image or, introducing a different image, or addition, (iii) translating the metaphor into a non-metaphor or metaphorization, (iv) omitting the metaphor entirely, (v) utilizing a combination of the aforementioned strategies

According to Aziz (2019), the most common approach for translating English economic metaphors into Bahasa Melayu is the literal translation strategy Because of the specialized nature of the text, it is important to maintain the metaphorical nature of the English expressions The explication strategy can be used instead of the literal strategy to simplify and clarify the meaning of English metaphors for the target audience Moreover, Chen and Li (2019) discussed the challenges of translating structural metaphors from English to Chinese They suggested two main strategies for achieving this task The first strategy, known as literal translation, is useful when the metaphor is already established in the target language and can convey the same meaning as that in the source text The second strategy, known as free translation, requires finding a metaphor in the target language that has a similar contextual meaning to the source text A translation strategy should also be considered in light of the specific context and the intended meaning of the metaphor used in the source text

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2.6 Conclusion

In summary, metaphors are significant aspects of language in general and economic discourse in particular The theoretical framework for the analysis of structural metaphors is based on the CMT of Lakoff and Johnson (2003) Since our cognition of the world stems from the experiences of embodiment, many metaphorical expressions in economic discourse relate to popular concepts, such as plants, machines, buildings, games, sports, journeys, and natural phenomena This approach provides new insights for understanding metaphors in economic discourse in terms of the projection between two domains In other words, the mapping process concerns the description of how the properties of the source domain conceptualize the attributes of the target domain Besides, following the proposal of Schaffner (2004), who supports the cognitive approach in translation, many studies concluded the common translation strategy for conceptual metaphors is the literal translation

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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methods used in this thesis, including research design, data collection, and data analysis The justifications for using these methods are also provided The validity and reliability of the study is mentioned at the end of the chapter

Simultaneously, the qualitative approach employs a descriptive method to analyze the structural metaphors and the image schemas represented through metaphors Qualitative research is characterized by its in-depth exploration and interpretation of human experiences within a specific context, often employing interviews, focus groups, or content analysis Specifically, content analysis is a qualitative research method well-suited to the interpretative nature of research (Kumar, 2011) Through content analysis, the author could systematically organize metaphorical examples into various categories and sub-categories based on their respective source domains This qualitative exploration also provides insights into the functions of these metaphors in comprehending abstract economic concepts and phenomena

3.2 Research Instrument

For this current research, the investigation entailed the primary data in words and phrases presenting metaphorical expressions in news stories The data was taken from 45 business articles in several English newspapers and magazines Considering the large group of followers and the prevalence and influence, this study chose prominent publishers, such as The Guardian, The Economist, The New York Times,

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The Independence, and the Wall Street Journal The data were randomly collected from the business columns in their electronic versions These business news articles were published in 2020 This period saw the profound effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on business operations and the global economy Therefore, news reporters paid significant attention to producing economic and business-related news Since then, the researcher has randomly gathered these news articles to read and learn English The year 2020 marked a significant milestone in human history due to the outbreak of a dangerous disease that swept across the globe The news reports published during that period were crucial in conveying the prevailing circumstances from every aspect These reports continue to hold immense value as they offer valuable insights into the past, aiding us in learning from the events that transpired The decision to choose business news articles in 2020 as the research data is motivated by the above reasons

Furthermore, the author selected three well-known UK newspapers, The Guardian, The Independent, and The Economist, and consulted along with two prominent US newspapers, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, for this study The selection was based on their established track records for providing accurate and timely information News articles from US and UK publications were included on purpose These countries represent the Inner Circle of Kachru's model (1985), in which English is primarily spoken as a native or first language It is evident from the contributors to these publications that their journalism is deeply rooted in the social and economic politics and cultures of their respective nations As a result, their perspective and the linguistic choices they make when reporting current business news are affected by their contextual grounding Besides, the Expanding Circle includes countries where English is introduced as a foreign language in education, mainly for communication purposes Vietnam is one such country These newspapers have become the primary channels for Vietnamese learners to obtain first-hand information or learning materials Native-like language users produce these articles, so analyzing CM will reflect the L1 speakers' thinking and the cultural nuances behind their language use

Oxford English Dictionary (OED) was referred to check the basic meaning of lexical units in the analyzed articles This dictionary is chosen because of its widespread recognition as English's most classic historical dictionary Moreover, this tool gives definitions and includes different ways the lexical items can be understood in various situations On top of that, its online version easily accesses and displays detailed

3.3 Data Collection Procedures

The researcher gathered raw data from online portals of newspapers and magazines mentioned earlier Afterwards, qualified articles were extracted and stored in Microsoft Word files to determine their word counts The extraction process was carried out by adopting the metaphor identification procedures (MIP) established by the Pragglejaz group Although the author acknowledges that manual data collection and analysis is potentially more prone to errors, it was the most convenient way due to the limited number of analyzed articles The corpus of this study comprises 45 news articles with different lengths of 250 to 2000 words A total of 29443 words was analyzed in this thesis Consequently, a total of 318 language expressions were found and archived in a Microsoft Excel file

3.4 Data Analysis

The researcher applied Lakoff and Johnson's theory (2003) to identify structural metaphors in English business news articles The first step was identifying metaphorical expressions in the self-compiled corpus These metaphorical expressions are lexical units In particular, the author marked lexemes and phrases with potential metaphoricity and entered the data in an Excel sheet The collected expressions were sorted according to their source domains The frequencies and percentages of each structural metaphor were then analyzed by analytical tools in Microsoft Excel More importantly, in presenting the frequency of each type of structural metaphor, the lexical units were organized into groups based on their specific lexical bases or root words Despite this grouping, the occurrence of each word within its respective group was still individually

counted To elaborate, the author found the word "compete" and its variations "competing" and "competed" as metaphorical expressions Accordingly, the lexical units "compete/competing/competed" were assigned a cumulative frequency count of

three occurrences

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Additionally, metaphorical expressions in the source data were grouped into primary source domains of structural metaphors, with careful consideration given to contextual nuances Then, the mapping process of metaphors was given to showcase the working mechanism from the source domain to the target domain However, it is not possible to project all the features of abstract target domains onto familiar target domains (Lakoff & Johnson, 2003)

The 45 news articles were coded alphabetically from a to v (small letters) for easy analysis and citation For the sake of clarity, these articles also appear in Appendix

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3.5 Validity and Reliability

Maintaining the integrity and credibility of scholarly work necessitates ensuring the validity and reliability of research Validity refers to the extent to which a study accurately measures what it claims to measure Firstly, the author thoroughly reviewed existing literature on structural metaphors and their usage in business news discourse to establish a conceptual framework and identify relevant variables for analysis Secondly, the thesis employed a strict selection process for sourcing business news articles to ensure the reliability of the data The researcher focused on reputable and established news outlets known for their accuracy and credibility Additionally, multiple sources were cross-referenced to verify the consistency of our findings Thirdly, the research method systematically identified and analyzed structural metaphors in business news articles The study utilized established linguistic and metaphorical analysis techniques to ensure the accuracy and consistency of our results Reliability refers to the consistency and stability of research findings over time and across different contexts The research followed standardized protocols for data collection, ensuring uniformity and consistency in the selection and extraction of business news articles Moreover, the author maintained detailed documentation regarding data collection procedures, coding methodologies, and analytical techniques throughout the research process

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CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter presents the general findings and relevant discussions The findings are divided into two sections The first section examines the quantitative outcomes of the primary structural metaphors that form the basis for metaphorical expressions in business English The second section concerns the mappings of structural metaphors to explain how abstract concepts are understood through familiar concepts

4.1 Types of different structural metaphors denoting ECONOMY

The quantitative research shed light on the first research question to determine the structural metaphor applied in English business news articles and identify the most frequently used among them

By identifying structural metaphors in the self-built corpus, those with the exact source domains are grouped for analysis The findings reveal a total of 337 metaphor expressions covering repetitive expressions If the repetition of each lexical unit is excluded, the number of metaphorical terms is only 188 All these expressions fall into seven types of structural metaphors, which were elaborated further in the following section

According to statistics, seven dominant structural metaphors used in English business news articles are as follows:

• ECONOMY IS A GAME / SPORT

The ECONOMY IS A WAR pattern accounts for the highest proportion (47.18%) This subtype constitutes nearly half the structural metaphors identified in English source data It is followed by BUILDING metaphors (12.17%), MACHINE

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metaphors (9.79%), and JOURNEY metaphors (9.20%) The three least prevalent metaphors include PLANT, GAME / SPORT, and NATURAL PHENOMENON, with a proportion of under 8%

The types of structural metaphors found in English business news articles, with the numbers of appearance and percentage of occurrence, are provided in Table 4.1 below:

Table 4.1 Distribution of types of structural metaphors

No Types of Structural Metaphors Metaphorical Expression Occurrence of Percentage (%)

This analysis demonstrates that the distribution of structural metaphors utilized in English business news articles is highly varied Some are frequently employed, while others are far less preferred Accordingly, these findings support the claim of previous observations (Koller, 2004; Kovacs, 2006; Gao, 2016; and Chen & Li, 2021) that the WAR source domain is found to dominate the highest frequency In the context of media coverage of economic situations in the COVID-19 period, the journalists tend to take the readers to the familiar attributes of a WAR to associate ECONOMY This also works with the rest of the structural metaphors, which can organize and structure the content into a familiar structure, simultaneously gaining the reader’s interest and understanding Based on the analysis, the widely used structural metaphors indicate that English writers employ metaphors to convey various aspects of the economy through

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experientially concrete and familiar source domains In line with Lakoff and Johnson’s theory (2003), metaphors are pervasive in everyday language, even business contexts In addition, the concrete and familiar source domains are not chosen randomly, but instead follow certain patterns in the way the specific culture perceives those abstract economic concepts

4.1.1 ECONOMY IS A WAR

The lexical items (words and phrases) that form the structural metaphor of ECONOMY IS A WAR, their respective occurrence, and the percentage of representation in the analysis are detailed below

From Table 4.2, the researcher found 159 repetitive expressions from 77 lexis

in the metaphor The most frequently used items are rival, launch, control, hit, lose/lost,

win, and battles The metaphorical expression with the highest percentage of

occurrence is rival (8.81%) It is followed by the terms launch, control, and hit (6.92%,

6.29%, and 5.66%, respectively) The same proportion of 3.77% shares for both

lexemes, lose/lost and win, followed by the word battles (3.14%) The rest of the

metaphorical expressions belonging to the WAR source domain only appears one to three times (under 1.89%)

Table 4.2 Metaphorical expressions' analysis of the conceptual model ECONOMY IS A WAR

No Metaphorically-expressed words Occurrence Percentage