CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR DENOTING “ECONOMY” AS “HUMAN BODY” IN NYTIMES.COM AND FICA.VN (2013)

Having chosen Lakoff and Johnson‟s Conceptual Metaphor Theory 2003 as the analytical framework, 74 metaphorical expressions from English and Vietnamese newspapers were analyzed to addres

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

-o0o -

HỒ THỊ HẢI YẾN

CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR DENOTING “ECONOMY” AS

“HUMAN BODY” IN NYTIMES.COM AND FICA.VN (2013)

Ẩn dụ ý niệm biểu hiện “kinh tế” được dùng như “cơ thể con người”

trong báo nytimes.com và fica.vn (2013)

M.A Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English Linguistics

Code: 60220201

Hanoi, 2014

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

-o0o -

HỒ THỊ HẢI YẾN

CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR DENOTING “ECONOMY” AS

“HUMAN BODY” IN NYTIMES.COM AND FICA.VN (2013)

Ẩn dụ ý niệm biểu hiện “kinh tế” được dùng như “cơ thể con người”

trong báo nytimes.com và fica.vn (2013)

M.A Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English Linguistics

Code: 60220201

Supervisor: Dr Huỳnh Anh Tuấn

Hanoi, 2014

DECLARATION Title:

“Conceptual metaphor denoting “economy” as “human body” in the

nytimes.com and fica.vn (2013)”

I hereby declare that the master thesis is my own original work under strict guidance of my supervisor All sources used for the thesis have been fully and properly cited No part in the thesis has been copied or reproduced by me from any other person‟s work without acknowledgements

Hanoi, 8 th October, 2014

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Huỳnh Anh Tuấn for his great patience, encouragement, ceaseless academic support and insightful comments Without his guidance and contributions, the present study would have never seen the light

My great thankfulness is also given to all my lecturers of the Faculty of Postgraduate Studies for their ideas to my paper and many thanks to all my friends who have been always willing to help and give their best suggestions during the time of collecting necessary data and information for the study

Last but not least, I would like to acknowledge and extend my heartfelt gratitude to my whole family who were always supporting me and encouraging me with their best wishes

Hồ Thị Hải Yến

ABSTRACT

Metaphors are rhetorical figures used to express one thing which is more abstract or unfamiliar in terms of another thing which is more familiar and concrete Metaphor has often been regarded as a special language use characteristic of poetry and drama, but in the ground-breaking work Metaphors We Live By (2003), Lakoff and Johnson showed that metaphor is, in fact, a fundamental structuring mechanism

in the way we interact with and perceive the world around us Studies have also shown metaphor to be common not only in everyday language but also in language

of economy Having chosen Lakoff and Johnson‟s Conceptual Metaphor Theory (2003) as the analytical framework, 74 metaphorical expressions from English and Vietnamese newspapers were analyzed to address how conceptual metaphor denoting “economy” as “human body” works in English and Vietnamese newspapers as well as indicate the similarities and differences between both languages in terms of this conceptual metaphor It aims to enhance the effectiveness

of teaching, learning and translating conceptual metaphors in English and Vietnamese

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION……… ………i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale of the study 1

2 Aims and objectives 2

2.1 Aims of the study 2

2.2 Objectives 2

3 Scope of the study 3

4 Significance of the study 3

4.1 In terms of theory 3

4.2 In terms of practice 3

5 Method and procedures 3

5.1 Research questions 3

5.2 Research method 4

5.3 Data collection 4

5.4 Data analysis 4

6 Organization of the study 4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 6

CHAPTER I: THEORICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW 6

1.1 Theorical Background 6

1.1 Cognitive linguistics 6

1.2 Cognitive Semantics 6

1.2.1 Definition of cognitive semantics 6

1.2.2 Main tenets of cognitive semantics 7

1.2.2.1 Conceptual structure is embodied 7

1.2.2.2 Semantic structure is conceptual structure 7

1.2.2.3 Meaning representation is encyclopedic 8

1.2.2.4 Meaning construction is conceptualization 8

1.3 Conceptual Metaphor Theory 8

1.3.1 Metaphor 8

1.3.1.1.Traditional views on metaphor 9

1.3.1.2.Metaphor in the light of cognitive linguistics 9

1.3.2 Conceptual metaphor 10

1.3.2.1 Definition of conceptual metaphor 10

1.3.2.2 Classification of conceptual metaphor 11

1.3.2.2.1 Structural metaphor 11

1.3.2.2.2.Orientional metaphor 12

1.3.2.2.3 Ontological metaphor 12

1.3.2.3 Metaphorical mapping 13

1.3.2.3.1 Mapping principles 13

1.3.2.3.2 Image schema 14

1.3.2.3.3 Metaphorical entailment 14

2 Literature Review 15

3 Contrastive Analysis 16

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 18

1 Research questions 18

2 Research method 18

3 Research procedures 18

4 Data analysis 19

4.1 Data collection 19

4.2 Data analysis 20

4.2.1 Data analytical framework 20

4.4.2.Data analytical units 21

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS 22

1 Conceptual metaphor denoting economy as human body in nytimes.com in 2013 22

1.1 Stages of economy system are stages of human body development 22

1.2 Aspects of economy are organs of human body 22

1.3 Appropriate economic conditions are healthy human body conditions 23

1.4 Inappropriate economic conditions are unhealthy human body conditions 24

1.5 Solutions to the economy are treatments to the human body 26

1.6 Recovery of economy is recovery of human body 26

1.7 Collapse of economy is the death of human body 27

2.2 Aspects of economy are organs of human body 28

2.4 Inappropriate economic conditions are unhealthy human body conditions 29

2.5 Solutions to economy problems are medical treatments to human body problems 30

2.6 Recovery of economy are recovery of human body 31

2.7 Collapse of economy are collapse of human body 31

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 32

1 Similarities and differences between conceptual metaphor denoting economy as human body in nytimes.com and fica.vn (2013) 32

PART C: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 35

1 Conclusion 35

2 Implications 36

2.1 Implications to Translation Practice 36

2.2 Implications to Foreign Language Teaching 37

3 Limitations and suggestions for further studies 37

REFERENCES 39 APPENDICES VIII APPENDIX I APPENDIX II IX

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PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

It is indisputable that economy has a close relationship with human beings and human society since economic growth is considered as a foremost contributor

to sustained progress in human development Given the global trends emerging these days when nations‟ budget focuses more on boosting economy, the number of economics studies is proliferating considerably Specifically, language of economy

is one of burning concern of reasearchers (e.g Boers, 2000; Charteris-Black, 2000; Broone & Feyaerts, 2005) Thebreakneck speed of global economic evolution has provided the language of economy with constant changes and innovations

In recent times, cognitive linguistics has become an exponentially essential discipline of modern psycholinguistics in language studies Among researched issues dealing with cognitive linguistics is cognitive semantics which focuses on metaphor – a specific mental mapping that provides a foundation of human conceptualization In the view of the classic theory, metaphor is regarded as a special language use characteristic of poetry and drama However, according to the Conceptual Metaphor Theory as initiated by Lakoff and Johnson (1987), used as a theoretical framework for this paper, metaphor is not just a poet‟s tool for aesthetic, rhetorical purposes but rather pervasive in everyday life and plays an indispensible role in defining the way people perceive the world and the way we interact with the world Our conception of abstract concept is achieved by virtue of a more concrete concept, thus creating what is called a “conceptual metaphor” The prevalence of metaphors within the concept – economy is a pivotal topic of research In 1983, McCloskey, in The Rhetoric of Economics recognized the importance of metaphor in economic contexts McCloskey argues that economy is metaphorical in nature and economic texts are “heavily metaphorical”(McCloskey, 1983:502) Economic expressions such as “economic growth”, “infant industry”, “mature economy”,

“underdeveloped”, “depression”, “human capital”, etc are, in fact, used widely

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and frequently Of all the areas of economy that rely on metaphors to convey abstract ideas, perhaps the most interesting is the study of economy as human body Metaphorically, the economy is regarded as human body with natural cycles of growth, decline and death How economy can be conceptualized as human body in English and Vietnamese newspapers and how conceptual representations vary across languages and cultures will be illustrated in my research entitled:

“Conceptual metaphor denoting “economy” as “human body” in nytimes.com and fica.vn (2013)” Considering the limited size of the material, the results of the study may probably not be generalized, but they can hopefully contribute to spark a brief insight into conceptual metaphors denoting economy as human body in English and Vietnamese online newspapers Furthermore, they are considered to be important to specialist translators, English for Special purposes (hereafter ESP) teachers and students in understanding and interpreting these conceptual metaphor expressions efficiently, as well as to non-native writers who may be better equipped to produce economic texts

2 Aims and objectives

2.1 Aims of the study

As the title of my paper suggests, my primary aim is to investigate how conceptual metaphor denoting “economy” as “human body” are manifested in English and Vietnamese online newspapers, nytimes.com and fica.vn respectively

in 2013 in the light of cognitive perspective

2.2 Objectives

The study is intended to fulfill the following objectives:

- To analyze the concept of “economy” metaphorically expressed as “human body”

in two eminent English and Vietnamese online newspapers, namely nytimes.com and fica.vn respectively in the year of 2013

- To discover and explain the similarities and differences between conceptual metaphors denoting “economy” as “human body” in nytimes.com and fica.vn in

2013

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- To make some suggestions for teaching, learning and translating conceptual metaphors denoting “economy” as “human body”

3 Scope of the study

Due to time constraints and within the framework of an M.A thesis, the research is limited to 74 expressions of conceptual metaphors denoting

“economy” as “human body” which are selected from available articles during 2013 in nytimes.com and fica.vn from cognitive linguistic perspective

4 Significance of the study

4.1 In terms of theory

The present paper may not only provide empirical evidence for studies of linguistic units but also shed light on the studies of economics and applied cultural linguistics

In order to achieve the aims of the study the following research questions

should be taken into consideration:

- How is the concept of “economy” metaphorically expressed as “human body” in English and Vietnamese online newspapers?

- What are the similarities and differences in expressions of conceptual metaphors denoting “economy” as “human body” in English and Vietnamese online newspapers?

5.4 Data analysis

Using Lakoff‟s and Johnson‟s Conceptual Metaphor Theory (2003) as the model of linguistic expressions of conceptual metaphor, the study is qualitatively conducted to describe and analyze the data collected In this model, conceptual metaphors are classified to be the extension of ontological metaphors Qualitatively, data are described and analyzed in order to find out the similarities and differences

in expressions denoting economy as human body in English and Vietnamese newspapers

6 Organization of the study

This study is composed of three main parts:

Part A – Introduction introduces the rationale, the aim, the methodology, the

scope, the significance and the organization of the study

Part B – Development consists of four chapters

Chapter 1 – Theoretical background and Literature review focuses on

introducing important theoretical matters relevant to the topic of the study such as definition of cognitive semantics, main tenets of cognitive semantics, the

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theories of metaphor, the conceptual metaphors, the metaphoric mappings Besides,

it presents some previous researches on economic discourses

Chapter 2 – Research methodology discusses the methods and the procedures of

the research It also deals with the description of samples and how the data are

collected, described and analyzed

Chapter 3 – Data analysis involves describing and analyzing conceptual metaphors

denoting “economy” as “human body “in the two English and Vietnamese

newspapers, namely nytimes.com and fica.vn respectively (2013)

Chapter 4 – Findings and discussion deals with metaphorical expressions which are

compared and contrasted so as to find out the similarities and differences in

metaphorical expressions denoting “economy” as “human body “in both languages

Part C: Conclusion

The results of the study and implication for better teaching, learning and translating conceptual metaphors in economic texts are illustrated in the final part of the thesis This part also puts forward some issues which have not been mentioned in the thesis and some suggestions for further researches

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: THEORICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter provides the key concepts occurring in the subject matter and

this review will reveal the research gap, thus rationalizing the need to conduct the

main areas of research: cognitive semantics and cognitive grammar Cognitive

grammar, the model language developed by Ronald Langacker is concerned with

modeling the language system rather than the nature of mind itself Cognitive linguistics assures that grammar is conceptualization People use grammar or language to conceptualize their experiences to express them (Jensen, 2004)

Cognitive semantics is concerned with investigating the relationship between

experience, the conceptual system, and the semantic structure encoded by language Moreover, it is noteworthy that cognitive semantics considers meanings which are from our mind, or rather, meanings are in the head (Gardenfor, 1994)

1.2 Cognitive Semantics

1.2.1 Definition of cognitive semantics

Cognitive semantics is part of cognitive linguistics According to Evans (2006), cognitive semantics is concerned with the investigating the relationship

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between human experience, the conceptual system in human mind, and the semantic structure encoded by language In the light of this, scholars studying in cognitive semantics investigate knowledge representation (conceptual structure), and meaning construction (conceptualization)

1.2.2 Main tenets of cognitive semantics

As summarized by Evans and Green (2006:157), there are four guiding principles that collectively characterize cognitive semantics as follow:

- Conceptual structure is embodied

- Semantic structure is conceptual structure

- Meaning representation is encyclopedic

- Meaning construction is conceptualization

1.2.2.1 Conceptual structure is embodied

The first major principle, “Conceptual structure is embodied”, claims that we have a specific view of the world due to the nature of our body (Geerarts, 1993, Talmy, 1985, 2000; Taylor, 1989) We perceive the world from our independent perspectives Each person has his or her own ways of looking at the world, which is fundamentally based on his or her own bodily experience In this respect, conceptual is a consequence of the nature of our body embodiment That is

to say, any theory of conceptual structure should be accordant with the ways which

we experience the external world

1.2.2.2 Semantic structure is conceptual structure

The second principle states that language refers to concepts in the mind of the speaker about the real world rather than entities which inhere in an external

world In the other words, semantic structure (the meaning conventionally associated with words and other linguistic units) can be equated with conceptual

structure (Rosch, 1973) However, the claim that semantic structure is conceptual

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structure does not mean that the two above are identical Instead, cognitive semanticists claim that the semantic structure (meanings associated with linguistic units) such as words arise from only subset of possible concepts in the mind of speakers and hearers

1.2.2.3 Meaning representation is encyclopedic

The third principle holds that lexical concepts do not represent a bundle of meaning as we may see in a dictionary, but access to repositories of knowledge relating to a particular concept (Evan and Green, 2006:160) Of course, it can be deniable that words have conventional meanings associated with them Nevertheless, in order to understand what the speaker means in his or her utterance,

we draw upon our encyclopedic knowledge relating to a specific situation and selected a meaning that is appropriate in the context of the utterance to construct its meaning

1.2.2.4 Meaning construction is conceptualization

Last but not least, the fourth principle confirms that “Meaning construction is equated with conceptualization, a process whereby linguistic units serve as prompts for an array of conceptual operations and the recruitment of background knowledge” (Evan and Green, 2006:162) In this respect, the meaning of linguistic expressions does not relate directly or objectively to the real world, but rather it is based on our ways of experiencing or conceptualizing the real world

1.3 Conceptual Metaphor Theory

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on the light of cognitive linguistics, despite being very recent, has become the most influential theory of metaphor (Richard 2005:19)

1.3.1.1.Traditional views on metaphor

Metaphor has traditionally been viewed as a stylistic device used only in literature There are various definitions of metaphors proposed by different linguists

and scholars in different perspectives

According to Aristotle (1992:49) who was first to provide a scholarly treatment of metaphors, metaphor is giving something a name that belongs

to another thing This substitution theory describes metaphor as an expression, which can be paraphrased by a literal expression

According to Đỗ Hữu Châu (1966:54), metaphor is a way of naming an object in terms of the name of another, based on the similar relationship between them

To put it simple, metaphor is traditionally a hidden comparison and a transference of names of one thing for another, and it is considered as one of the figures of speech, a rhetorical device, or a florid decorative means used in literature to achieve an aesthetic effect

1.3.1.2.Metaphor in the light of cognitive linguistics

Metaphor in the light of cognitive linguistics is not only used in poems and prose but also present in daily life language Two of the leading researchers within this field are two American linguists George Lakoff and Mark Johnson The ground-breaking work Metaphor We Live By launched by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) revolutionizes the study of metaphor from the cognitive

perspective and has become the foundation for much other researches They

both claim that metaphor is omnipresent and indispensable in our everyday language, not merely as a view of rhetorical device but as a matter of human thought processes and it exists in our conceptual system To be more specific, we

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talk about things metaphorically because we conceive them that way and we act by the way we conceive of things (Lakoff and Johnson,1980:7) This viewpoint is shared by Barcelona (2000:3) who states that “metaphor is the cognitive mechanism whereby one experiential domain is partially „mapped‟, i.e projected onto a different experiential domain so that the second domain is partially understood in terms of another experiential domain”

General speaking, the cognitive approach is in opposition to the traditional approach in many ways It attributes cognitive value to metaphor, meaning that metaphor is not considered to be just a matter of language, but primarily a matter of thought It reflects the mechanism by which people understand and explain about the real world In this sense, in order to explain a rather complex concept, people tend to refer to another concept which is easier to comprehend

1.3.2 Conceptual metaphor

1.3.2.1 Definition of conceptual metaphor

As stated in Metaphor We Live By (2003) by Lakoff and Johnson, conceptual metaphor (or cognitive metaphor) in cognitive linguistics refers to the understanding of one conceptual domain in terms of another domain An unknown, difficult target-domain is interpreted or reconceptualized in terms of an easier and more concrete source domain In other words, we use metaphor as a means for comprehending new difficult abstract phenomena in terms of familiar ones Anger, for example, is a complex emotion, and we have no direct way of understanding it Thus there are different ways in which it is understood and explained One of those ways is understanding “anger” in terms of “war” as manifested in expressions such as:

- “Your claims are indefensible”

- “He attacked every weak pint in my argument”

According to Lakoff and Johnson (2003), most of the actions that we perform when arguing are structured from the concept war, as we view the

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person we are arguing with as an opponent, we attack his position and we defend our own, gain and lose ground, we plan and use strategies, etc Therefore, we understand and talk about ARGUMENT in terms of WAR In this case, the source domain and the target domain are „war' and 'anger” respectively

“Argument is war” is considered conceptual metaphor, and the representations of metaphor are metaphorical expressions

Similarly, Radden and Divren (2007:16), conceptual metaphor is viewed as

"a means of understanding abstract domains by relating them to better-known domains and experiences in the physical world"

For Johansen (2007:11), a conceptual metaphor is “a metaphor that exists in the mind of a speaker, and may thus be unconscious”

In Vietnam, Trần Văn Cơ in his book “Khảo luận ẩn dụ tri nhận” (Epistemology of Cognitive Metaphor) (2009:86-87) explains carefully that conceptual metaphor is viewed as when we think one object in terms of another one Metaphors are often related to the complex and abstract objects, but not the discrete ones Thereby, in the process of perception, these complex and abstract things, through metaphor, establish the correlation with more concrete or observable ones For instance, human emotions can be compared with fire, the fields of economics and politics can be compared with games, sport contests, etc

1.3.2.2 Classification of conceptual metaphor

According to Lakoff and Johnson (2003), conceptual metaphors are classified into three different kinds which are presented in the following, starting with structural metaphors, following orientational and ontological metaphors

1.3.2.2.1 Structural metaphor

Structural metaphors are instances involving “the structuring of one kind of experience or activity in terms of another kind of experience or activity” (Lakoff and Johnson, 2003:8) This phenomenon is exemplified with the conceptual metaphor “Time is money” As can be seen from the example, the concept “time” is

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metaphorically structured in terms of the concept “money” This conceptual metaphor is realized in language by expressions such as “That flat tire cost me an hour” (Lakoff &Johnson, 2003:8) Here, we treat our time as something precious that should not be wasted or should at least be spent or even invested wisely

1.3.2.2.2.Orientional metaphor

Following Lakoff and Johnson (2003),unlike the structural metaphor, orientational metaphor “does not structure one concept in terms of another but instead organizes a whole system of concepts with respect to one another” (Lakoff and Johnson 2003:15) As the name suggests, these metaphors are based on the orientation in space such as up- down, front-back, near-far, etc Hence, a special relationship is made for a concept such as “Happy is up” The physical basis for the mentioned-above metaphor is that an erect posture with a positive emotional state, leading to English expressions like “I‟m feeling up today”

Besides, it is noteworthy that even if they are based on physical experience common to all humans, these metaphors are also determined by culture; for example,

in some cultures the future is ahead, and in others it is behind us (Lakoff and Johnson, 2003:14)

1.3.2.2.3 Ontological metaphor

Ontological metaphors are about understanding our experiences in terms of entities and substances, and alternative names for them are therefore entity and substance metaphors (Lakoff and Johnson, 2003:25) By this way, when the target domain is not discrete or bounded, we can still quantify them, categorize them, and reason about them Moreover, Lakoff and Johnson (1980:33) claim that the most obvious ontological metaphors are cases when we specify a physical object as being

a person; when we see something nonhuman as human This is called personification, and covers a wide range of metaphors, each of which focuses on different aspects of, or ways of looking at, a person (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980:34)

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Personification is not only common in literature but also omnipresent in everyday discourse such as in the two following metaphorical expressions:

- Inflation makes me sick

-We need to combat inflation

Viewing “inflation” as an entity allow us to refer to it, quantify it, identify a particular aspect of it, see it as a cause, act with respect to it, and perhaps even believe that we understand it

Another concept are the container metaphors According to Lakoff and Johnson(2003), human being are containers with boundaries and an orientation of inside and outside For example:

- He fell in love

- We will be out of the trouble soon

The prepositions in, out relating to the emotions are containers metaphor All these

cases conjure up the image of a three – dimensional bounded region (an emotion, abstract entity)

By and large, Lakoff and Johnson (2003:265) stated that “The division of metaphors into three types – orientational, ontological and structural – was artificial All metaphors are structural (in that they map structures to structures); all are ontological (in that they create target-domain entities); and many are orientational (in that they map orientational image-schemas) Therefore, it will be difficult to get

a clear-cut distinction between structural and ontological metaphors In this thesis, all those not clearly structural metaphors will be counted as ontological metaphors

1.3.2.3 Metaphorical mapping

1.3.2.3.1 Mapping principles

According to Radden and Divren (2007), conceptual metaphor is “a conceptual shift” leading to meaning extension This cognitive process that relates

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to literal meanings and extended meanings is called mapping A mapping is the systematic set of correspondences that exist between constituent elements of the source and the target domain In other words, a conceptual metaphor is created by mapping a concept from source domain onto a concept from target domain Certain aspects of the source and those of the target are brought into correspondence with each other in such a way that constituent elements of the source correspond to constituent elements of the target (Kovecses, 1987:93) A brief way to represent this mapping is the following: Target domain is source domain “Argument is war” is

an example of an inference pattern that is mapped from one domain to another It is via such mappings that we apply knowledge about “war” to concept

“argument”

1.3.2.3.2 Image schema

The theory of conceptual metaphor developed the idea that certain concepts are image- schematic in nature According to Lakoff and Johnson (2003), image schemas may assume the function source domain for metaphorical mapping Kovecses (2007) defines image schemas as acquired through our bodily interactions with external world, as such, these interactions occur repeatedly in human experiences which then give the emergence of certain schema structures represented in our mind The structures that emerge this way are what we call image schemas

1.3.2.3.3 Metaphorical entailment

Kõvecses (1987:94) states that “when rich additional knowledge about a source is mapped onto a target, we call it metaphorical entailment” In this sense, conceptual metaphors also have to provide additional and detailed knowledge due to the fact that some aspects of the source domain that are not explicitly stated in the mappings can be inferred Thus, entailments or rich inferences are carried by metaphorical mappings For example, in the

metaphor “argument is war”, we use an additional piece of knowledge about

journey to make sense of a feature of argument

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In conclusion, we can say that metaphor plays a role in human thought, understanding, and reasoning, and beyond that, in the creation of our social, cultural, and psychological reality Understanding metaphor then means understand

a vital part of who we are and what kind of world we live in

2 Literature Review

There have been a number of scholars inspired and interested in

Smith, the founder of modern economics mentioned invisible hand It is perhaps the earliest use of metaphor in economic contexts He argues that the invisible hand of the market manipulates prices so as to efficiently allocate scarce recourses according to consumer preferences and production costs (Boers, 1997:45)

Then in 1983 McCloskey, in The Rhetoric of Economics recognized the importance of metaphor in economic contexts McCloskey argues that economics is metaphorical in nature He sees metaphor as the most important example of economics rhetoric, essential to economic thinking and states that "To say that markets are represented by supply and demand 'curve' is no less a metaphor than to say that the west wind is the 'breath of autumn' being(McCloskey, 1983:502)

Charteris –Black (2000) carries out a comparative language analysis of the Economist magazine and the economic section of the Bank of English corpus is carried out by Charteris- Black (2000) The results suggests that the metaphoric lexis in the Economist are higher in frequency than in the general magazines This suggest that ESP learners are dealing with more specific types of metaphors as part of their “technical” register

Pecican (2007) carries out a study comparing the use of conceptual metaphor in English and Romanian which shows that the underlying conceptual metaphors are basically the same, and that there is a higher preference for fight related metaphors in English where Romanian preferred metaphors relating to the health and psychological state of living organism

However, it seems that there has no studies into the similarities and

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differences between English and Vietnamese languages in relation to the use of conceptual metaphor denoting economy as human body Therefore, this paper complements previous studies in that it sets out to examine the nature of conceptual metaphors denoting economy as human body employed in English and Vietnamese newspapers to identify and discover the similar and different expressions of conceptual metaphors used for describing economy as human body in English and Vietnamese newspapers, namely nytimes.com and fica.vn in 2013 Subsequently, some implications for teaching, learning and translating conceptual metaphors for further researches are demonstrated

3 Contrastive Analysis

"Contrastive analysis was developed and practiced in the 1950s and 1960s as application of structural linguistics to language teaching" (Richards, Platt & Platt, 1992) It is obviously explained by Arnold (2009) that “contrastive analysis

is systematic comparison of specific linguistics characteristic of two or more languages” Furthermore, the contractive analysis is a method of linguistic analysis that tries to describe, prove, and analyze the differences and similarities of languages aspects of the two or more languages (Ridwan, 1998)

Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) – this extension of the notion of CA attributed the ability to predict errors to a CA of two languages, a predictability that practitioners associated with the degree of similarity between the two systems According to Robert Lado (1957:2), “… those elements that are similar to this native language will be simple for him, and those elements that are different will be difficult The Contrastive Analysis emphasizes on the influence of the mother tongue in learning a second language in phonological, morphological and syntactic levels Contrastive Analysis is not merely relevant for second language teaching and learning but it can also make useful contributions to machine translating and linguistics typology It is relevant to the designing of teaching materials for use in all age groups Chaturvedi (1973) suggests the following guiding principles for

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contrastive study:

- To analyze the mother tongue and the target language independently and completely

- To compare the two languages item-wise-item at all levels of their structure

- To arrive at the categories of similar features, partially similar features or dissimilar features for the target language

- To arrive at principles of text preparation, test framing and target language teaching in general

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CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The following chapter will depict in detail the methodology of this research

2 Research method

Contrastive Analysis was carried out trying to depict, prove and analyze the similarities and differences in expressions of conceptual metaphors denoting economy as human body in both languages According to James (1980:2), Contrastive Analysis is “a linguistic enterprise aimed at producing inverted (i.e contrastive, not comparative) two-valued typologies (a Contrastive Analysis is always concerned with a pair of languages), and founded on the assumption that languages can be compared”

In the paper, Contrastive Analysis is crucial because it helps achieve the aim

of finding out the similarities and the differences of conceptual metaphor denoting economy as human body in English and Vietnamese

3 Research procedures

The procedure of investigation consisted of several stages:

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- Firstly, the paper, under the theoretical wing of Conceptual Metaphor Theory

(Lakoff & Johnson, 2003), selected economic metaphorical expressions whose meanings derive from people‟s experience of the human body in nytimes.com and

fica.vn in 2013

- Secondly, these economic metaphorical expressions were classified into subtypes considering the particular mappings between source domain “human body

“and target domain “economy”

- Thirdly, the investigation focused on comparing and finding out the

similarities and differences between conceptual metaphors denoting economy as human body in nytimes.com and fica.vn in 2013

- Subsequently, some implications for teaching, learning and translating conceptual metaphors for further researches were portrayed

4 Data analysis

4.1 Data collection

The two English and Vietnamese newspapers namely nytimes.com and fica.vn are two authoritative economic newspapers covering vivid daily world news

on economy and politics, offering analyses and opinions on them

Using the theorical framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory as initiated

by Lakoff and Johnson in their seminal book Metaphor We Live By (2003), the paper particularly deals with the perception of economy as a human body which develops organically, and whose cycles of growth, decline, and death are natural It also allows us to understand the economy as human body that can fall ill or even collapse, but if someone possesses the right knowledge, the economy may be

treated and and back to a former position of prosperity

In the light of this,74metaphorical expressions denoting economy as human body were selected from available articles in nytimes.com and fica.vn during the year of 2013 The registered metaphorical expressions were limited to the ones that describe the economy, money, company, economic activity or economic crisis, not the ones in relation to other topics such as politics

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4.2 Data analysis

4.2.1 Data analytical framework

- Model of the research

The categorization of the data was carried out on the basis of Lakoff Johnson‟s Conceptual Metaphor Theory (2003) behind which the fundamental principle is that our conceptual system is “fundamentally metaphorical in nature” (Lakoff and Johnson, 2003:3) Metaphorical expressions are no longer restricted to poetic language and rhetoric but are pervasive in ordinary everyday language and even in economic language In this respect, the paper made some explorations into the use of metaphor denoting “economy” - an abstract and complicated concept as

“human body”- the concrete and physical concept in nytimes.com and fica.vn in

2013

Moreover, the cognitive function of the ontological metaphor is to give an ontological status to general categories of abstract target concepts (Lakoff & Johnson, 2003:12) Personification, according to Lakoff & Johnson (2003:15), allows us to “comprehend a wide variety of experiences with nonhuman entities in terms of human motivations, characteristics, and activities” and it is a form of ontological metaphor In this respect, conceptual metaphor denoting economy as human body and its expressions are the extension of ontological metaphor where

the economic system – a nonhuman entity is given human qualities

- Method of data analysis: Qualitative research focuses on gathering of mainly

verbal data rather than measurements Gathered information is then analyzed in an interpretative manner, subjective, impressionistic or even diagnostic The primary aim of a qualitative research is to provide a complete, detailed description of the

research topic It is usually more exploratory in nature

In this paper, qualitative method allows the author to carry out a deeper and more detailed conceptual analysis of the data, contributing to disclose possible similarities and differences in the use of the metaphorical expressions denoting economy as human body in nytimes.com and fica.vn (2013), then interprets their

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pragmatic meaning in both languages, English and Vietnamese To be more

specific, data is qualitatively analyzed as follows:

- Describing the representations of the conceptual metaphor denoting

“economy” as “human body” in English and Vietnamese

- Analyzing why economy is metaphorically understood and described in such

ways

- Making use of experiences of source domain “human body” in the cognitive

process of creating meaning extensions

4.4.2.Data analytical units

The materials consist of 98 metaphorical expressions collected from articles

in nytimes.com and fica.vn in 2013 They are classified into seven main categories

which are closely connected to conceptual metaphor denoting economy as human

body All of them are ontological metaphors:

- Stages of economic system are stages of human body development

- Aspects of economy are organs of human body

- Appropriate economic conditions are healthy human body conditions

- Inappropriate economic conditions are unhealthy human body

conditions

- Solutions to economic problems are medical treatments to human body

- Recovery of economy is recovery of human body

- Collapse of economy is death of human body

It is noteworthy that the categorization is open and flexible since the

unestablished sets above emerge in the progress of analysis 7 categories are

supported by syntactic linguistic units such as noun phrases, verb phrases, adjective

phrases, adverb phrases, prepositional phrases, etc with specific illustrations of how

the original meanings of these items which are employed to describe human body‟s

characteristics are used in different contexts in the field of economy in English and

Vietnamese

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CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS

1 Conceptual metaphor denoting economy as human body in nytimes.com in

2013

1.1 Stages of economy system are stages of human body development

When economy is metaphorized as a human body, the economy has its periodic performance which is often illustrated as a cycle with stages: birth, growth, maturation and death For example:

- A vicious circle of economic atrophy [36]

- The corporate bond market is also in its infancy in Western Europe [33]

- Market becomes more mature.[34]

- Oracle is battling an image not of growing up, but of growing old [65]

In example 33, “infancy”, the first stage of human body life implies that the

corporate bond market is at the beginning of the development and need to be taken

care of and protected like an infant In example 34, “mature”, the developed stage

of human life, implies that whose growth has stopped and which is functioning

without change or innovation In example 65, the noun phrase “growing up” implies the development of Oracle; whereas the noun phrase “growing old”, the

later period of human body life, implies that economy is becoming declining and turning down

1.2 Aspects of economy are organs of human body

Metaphorically, the parts or aspects of economy are understood as organs of the body, which can be various kinds of body parts, such as nerves, heart, backbone

and muscles For instance:

- China's cash crunch deepened, issued a statement aimed at soothing market

nerves.[37]

- Private lending should be the backbone of the housing market [39]

- They can reach into Seoul‟s economic heart without blowing up South

Korean warships or shelling South Korean islands [38]

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- The second priority should be to extend the services directive to areas it does not cover – mainly energy, transport and telecommunications These networks

are the economy‟s arteries and nervous systems [60]

- Putin is expected to offer Ukraine a financial lifeline [67]

A range of noun phrases “nerve”, “heart”, “nervous systems”, “backbone

“and “lifeline” which are originally main parts of the physical body are

metaphorically used to describe the different aspects of economy In example 37,

the expression “nerve” implies the most sensitive place of the market because nerve

is very susceptible to the outside world “Heart” in example 3 is regarded as the

center of the economy, which is derived from the basic knowledge that the heart is

the most important part of physical body In addition, in example 39, “backbone” is

referred to as the mainstay of the housing market which also originates from human body experience The backbone which supports and upholds the whole body plays

an extremely important roles in human body “Lifeline” in example 67 implies the

president Putin is looked forward to providing Ukraine with a financial help or support that is needed for its success or survival

Besides, in the instance below:

- France and Germany were the twinned engines of European integration:

France gave the political lead, Germany the economic muscle That is over German

dominance over a drifting France is so evident as to be almost embarrassing.” [59]

The expression “muscle” whose original meaning is one of many tissues in

the body that can tighten and relax to produce movement is metaphorically utilized

to indicate power and influence of French economy

1.3 Appropriate economic conditions are healthy human body conditions

Delineated as a healthy human body, economy is considered in the appropriate state when it works well Thus, the general well-being of an economy is understood

in economic metaphorical expressions as the economic health.There are different

examples found in English data as follows:

- China‟s economy is basically doing well [1]

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- Several reports released on Thursday and earlier this week have backed Fed

officials who say the economy is healthy enough to stand the tapering [5]

- The labor market is in decent shape, but it‟s not doing that much better than

six months or a year ago [8]

- When the economy is strong, workers are empowered [4]

- The United States economy grew at a surprisingly robust 4.1 percent annual

pace in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said on Friday [6]

- The benign economic outlook in the near term provides favorable condition

for structural reforms [9]

As can be seen in the examples above, metaphorical expressions describing economy which stays in the pink are intensely striking

1.4 Inappropriate economic conditions are unhealthy human body conditions

The diseases chosen for the source domain “economy” through which its weaknesses and problems are described can be serious or just a cold Resembling

human body, the economy may get “sick” or “get a cold” with some common symptoms like “headache”, “sneezes” as the following examples:

- It has been so meager that the economy, by some metrics, is still

very sick.[22]

- The law pose some modest potential headaches for overall economy [28]

- If the U.S sneezes, we get a cold [29]

Additionally, general ailments are also illustrated through a range of metaphorical expressions as in the following examples:

- The economy is weakening [13]

- Economic distress caused by swelling youth populations [16]

- Analysts, however, warned that the situation in the euro zone remained

fragile, with feeble economic growth and the risk of political instability as voters

tire of austerity policies blamed for deepening recessions and worsening joblessness [56]

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- Others stay put because of the shaky economy or the difficulty of selling

home or getting a mortgage [24]

- The real power is held by his political patron, Sonia Gandhi, who leads the Indian National Congress Party, which has expressed little concern for the country‟s

ailing economy [26]

- Officials proudly display charts showing a dizzying economic boom, with

growth reaching 13 percent this year, making Paraguay the fastest-growing country

in the Americas [61]

- Japanese economy shrinks and remains in recession [62]

- Nike has been dealing with Europe's fluctuating economy and a slowdown

in growth in China [63]

- By April, the problem had become a crisis as the Cypriot economy went

into a nose dive [66]

Moreover, metaphorical expressions “ sclerotic”, “paralysis”, “crippled” and “spasm” in examples below help illustrate that economy is sustaining most

likely irrecoverable diseases, which is similar to a seriously disabled person who cannot walk:

- The polarization of society and economic paralysis has reached new

extremes, a state of emergency has been declared and protester encampments in Cairo are like war zones [14]

- Italy could carry out long-delayed changes to its political system and take

steps to revive its sclerotic economy [15]

- Today we are seeing a crippled economy, postponed contracts and losses

among contractors [17]

- Egypt so the struggling economy can start to recover from spasms of unrest

and violence that have punctuated the transition to democracy [27]

The problems from which economy suffers are metaphorically depicted as

certain “maladies” which may be “chronic” – lasting for a long period of time or

marked by frequent recurrence:

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- Among the excuses that companies have put forward, it is noteworthy that some of the more profound setbacks cited are those that reflect more of a cultural

disconnect than economic maladies [12]

- Our underlying economic problems are chronic, not temporary; structural,

not cyclical [31]

In general, lexical items helping depict the problems of the economy appear to

be extremely colorful in the nytimes.com

1.5 Solutions to the economy are treatments to the human body

As mentioned above, economy which resembles a human body may suffer from injuries or fall ill Therefore, medical treatments, i.e economic measures need

to be taken to save it from collapsing For instance:

- After years of insisting that the primary cure for Europe‟s malaise is to

slash spending, the champions of austerity, most notably ChancellorAngela Merkel of Germany, find themselves under intensified pressure to back off

unpopular remedies and find some way to restore faltering growth to the world‟s

largest economic bloc [45]

- Minister Shinzo Abe has injected vigor into an economy that had been

languishing for years [47]

- It is wrong prescription for Greece [42]

1.6 Recovery of economy is recovery of human body

Just like a patient body, economy will recover if the treatments are effective For instance:

- Today‟s figures are an encouraging sign the economy is healing [49]

- It certainly looks like Ireland is recovering from near economic collapse

[51]

- The British public is increasingly skeptical about its membership in the

European Union, whose single currency is just starting to recover from a

near-death experience.[52]

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The above-mentioned lexical items seem to be considerably expressive, helping demonstrate an economy going back to a former position of prosperity

1.7 Collapse of economy is the death of human body

As human body, the economy will collapse if it can not overcome problems For example:

- With this act of economic suicide.[53]

- The economy is still largely in ruins [54]

- The economy has faltered [55]

- The British public is increasingly skeptical about its membership in the

European Union, whose single currency is just starting to recover from a near-death

experience [52]

Although the number of metaphorical expressions employed in this category is limited to four, they seem to be definitely expressive, which help the sentences become much more vivid

2 Conceptual metaphors denoting economy as human body in Vietnamese 2.1 Stages of economic system are stages of human body development

The fica.vn also shows a very similar conceptualization of the stages of an

economy as stages of human body For instance:

- M&A sẽ rất tốt đối với ngành quảng cáo non trẻ như Việt Nam [Art.18] (M&A will be very helpful to an infant advertising like Vietnam)

- Thị bất động sản phát triển chín muồi hơn [19](Real estate market becomes more mature)

- Thị trường bất động sản phụ thuộc rất nhiều vào tăng trưởng kinh tế [20]

(Real estate market greatly depends on economic growth)

- Việt Nam thực sự đang bước vào mộtchu kỳ tăng trưởng thấp hơn [21] (Vietnam is actually entering a lower growth circle)

Like human body, economy experiences a “chu kỳ tăng trưởng” (growth circle) In example 18, the adjective “non trẻ” (infant) implies a new, young and inexperienced advertising industry in Vietnam; whereas the adjective “chin muồi”