Metaphors used in headlines of some electronic articles on US presidential election campaign 2012 a study from cognitive perspective

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ THU HẰNG METAPHORS USED IN HEADLINES OF SOME ELECTRONIC

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ THU HẰNG

METAPHORS USED IN HEADLINES OF SOME ELECTRONIC ARTICLES ON US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2012:

A STUDY FROM COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

(Các phép ẩn dụ trong tiêu đề một số bài báo điện tử viết về chiến dịch tranh cử tổng thống Mỹ năm 2012: Nghiên cứu từ góc độ tri nhận)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201

Hanoi, 2016

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ THU HẰNG

METAPHORS USED IN HEADLINES OF SOME ELECTRONIC ARTICLES ON US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2012:

A STUDY FROM COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

(Các phép ẩn dụ trong tiêu đề một số bài báo điện tử viết về chiến dịch tranh cử tổng thống Mỹ năm 2012: Nghiên cứu từ góc độ tri nhận)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Lâm Quang Đông

DECLARATION

I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled

“Metaphors used in headlines of some electronic articles on US presidential election campaign 2012: A study from cognitive perspective” submitted in partial

fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Linguistics Except where the reference is indicated, no other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis

Hanoi, 2016

Nguyen Thi Thu Hang

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would have never been able to complete my MA thesis without the enthusiastic guidance of Assoc Prof Dr Lam Quang Dong, my supervisor, who has patiently and constantly supported me through each stage of my study as well as provided me with invaluable comments I am also grateful for his precious ideas which have inspired me greatly through my growth as an academic researcher

A special thank also goes to all the lecturers and the staff in Faculty of Graduate Studies and many others, who have created favorable conditions for me to fulfill my MA dissertation, and without whose encouragement it would never have been possible for me to have this thesis accomplished

Post-A special appreciation is also sent to my peers in Master classes, Cohort 22 for their both in-time advices and priceless suggestions which they have supplied

me I am indebted to them for their time and sympathies that they have shared with

me during the process of my research writing

Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family for the sacrifice they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work

ABSTRACT

This MA minor thesis investigates the use of metaphors in headlines of some electronic articles on US presidential election campaign 2012 As the study applied the theoretical framework proposed by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), all three kinds

of metaphors including structural, orientational, and ontological metaphors were found in 75 news headlines Among 85 metaphorical expressions discovered in 75 article headlines, 67 were labeled as structural metaphors, making up 78.8% It

turned out that war terms appeared with the highest frequency among other source domains like sport competition, race, game, and business While orientational

metaphors were realized through 10 metaphorical expressions (corresponding to 11.8%), ontological metaphors were depicted in only 8 (equivalent to 9.4%) By analyzing how three kinds of metaphors employed in such political news headlines, the study is expected to partly reveal the conceptual frame of American people towards politics in general and election news in particular

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims of the study 2

3 Scope of the study 2

4 Significance of the study 2

5 Research methodology 2

5.1 Research questions 2

5.2 Research approach 3

5.3 Research methods 3

5.4 Data analysis 3

5.5 Data collection procedures 3

6 Design of the study 4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1 Theoretical background 5

1.1 Cognitive linguistics 5

1.2 Metaphor 5

1.2.1 Traditional views on metaphor 5

1.2.2 Metaphor under the light of cognitive linguistics 6

1.2.3 Classification of metaphor 8

2 Literature review 10

2.1 Metaphors in news headlines 10

2.2 Metaphors in politics 12

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 15

2.1 Research questions 15

2.2 Research methods 15

2.4 Data collection and data analysis 16

2.4.1 Data collection 16

2.4.2 Data analysis 16

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS 19

3.1 Structural metaphors 19

3.1.1 Politics is war 19

3.1.2 Politics is sport competition 20

3.1.3 Politics is race 21

3.1.4 Politics is game 22

3.1.5 Politics is business 23

3.2 Orientational metaphors 25

3.2.1 Having control is up 25

3.2.2 More is up, less is down 25

3.2.3 Less is behind 26

3.2.4 Foreseeable future events are ahead 27

3.3 Ontological metaphors 27

3.3.1 Nonhuman entities carry human capacities 28

3.3.2 Abstracts are things 28

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 31

4.1 Findings 31

4.2 Discussion 32

PART C: CONCLUSION 35

1 Recapitulation 35

2 Limitations and suggestions for further research 35

3 Implications 36

REFERENCES 38 APPENDIX 1 I APPENDIX 2 VI

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS Table 3.1: Frequency of source domains in structural metaphors

Chart 4.1: Proportions of three kinds of metaphors

Chart 4.2: Proportions of source domains used in structural metaphors

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

It is taken for granted that politics-related language is rigid, standardized and conventional However, metaphor, which is considered a very interesting linguistic phenomenon, can also be employed effectively in the field of politics, making political news become friendlier and less superior to the public For this reason, the author is desirous of investigating how metaphors are used in the headlines of some electronic articles on US presidential election campaign 2012 It is undeniable that metaphors are not only a promising land for writers‟ creativity to take off but also a product of minds, intellect and cognitive system According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), this rhetorical device is not only considered a characteristic of language, but

it is also a matter of thought and action Likewise, it is hoped that, under the lens of cognitive linguistics, this research paper will provide readers with a clear description of metaphors used in the headlines of such political articles

Among series of political events during the last 4 years, the US election campaign in 2012 emerged as the most striking one that the whole world kept track

of As a matter of fact, the political campaign was actually the close race between the President Barack Obama – a prominent representative of Democratic Party and Mitt Romney – an outstanding nominee of Republican Party Therefore, it comes as

no surprise that almost all of the headlines used to analyze in this dissertation portray the fierce competition between these two candidates With the hope of elaborating on the nature of metaphors in political news, the research paper will discuss the relationship between the source domains and target domains in structural metaphors as well as uncover kinds of metaphors employed in those headlines It is also expected that the researcher can discover the most pervasive kind of metaphor, the most dominant source domain in order to show readers the logical relationship between the human conceptual system and the language of politics

Last but not least, there is little research exploring metaphors in the context of politics, which urges the author to investigate how this kind of meaning transference

is employed in such election news

2 Aims of the study

The research paper is aimed at:

- Pointing out the kinds of metaphors exploited in those political headlines This aim can be achieved on the ground of Lakoff and Johnson‟s view in

their famous book titled “Metaphors we live by” (2003)

- Exploring how those metaphors are used in such political headlines, and identifying the most pervasive source domains of structural metaphors

- Suggesting some implications for the process of teaching, learning and translating metaphors

3 Scope of the study

The study focuses on the headlines of electronic articles whose contents are about the US presidential election 2012 These articles are taken from such electronic newspaper agencies as Red Alert Politics, Huff Post, CNN News, USA Today, New York Times, and CBS News All of them are famous, prestigious newspaper agencies which always updated American people and global citizens on the developments of the US presidential election in 2012

4 Significance of the study

In terms of theoretical aspect, the research paper may not only provide useful contributions to studies of linguistic units from cognitive perspective but also shed light on other studies in the field of politics

In terms of practical significance, the research is expected to encourage other linguistic researchers to carry out similar studies investigating the function of metaphors in the field of politics Besides, it is hoped that this MA thesis will supply readers a deeper understanding about how metaphors are used in election news The study is also believed to reveal the pervasive usage of sport and war terms in structural metaphors found in those political headlines Lastly, some applications in teaching and translating are also found to be useful for both English teachers and translators

5 Research methodology

5.1 Research questions

- How can the metaphors in the chosen newspaper headlines be categorized

- What are the reasons underlying the mechanism of cognition in the chosen metaphors?

5.2 Research approach

The study is approached from the perspective of cognitive semantics According

to the theory and classification of Lakoff and Johnson in their famous book

“Metaphors we live by” first published in 1980, metaphors are classified into three

kinds, namely, ontological metaphors, structural metaphors and orientational metaphors Metaphors found in the chosen headlines are also arranged into these 3 types

5.3 Research methods

The research mainly uses qualitative method to analyze the data collected Methods of description, classification and analysis are also employed in order to find answers to the research questions as well as to fulfill the aims of the study

5.4 Data analysis

Primary data is collected by the author, and then the qualitative method is used

to analyze the data All the newspapers headlines are chosen from US news agencies in order to ensure the consistency of metaphor analysis under the light of cognitive perspective Equally important, the author uses numbers when necessary

to identify the pervasive type of metaphor as well as to count the terms of war, sport, race, game and business employed in those headlines

5.5 Data collection procedures

75 electronic newspaper headlines containing metaphors are sorted out from hundreds of articles whose contents are related to the US presidential election 2012 Because the research paper investigates types of metaphors used in the chosen headlines and how those metaphors are used, the author will make sure that all selected headlines contain metaphor(s) After being classified into 3 kinds of metaphors, these headlines will be further analyzed

6 Design of the study

Part A: INTRODUCTION

In this part, the researcher provides readers with reasons for carrying out this research Moreover, the aims, scope, significance and the research methodology are clarified in the first part Readers also find the research questions, the design of the study here

Part B: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1–Theoretical background and literature review

The chapter deals with the definition(s) of metaphor, the classification of metaphors, and metaphors from the perspective of cognitive linguistics The definition and functions of a headline are also illuminated here

Regarding literature review, the author will introduce to the readers the related literature, the different ideas from knowledgeable scholars, writers and linguists towards the subject and scope of this study The researcher will embroider her comments and critical thinking on those ideas

Chapter 2–Research methodology

This chapter supplies the readers with research methods, research procedures and the description of data collection and data analysis

Chapter 3–Data analysis

This is the main chapter of the study which will focus on analyzing the data After metaphors in chosen headlines are classified into 3 kinds clearly, they will be analyzed in accordance with the data analytical units

Chapter 4–Findings and Discussion

In this chapter, the proportion of each kind of metaphors as well as the frequency of source domains in structural metaphors will be clearly presented Here, the kinds of metaphors will be further discussed in relation with the conceptual system of American people

Part C: CONCLUSION

This final part will sum up main contents of the study, point out the study‟s limitations as well as propose suggestions for further studies Some implications in

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1 Theoretical background

1.1 Cognitive linguistics

Until 1970s has cognitive linguistics formally emerged as a science which is concerned with researching the close relationship between language, human minds and the socio-physical experiences of human beings It is the social and physical experiences that decide how human beings conceptualize their surrounding world and how the surrounding events are reflected into their minds It can be said that cognitive linguistics allows those mental and physical experiences to play the role

as principles explaining how language is produced and used in certain way More specifically, to explore how metaphor, an interesting linguistic phenomenon, is used under the light of cognitive linguistics, means that we explain why it is structured in particular way

According to Yu (1998: 12), “the contemporary theory of metaphor is closely associated with cognitive linguistics, which comprises cognitive grammar and cognitive semantics.” While Putz believed that cognitive linguistics “sees language

as making use of conceptual structure and general cognitive mechanisms” (cited by

Yu, 1998: 13), Fesmire (1994: 150) insisted that “cognitive linguistics is explicitly committed to articulating the embodied, encultured, and imaginative dimensions of meaning.” Therefore, metaphor – an interesting linguistic phenomenon, is logically,

obviously and naturally taken into consideration from the angle of cognitive linguistics

1.2 Metaphor

1.2.1 Traditional views on metaphor

From the semantic perspective, metaphor is simply defined as “transference of meaning from one object to another based on similarity between these two objects”

(Nguyễn Hòa, 2004: 105-106) Another Vietnamese scholar Đỗ Hữu Châu (1962:

54) has claimed that “ẩn dụ là cách gọi tên của sự vật này bằng tên của sự vật khác;

giữa chúng có mối liên hệ tương đồng” (Metaphor is a way of calling an object by

the name of another, based on the similar relationship between them) Nguyễn Hữu Quỳnh (2001: 259) has also shared the same idea with his definition on metaphor:

“Ẩn dụ tu từ là cách lấy tên gọi của đối tượng này biểu thị đối tượng kia trên cơ sở mối quan hệ liên tưởng tương đồng giữa hai đối tượng Có thể nói đó là cách so sánh ngầm” (Rhetorical metaphor is a way of taking the name of one object to

represent another, based on the similar associative relationship between them In other words, it is an implicit simile)

Ortony (1993: 2) posits that metaphor is “an essential characteristic of the creativity of language” and a “deviant and parasitic upon normal usage.” Likewise,

it is undeniable that metaphor, from the classical point of view, is primarily seen as

a product of creativity “in the realm of poetic or „figurative‟ language” (Lakoff,

1993: 204) Almost all of the traditional studies on metaphor were central-rhetoric with metaphor being treated as a rhetorical element for the purpose of achieving aesthetic effects

Traditionally, metaphor is considered no more than a rhetorical device used

mainly in literature and poetics In the past, it was “a matter of extraordinary rather than ordinary language”, “a matter of words rather than thought or action.”

(Lakoff & Johnson, 1980: 453)

1.2.2 Metaphor under the light of cognitive linguistics

Contemporary theories on metaphors shed light on the pivotal role of cognitive linguistics in detecting, analyzing and decoding secrets behind this rhetorical device Since the late 1970‟s, it has been affirmed that everyday language is suffused with metaphor, and that metaphor is a natural linguistic phenomenon reflecting our minds, our thoughts, our conceptual system, and even our action The cooperation between the linguistic scholar George Lakoff and the philosopher Mark Johnson in 1980 set a strong and firm foundation for the theory on conceptual

metaphors and cognitive linguistics Indeed, their „brain child‟ entitled “Metaphors

of metaphors under the light of cognitive linguistics According to these two researchers, metaphor exists in every corner of our life, not just in novel poetic

expressions As Lakoff (1993: 203) insisted, “the locus of metaphor is not in language at all, but in the way we conceptualize one mental domain in terms of another.” The theoretical framework on conceptual metaphors proposed by George

Lakoff and Mark Johnson in 1980 has changed our understanding of metaphor as well as proved its important roles in language and mind Because such metaphors are built on the foundation of our most basic understanding about our physical and social experience, they are omnipresent in our daily language, our thoughts, and our action without our ever noticing them It can be said that these two famous scholars have opened a new horizon, a progressive approach for researchers in the world to explore metaphor‟s nature

Holding the same viewpoint, Barcelona has found that metaphor is the

“cognitive mechanism whereby one experiential domain is partially mapped or projected onto a different experiential domain so that the second domain is partially understood in terms of the first one” (as cited by Nguyễn Hòa, 2004, p 106)

Malotki (1983: 13) also put emphasis on the essential role of metaphor to human

language and cognitive system as he wrote: “In man‟s ongoing endeavor to conceptualize and verbalize a world that can never be fully known, language is the vital intermediary Language provides a repertoire of coping mechanisms, of which metaphor is one of the most powerful and useful.”

In Vietnam, such pioneers in cognitive linguistics and conceptual metaphors as Trần Văn Cơ, Nguyễn Đức Tồn, and Lý Toàn Thắng have given birth to a lot of works and studies on this kind of meaning transference as well as its effects in human language and minds In the late 20th century and early 21st century, cognitive linguistics emerged as a new approach to probe into metaphors; and the term

„conceptual metaphor‟ was no longer strange to Vietnamese linguists The integration of conceptual metaphors and cognitive linguistics into Vietnamese language and culture led to the changes in the way of analyzing metaphors In his

book titled “The Stylistics of Modern Vietnamese”, Hữu Đạt (2001: 302) stated that

“Thực chất của phép ẩn dụ chính là việc dùng tên gọi này để biểu hiện sự vật khác dựa trên cơ chế tư duy và ngôn ngữ dân tộc Nói tới ẩn dụ không thể không nói tới mối quan hệ giữa đặc trưng văn hóa và ngôn ngữ” (Metaphor is, actually, the way

of using the name of this object to refer to another object, based on the mechanism

of thought and language of a people Metaphor is an indispensable part in the relationship between language and culture) Clearly, metaphor is not separately viewed in the world of literature anymore, but rather in a certain relationship with

language and culture Also, Professor Trần Văn Cơ (2007) in “Ngôn ngữ học tri nhận – Ghi chép và suy nghĩ” (Cognitive Linguistics – Notes and Thoughts)

portrayed an overall picture about conceptual metaphors, the development of metaphor from the lens of cognitive linguistics

1.2.3 Classification of metaphor

According to Lakoff and Johnson (2003), there are three main types of metaphors, namely, structural metaphors, orientational metaphors and ontological metaphors Among these three kinds, structural metaphors play the most important

role as “the essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another” (Lakoff & Johnson, 2003: 5); and structural metaphors

prove this statement most clearly

1.2.3.1 Structural metaphors

Structural metaphors are created by mapping the image-schematic structure of the source domain onto the structure of the target domain (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) By using the mapping mechanism, we can achieve better understand of an abstract concept via a more concrete one A very sparkling and typical example is also illustrated by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (1980): ARGUMENT IS WAR It can be seen that the abstract concept ARGUMENT is metaphorically structured by the less abstract one WAR This structural metaphor is realized in our everyday language by a variety of expressions such as:

- I had to struggle to protect my viewpoint

- He successfully defends his ideas in most arguments

- His criticisms were right on target

- He shot down all my arguments

Here, we talk about argument by borrowing the language used in war like

struggle, defends, right on target, and shot down

1.2.3.2 Orientational metaphors

Orientational metaphors do not structure one concept in terms of another, but

rather, “organizes a whole system of concepts with respect to one another” (Lakoff

& Johnson, 2003: 14) Most orientational metaphors deal with spatial orientations

based on the physical experiences of our bodies: “metaphor is motivated by, and grounded in, our bodily experience – how our bodies function in and interact with the world” (Yu, 1998: 23) For instance, orientational metaphors such as HAPPY IS

UP and SAD IS DOWN are built with the physical basis that drooping posture is typically associated with sadness and depression while erect posture with a positive emotional state Some expressions are attributed to these two orientational metaphors we commonly catch in real life include:

- He is in low spirits these days

- I am feeling up today

- I fall into a depression

- That boosted my spirits

However, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (1980) also emphasized that the

orientational metaphors which were based on spatial orientation: up-down, in-out, front-back, on-off, etc., could be different in different cultures Specifically, while

some cultures conceptualize future ahead of us, the cognitive systems of other cultures orient it behind us

1.2.3.3 Ontological metaphors

Ontological metaphors are often referred to in association with entities and substances In terms of ontological metaphors or entity and substance metaphors,

George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (2003: 25) claim that no sooner have we

identified “our experiences as entities or substances than we can refer to them, categorize them, group them, and quantify them.” Likewise, ontological metaphors

are employed, based on the human beings‟ experiences about the physical objects, the visible entities, and substances around us Both orientational metaphors and ontological metaphors are viewed in close relationship with our physical experiences; however, the latter provide reasonable basis to consider events, activities, emotions, ideas, etc., as entities and objects With the ontological metaphor INFLATION IS AN ENTITY, many metaphorical expressions entail:

- If there is much more inflation, we will never survive

- We need to combat inflation

- Buying land is the best way of dealing with inflation

From these metaphorical expressions, we can see that inflation – initially an abstract concept is described as a tangible entity which human beings can quantify, measure, combat and deal with This characteristic of ontological metaphors is believed to be partly similar to structural metaphors

2 Literature review

2.1 Metaphors in news headlines

Headlines are regarded as a special and typical kind of text which appears at the top of articles, and are usually typed in large and bold letters It is said that the more concise news headlines are, the more easily readers can remember them Bruce (1972) has implied that the function of report headlines is to highlight the brief content of the whole article, to help readers quickly find the pieces of news that interest them most, and to urge the readers to read more Meanwhile, Studer (2008) has recommended two pragmatic functions of news headlines: one is to advertise or polish the contents of the reports; the other is to introduce or summarize the topic of articles It is believed that such figures of speech as puns, irony, metaphors and

similes are frequently employed in report headlines in order to make those headlines appear more appealing in the eyes of readers

It comes as no surprise that metaphors, as a typical representation among other rhetorical devices, are often splashed across the front pages of newspapers and other means of media Undeniably, this figure of speech is believed to not only breathe a new life into these headlines themselves but also bring certain image effects to the readers‟ minds Subsequently, those news headlines can linger on the minds of targeted audiences for a long time Fowler (1991: 4) has argued that language

influences thoughts as its “structure channels” contain our mental experience of the world and that “news is a representation of the world.” Indeed, the exploration of

how conceptual metaphors are used in newspapers headlines will unlock the secret

of how language can shape the world, and investigate how human cognition reflects the world in the language of news

In fact, there are few studies on the effects of metaphors in newspapers and news headlines One of them is the research conducted by a Chinese scholar - Jian-Shiung

Shie (2012) with the title “Conceptual metaphor as a news-story promoter: The cases of ENL (English-as-a-native-language) and EIL (English-as-an-international- language) headlines.” His study focuses on the realizations of conceptual metaphors

in the headlines of the corresponding New York Times and Time Supplement news stories As a matter of fact, New York Times is designed for English native speakers while Times Supplement for English-as-foreign-language learners By analyzing the rhetorical functions of conceptual metaphors in those corresponding headlines, the author reveals the pragmatic roles of those metaphors as a news-story promoter Additionally, he presented a noticeable discovery, which was, metaphors

in New York Times tended to be sophisticated, unconventional and far away from the true messages that the headlines actually deliver to the readers Meanwhile, metaphors in headlines of articles for English-as-a-foreign-language speakers like Times Supplement newspapers are clear, conventional (easy to look up in dictionaries, other reading materials or on the Internet), and at a closer distance with

the true intentions of articles‟ authors That was really a valuable finding of this Taiwanese linguistic professor; nevertheless, he has not mentioned how difficult metaphors are in different themes He should compare and contrast metaphors in terms of their conventionality and conceptual distance in newspapers with different target audiences, but the same topic If the articles‟ contents belong to the same theme, this Taiwanese scholar can measure the process of acquiring metaphors of different readers more accurately

This MA thesis is expected to open a new window in the analysis of how metaphors are used in politics generally and in headlines of election news particularly

2.2 Metaphors in politics

Lakoff and Johnson are pioneers who are closest to the conclusion that everyday

language is metaphorical in nature They suggested “metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language, but in thought and action.” Therefore, politics or

political language is also naturally metaphorical It seems that language in political contexts can affect attitudes of people towards political candidates and more generally, elections (Matlock, 2012) Tennie Matlock (2012) – a very active scholar

whose interest is metaphor in political campaigns also suggested “two seemingly subtle but powerful ways that language influences how people think about political candidates and elections.” These two ways include grammar and metaphor Particularly, there are many phrases like “race”, “run”, “jogging” and “finish line”

used in political campaigns so frequently that their literal meanings fade away People regularly exploit them to talk about political campaigns without noticing that they are regarded as metaphorical colors He has also found out that motion

metaphors are pervasive in framing messages in political campaigns because "it is

in line with a large body of findings in cognitive science on how human are wired to mentally simulate motion in all sorts of conditions, including even when nothing is actually moving.” In terms of motion metaphors in political races, Matlock (2013)

POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS ARE RACES, NATIONAL POLITICS AS MOVEMENT, and A NATION AS VEHICLE He continued that the investigation

of metaphors in political elections would be essential since it could “spawn or alter beliefs about who should and who should not be in office.” This investigation is “of great value to understanding the political mind” as well

Lakoff (1996) has explained how and why people develop and maintain particular belief states in the realm of politics He came into a conclusion that conservatives often regard the government as a father that rules his family (citizens)

with “an iron fist” when progressives consider the government as a caring and

tolerant parent who always provides its children (citizens) with instructions, orientation, and encouragement That is how metaphors are pervasive in political framing

Another group of researches (Mio, Riggio, Levin, & Reese, 2005) who kept track of metaphors in the contexts of politics interestingly figured out that this stylistic device was a great source of inspiration for both the electorate and the public These linguists suggested that it was more likely for charismatic presidents

to use metaphorical language in their inaugural addresses Surprisingly, their study

results (Mio, Riggio, Levin, & Reese, 2005: 287) demonstrated “charismatic presidents used nearly twice as many metaphors (adjusted for speech length) than non-charismatic presidents.” That is how these influencing politicians inspire,

motivate, and even induce more followers

Interestingly, it is alleged that “contemporary political discourse is packed full

of metaphors, many of which reveal important aspects of the figurative nature of political thought” (Gibbs, 1994: 140) He further argued that “many of the metaphors used in politics draw heavily and systematically on the languages of sports and warfare.” The author of this MA dissertation shares the same viewpoint

with this statement as a lot of sport terms and war language are indicated among report headlines chosen

Regarding the effects of metaphorical expressions in politics, Mio (1997) implied how complicated political matters became understandable by virtue of metaphors, yet he still wondered the degree to which voters would be willing to change their minds after being exposed to such political messages He noted that most Americans were not interested in national news and that metaphors only worked effectively as they are reached by political sophisticated citizens Nevertheless, that was an opinion among an ocean of ideas about the effects of metaphors into the readers‟ minds and their political preference There are still a lot

of secrets and hidden effects of metaphors waiting for our discovery

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter will zoom in the research methods, data collection procedures, and data analysis in details

2.1 Research questions

The research is carried out in order to seek answers for the following questions:

- How can the metaphors in the chosen newspaper headlines be categorized based on the classification of Lakoff and Johnson?

- What are the reasons underlying the mechanism of cognition in the chosen metaphors?

2.2 Research methods

The current study mainly employs qualitative methods to describe, analyze, and evaluate how metaphors used in headlines of some electronic articles on US presidential election campaign 2012 The research methods are identified in accordance with the aims of the study In addition, quantitative method is also adopted reasonably to synthesize and count the number of each kind of metaphors, and from there, to find out the most prevalent among three types of metaphors

2.3 Research procedures

The procedure of investigation undergoes several stages:

Firstly, the author finds all the headlines related to the US election event in

2012, then she selects out ones that are posted by US newspaper agencies The purpose of this step is to ensure that all the chosen headlines contain suitable contents and are consistent in terms of sources Those headlines whose contents are relevant, but belong to the online newspapers of the UK or other countries will be eliminated The hidden reason is that though talking about the same event, people in different countries may conceptualize, apply their cognitive system differently Secondly, report headlines which consist of no metaphors are removed

Thirdly, all the metaphors in those political headlines are classified into three types under the theoretical framework on metaphors (Lakoff & Johnson, 2003) It is noticed that a news headline may contain more than one metaphor

Then, the research paper will show the percentage of each kind of metaphors as well as disclose the pervasive source domains in structural metaphors

Last, some implications in teaching and learning English, translating metaphors are mentioned while suggestions for further research are apparently pointed out

2.4 Data collection and data analysis

2.4.1 Data collection

The data of this MA thesis is collected from different US online news agencies such as Red Alert Politics, Huff Post, CNN News, USA Today, NY Times, and CBS News These electronic articles are authoritative newspapers keeping track

of all new developments of the US election campaign 2012 It is noted that these public newspapers are not representative „announcers‟ of any parties in the US government; therefore, the language used in these reports is quite neutral and objective

Based on the theoretical framework of Lakoff and Johnson in their seminal

work “Metaphors we live by” (2003), the MA dissertation is expected to elaborate

upon the underlying reasons behind such mechanism of cognition of American people in those political metaphors In other words, the writer will partly reveal why language in those report headlines are mostly related to sport and war, uncover the motives making sport and war language deeply integrate into such political headlines

In the light of cognitive linguistics and conceptual metaphors proposed by Lakoff and Johnson, 75 relevant news headlines are selected from different prestigious US electronic reports to analyze Since the President Barack Obama and the Republican candidate – Mitt Romney emerged as two most outstanding nominees in the presidential election campaign, almost all of the headlines depict the efforts, activities and fierce competition between these two excellent candidates

2.4.2 Data analysis

2.4.2.1 Data analytical framework

The categorization of the data is carried out on the ground of Lakoff and Johnson‟s Conceptual Metaphor Theory (2003) and their classification of three kinds of metaphors (structural metaphors, orientational metaphors and ontological metaphors)

Their suggestion, which is “our conceptual system is largely metaphorical”

(2003: 3), extends the limitation of metaphors from poetic language to the ordinary language in daily life The exploration into the use of metaphors in political election will show the close relationship between the source domains and the equivalent target domains as well as the reasoned connection between the source domains and American conceptual system in political field

- Method of data analysis

The dissertation mainly uses qualitative methods to shed light on how metaphors work in political headlines After being selected, the data is explained verbally, descriptively, impressionistically, and rather subjectively The research is conducted with the combination of both descriptive and explanatory methods Besides, the quantitative method is employed when necessary in order to identify the prevalent kind of metaphor as well as the proportions of source domains in structural metaphors

Firstly, data is qualitatively analyzed as follows:

 The typical representations of metaphors in chosen political headlines

 The explanation of why election campaigns are understood and described in such ways

 Making use of experiences of source domains in the cognitive process of creating meaning extensions

 Concerning some of the elements of American culture in putting forward explanations why war and sport terms appear with the highest frequency Furthermore, how the proportions of kinds of metaphors, the frequencies of source domains specify about the cognitive mechanism of American people

is also demonstrated

Secondly, the data is quantitatively analyzed to find out which type of metaphor

is used more or less frequently and how prevalent sport and war terms are in political campaigns

2.4.2.2 Data analytical units

In this paper, data will be categorized and analyzed in accordance with three types of metaphors recommended by Lakoff and Johnson (2003) Furthermore, the most sparkling metaphorical patterns will be described and discussed in more details Because the sets of metaphors in each type are open and flexible, the writer only presents most typical patterns of metaphors in presidential election campaign Based on the data collected, 11 sets of conceptual metaphors will be explained and analyzed in details These sets of metaphors are constructed with the support of syntactic linguistic units such as noun phrases, verb phrases, adjective phrases and prepositional phrases which are related to politics and political elections

- Nonhuman entities carry human capacities

- Abstracts are things

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS

In this chapter, the author will analyze the data collected in more details, elaborate the pervasive kind(s) of metaphors as well as discover the regular appearance of sport language and war terms in those headlines Among 75 relevant news headlines, 85 metaphorical expressions are identified

3.1 Structural metaphors

As regards structural metaphors, politics is conceptualized as war, sport competition, race, game, and business 67 out of 85 metaphorical expressions belong to structural metaphors, accounting for 78.8% Accordingly, these metaphorical expressions are arranged into 5 main categories, including POLITICS

IS WAR, POLITICS IS SPORT COMPETITION, POLITICS IS RACE, POLITICS

IS GAME, and POLITICS IS BUSINESS

3.1.1 Politics is war

The experience about war and fierce battles has brought the logical connection between the source domain WAR and the target domain POLITICS A lot of war-related terms which are pointed out in newspaper headlines include:

attack, battle, assail, fight back, fire, defend, and destroy Here, the fierce

competition between presidential candidates is considered severe battles while the

movements of opposite sides are also described as attacking, struggling, destroying, firing back, defending, striking back, e.g

[1] Mitt Romney returns to attacking Obama

[5] In presidential debate, Obama fights back

[7]President Obama defends his foreign-policy record, fires back at Mitt Romney [24] In TV terms, Obama struggles, Romney dominates first debate

[19] The second presidential debate: Obama strikes back

It is not coincidence that the metaphor POLITICS IS WAR occupies the largest proportion (equivalent to 40.3%) with 27 metaphorical expressions If presidential candidates are conceived to be the leaders of two opposing armies, then their attitudes towards the presidential election possibly correspond to the weapons

used by each political leader; and the political policies or plans proposed by a politician may become the targets for his opponent(s) to attack:

[15] Optimism turns out to be secret weapon for Romney

[3] Obama, Romney battle over economic visions

[9] President Obama attacks Mitt Romney‟s jobs plan

[22]Romney attacks Obama‟s foreign policy

Each group of army, more specifically, presidential candidates will fight for the supports of voters in the key battlegrounds, or potential states in the US:

[4]Why Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are battling for the rural vote?

[21] Obama, Romney continue battle for women‟s votes

[13] Obama takes key battlegrounds to win re-election

3.1.2 Politics is sport competition

Indisputably, sport plays an indispensable part in the mental life of American people It is easy to recognize that in the US, sport terms appear with high frequency in newspapers and political field To American people, such sports as soccer, basketball, baseball and boxing are often likened to sweet soup for soul, especially at weekends when they enjoy spectacular ball matches with their beloved people and temporarily forget worries, hardships in daily life In addition, sport takes a special position in American people‟s minds because it treats everyone equally Everyone has the right to enjoy watching, and even taking part in those fantastic sports Indeed, sport is like an invisible bridge connecting people together regardless of their social status, age, sex, profession, religion, and even their racism There are 19 news headlines containing the realizations of the metaphor POLITICS

IS SPORT COMPETITION, making up 28.4% of all 67 structural metaphorical expressions Clearly, the metaphor POLITICS IS SPORT COMPETITION appears with the second highest frequency in the total number of structural metaphors Considering the sport language used in those headlines, terms in boxing and horse race are popular:

[28] Romney campaign: No „knock-out punch‟ planned

[29]The final presidential debate: Four punches that knocked out Mitt Romney [30] Debate ends abruptly as Obama punches Romney in face

[33] Neck and neck, Romney and Obama enter home stretch in presidential race [39]Romney on the fast track

[41]Obama, Romney neck-and-neck in Wisconsin

A presidential debate can be compared with a boxing match in which

contestants (Barack Obama and Mitt Romney) try their best to knock their opponent out with strong punches in face and finally, to score the knockout Besides, the

presidential election campaign is also construed as a horse race in which each

competitor has an equal chance to be on a fast track, or moving very quickly, then

leaving his running mates behind In politics, when two candidates are very close to

winning the election, they are running neck and neck This remarkable statement is

projected from the image of two horses are running at the same speed with their necks being so close to each other that it is difficult to tell which one would win the

race The situation often occurs when these horses enter home stretch – the last

section of the running track In a similar way, the competition between two

presidential candidates is also neck-and-neck with the close voting rates in

Wisconsin, as pointed out in headline [41] above

Other terms which are associated with other sports like baseball, American football, basketball and marathon also represent the source domain of this structural metaphor POLITICS IS SPORT COMPETITION:

[40] Obama hits a home run against Mitt Romney last night

[37] Obama throws penalty flag on Romney economic plan

[32] Why isn‟t Oregon a slam dunk for Obama?

[43] Obama on marathon tour; Romney runs across Ohio

3.1.3 Politics is race

All headlines that clearly contain the terms of horse race were arranged into previous section (Section 3.1.2) while some simply denote election campaign as a

race, without identifying specific kinds of race they belong to Undeniably, a race is

a competition; nevertheless, not all races are labeled as sport competition For those reasons, the metaphor POLITICS IS RACE is categorized in a separated section There are 8 out of 67 structural metaphorical expressions illustrating the metaphor

POLITICS IS RACE, corresponding to 11.9% In the tight race of calling for citizens‟ votes, each party‟s representative needs to try his best in order to defeat his rivals and fastest dash to the finish line – the final destination of the race:

[47] Obama wins 2012 presidential election, defeats Romney in tight race

[51]Obama, Mitt Romney dash to finish line

The metaphor POLITICS IS RACE within the scope of this MA research is also understood as PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS RACE

3.1.4 Politics is game

As stated by Zoltan Kovecses (2010), together with „war‟, „sport‟, and

„business‟, „game‟ is also one of the most popular source domains to refer to the target domain „politics‟ In the context of this research paper, that statement proves its value with 9 metaphorical expressions, comprising of 13.4% the total number of metaphorical realizations which are classified as structural metaphors Each

presidential nominee always prepares an effective game plan beforehand as well as builds a strong ground game so that he can beat other game player(s) Specially, a meticulous game plan can bring its owner a competitive edge, put him over the top, and even can make him become the game changer who plays a decisive role to the

final outcome of the game Some of the noticeable representations of the structural metaphor POLITICS IS GAME are demonstrated as follows:

[55] Obama wins a second term with a strong groundgame

[56]The game plan that lets Romney beat Obama

[62] Obama‟s edge: the ground game that could put him over the top

[63] Was the first presidential debate a game-changer for Mitt Romney?

Remarkably, the presidential election is also illustrated through the image of a