中美政治语篇中概念隐喻的对比研究_英语论文

Contrastive Study Of Conceptual Metaphor In Chinese And American Political Discourse

摘要

隐喻一直是研究热点,人们一直从修辞学的角度研究隐喻，直到1980年,Lakoff 和Johnson 共同所写的《我们赖以生存的隐喻》出版，隐喻不再单纯被看作是一种修辞手法，学者们开始从认知角度研究隐喻。另外，隐喻，作为一种生动而富有感染力的语言形式，在政治演讲中备受青睐。所以，为了探索政治语篇中概念隐喻背后的意识形态和观念，对其进行研究很有必要。然而，近几年，针对不同国家政治语篇中的概念隐喻所进行的研究较少。为了弥补这一不足，本文对比分析了中美政治隐喻的异同，并力图挖掘出其背后的社会文化因素。本文选取了中国现任国家主席习近平和美国政治家希拉里近几年重要讲话各五篇为语料，以Lakoff 的概念隐喻理论为基础，并采用Charteris-Black提出的批评隐喻分析方法进行对比性分析。研究发现概念隐喻在中美两国的政治语篇中很常见。中美主要的概念隐喻分别有五种。其中，两国相似的概念隐喻有四种，分别是：旅途隐喻、战争隐喻、建筑隐喻和家庭隐喻。另外，圆圈隐喻为中国所特有，而宗教隐喻为美国所特有。分析表明中美概念隐喻的差异源于不同的社会文化因素，包括历史，传统，意识形态和宗教因素。隐喻在政治语篇中的使用广泛，本文对比分析中美概念隐喻在政治语篇中的运用，希望能为政治语篇翻译提供参考，帮助中国学生理解美国政治演讲中的隐喻，从而更好地理解美国文化，促进中美交流。

关键词：概念隐喻；中美政治语篇；对比分析

Abstract

Metaphor, as a hot research point, has long been studied as a rhetorical device since the age of Aristotle. Until the publication of Lakoff and Johnson’s Metaphors We Live by in 1980, the direction of metaphor study has shifted to the cognitive perspective. Metaphor, as a vivid and expressive form of language, has been frequently applied to political speeches. Consequently, to explore the ideologies and values behind, researches of conceptual metaphor in political discourse are necessary. However, recently, there are merely few contrastive studies concerning different countries. To make this shortage up, this paper makes a contrastive study of conceptual metaphors in Chinese and American political discourse, aiming to figure out the ideologies conveyed and social foundations behind. In this paper, the data consist of five speeches from Chinese president Xi Jinping and American statesman Hilary Clinton. The Conceptual Metaphor Theory by Lakoff (1980) and the approach of Critical Metaphor Analysis proposed by Charteris-Black (2004) are adopted in the paper. The research finds that there are five dominant types of conceptual metaphors in American and Chinese political discourse. Among them, four types are similar. They are journey metaphor, building metaphor, war metaphor, and family metaphor. Due to different social environments, circle metaphor is unique in Chinese political discourse, while religion metaphor is unique in America. By comparing dominant conceptual metaphors in Chinese and American political discourse, this research may offer some references for political discourse translation and help Chinese students better understand the implications of conceptual metaphors in American political discourse.

Key Words: Conceptual Metaphor; Chinese and American Political Discourse; Contrastive Study

Contents

Acknowledgements i

摘要 ii

Abstract iii

Contents iv

Introduction 1 

Chapter 1 Literature Review 1

  1.1 Metaphor Research at Home and Abroad 1

  1.2 Conceptual Metaphor Research in Political Discourse 1

Chapter 2 Theoretical Framework 3

Chapter 3 Methodology 4

  3.1 Research Question 4

  3.2 Data Collection 4

  3.3 Data Analysis 4

Chapter 4 Results and Discussion 4

  4.1 Similar Conceptual Metaphors in Chinese and American Political Discourse 5

    4.1.1 Journey Metaphors 5

    4.1.2 War Metaphor 8

    4.1.3 Building Metaphor 13

    4.1.4 Family Metaphor 15

  4.2 Unique Conceptual Metaphors in Chinese and American Political Discourse 17

    4.2.1 Center Metaphor Unique to Chinese Political Discourse 17

    4.2.2 Religion Metaphor Unique to American Political Discourse 14

  4.3 Reasons to Account for Similarities and Differences 15

    4.3.1 History 15

    4.3.2 Tradition 16

    4.3.3 Ideology 16

    4.3.4 Religion 16

Conclusion 17

References 18