The Cohesive And Coherent Functions Of Conceptual Metaphor In Discourse

Metaphor has been studied from different perspectives. In the traditional rhetorical view, metaphor is one of the rhetorical devices and it is used for the effect of "comparison". During recent years, with the development of cognitive linguistics, many studies in philosophy and linguistics on metaphor have shifted the focus of scientific inquiry from a strictly linguistic plane to a cognitive - based stance. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) put forward the cognitive approach to the study of metaphor in their book Metaphors We Live By and they argue that metaphor can constitute basic schemas by which people conceptualize their experience and the external world. Therefore, metaphor can play an important role in our understanding of language and the world we describe through language. Metaphor in the cognitive linguistic view means primarily conceptual metaphor, as opposed to linguistic metaphor1 (Ko|¨vecses, 2002:29). Conceptual metaphor has been explored from various perspectives including the types, the nature, the experiential basis and its three basic functions. But few studies have focused the attention on its cohesive and coherent functions in discourse2. In fact, the use of conceptual metaphor in discourse can contribute to the coherence of discourse and make discourse more vivid and much easier to understand. Some linguists such as Ricoeur(1975/1986), Gibbs(1994) and Cameron(2002) have pointed out that metaphor has a textual function but they have not made detailed analysis.This thesis makes an analysis of the cohesive and coherent functions of conceptual metaphor in English discourse with three sample discourses. These discourses are explored in this thesis to show how conceptual metaphor performs the cohesive and coherent functions in discourse. This study is carried out on the basis of the theory of Lakoff's cognitive linguistics and the theory of Gullian Brown and George Yule's discourse analysis. Metaphors frequently appear in reading materials. And the conceptual metaphors that are used in the reading materials can enhance text cohesiveness and coherence. With the illustration of the three sample discourses, this thesis explores the significance of the cohesive and coherent functions of conceptual metaphor in English teaching especially in the teaching of reading. In some reading discourses, conceptual metaphor can help to present the writer's intentions. In addition,conceptual metaphor can make the discourse more vivid and help to develop the topic. Because of this, it becomes essential for the teacher to foster students' metaphorical ability in the teaching of reading.This thesis consists of seven chapters. Chapter One is the introduction, presenting the objective and the organization of this thesis. Chapter Two introduces the two important terms "cohesion" and "coherence". Chapter Three gives the traditional view of metaphor and goes to the study of metaphor in cognitive linguistics. And then the types, the functions and the characteristics of conceptual metaphor are elaborated. Chapter Four specifies the three basic functions of conceptual metaphor and points out that conceptual metaphor has cohesive and coherent functions in discourse. The next chapter, Chapter Five, analyzes three sample discourses to show how conceptual metaphor performs the cohesive and coherent functions in discourse. Chapter Six explores the significance of these functions of conceptual metaphor in English teaching. And two reading passages are selected to explore how to teach metaphorical reading passages. Chapter Seven draws a conclusion.