A Cognitive Analysis Of Conceptual Metaphors In The Movie Chinese Zodiac

The theory of conceptual metaphor is one of the most important theory in cognitive linguistics, and also it is a primary cognitive way for people. From the perspective of cognition, conceptual metaphor combines the language with the mind together. It makes the understanding and management of speaking becoming more and more complicated.Three questions will be answered in the present study:(1) Can the metaphorical utterances of the film Chinese Zodiac systematically be grouped into three types of conceptual metaphor?(2) How are these metaphorical utterances distributed among the three types of conceptual metaphor?(3) How are these metaphorical utterances manifested in the three types of conceptual metaphor, and how are source and target interacted in each type of conceptual metaphor?The research results show:(1) 37 metaphorical sentences of the movie Chinese Zodiac can be grouped into conceptual metaphor (2) 22 metaphorical sentences are ontological metaphor,13 linguistic data are structural metaphor, and 2 sentences are orientational metaphor. (3) In the structural metaphor, they are reflected by a kind of concept and quantification. Meanwhile, the mapping between the tenor and vehicle is created by a more familiar concept, and in the metaphor of quantification the mapping is made by a quantifiable concept. In the ontological metaphor, these data are showed via physical object, container metaphor as well as personification. Meanwhile, the mapping between the tenor and vehicle is conveyed through concrete entity, limited container and human quality. In the orientational metaphor, the metaphorical utterances are presented through UP and DOWN. And the mapping between the tenor and vehicle is constructed by positive physical experience and negative physical experience.Conceptual metaphor is an important theory in cognitive linguistics. In this study, the exploration of linguistic data on the basis of the theory of conceptual metaphor plays an important part in the enrichment of the linguistic theory. Meanwhile, The conceptual metaphor has practical significance for the applied research.