| The development of conceptual metaphor theory has led to a great number of researches into metaphor.Although the research focus has been on verbal metaphor(metaphor presented in language),the research scope has also been expanded to non-verbal genres,such as pictorial metaphor(i.e.metaphors appearing in pictures)and multimodal metaphor(i.e.metaphors occurring in diverse modes).In contrast,metonymy has attracted less attention and its presence in specialized genres has not been stressed.It is observed that political cartoons,one type of non-verbal genre,are rife with metaphors and metonymies and they are not without any relations.Therefore,it is of great necessity and significance to explore metaphor and metonymy and their interactions in political cartoons theoretically and practically.100 pieces of American political cartoons,dated from January to December of 2016,are collected from an authoritative political cartoon website.Based on the theories of conceptual metaphor and conceptual metonymy and basic concepts of pictorial metaphor and multimodal metaphor,the research aims to delve into metaphors and metonymies and their mutual interactions in American political cartoons.The research methods of qualitative analysis are adopted in this thesis.It is argued that cognitive mechanisms of conceptual metaphor,conceptual metonymy,and their mutual interactions play a significant role in meaning constructions and renderings of political cartoons.Through the research,the findings can be summarized as follows:Firstly,familiar scenario metaphors are applied in political cartoons with high frequency,which is in consistent with the essence of conceptual metaphor.Meanwhile,the pictorial metaphor where the source domain is replaced by the target domain appears more frequently than the reverse pictorial metaphor.Secondly,source-in-target metonymy concerning domain expansion is more frequently used than target-in-source metonymy involving domain reduction,which can be explained by the purpose of political cartoons,namely representing part of political life in a general way.Thirdly,five types of interaction patterns between metaphor and metonymy are discovered in political cartoons:1)metonymic expansion of metaphoric source;2)metonymic reduction of metaphoric source;3)metonymic expansion of metaphoric target;4)metonymic reduction of metaphoric target;5)metonymic reductions both in metaphoric source and target.Fourthly,cultural awareness and factual background information play an indispensable role in rendering metaphor and metonymy in political cartoons.Theoretically speaking,this study expands the metaphorical and metonymic research from the verbal mode to the non-verbal mode,and enriches the research scope of metaphoric and metonymic interactions.Practically speaking,it provides a theoretical guidance and a new perspective for appreciating,rendering,and teaching political cartoons. |
