Cognitive Analysis For Multimodal Metaphor In University Emblems From Ethnic Minority Autonomous Regions

Charles Forceville,a famous cognitive linguist at the university of Amsterdam in the Netherlands,firstly introduces the study of multimodal metaphor in his book Pictorial Metaphor in Advertising.A great number of experts and scholars at home and abroad carry out extensive researches on multimodal metaphor,which are mainly based on case studies,involving advertising,film and television,comics,icons,music,gestures,etc.There are few studies concerned with meaning construction of multimodal metaphor in university emblems,especially the university emblems of ethnic minority autonomous regions in China,if any,it is based on the study from the perspective of social semiotics and does not reveal the cognitive process of the meaning construction of multimodal metaphor.The university emblem as a symbol of university status,is the university publicity card,highlighting the overall image of the university.It is regarded as an expression of the school's educational philosophy,characteristics and pursuit of school-running through the modalities of words,images,colors and graphics,which forms multimodal metaphor.In this paper,the 58 university emblems from five ethnic minority autonomous regions of China are collected.This study focuses on the dynamic construction process of the overall meaning in the multimodal discourse of university emblems,and adopts quantitative research and qualitative research methods to explore the mapping and blending mechanism of multimoadal metaphor in university emblems based on conceptual metaphor theory and conceptual integration model of multimodal metaphor proposed by Zhao Xiufeng.At the same time,this study through case studies attempts to illustrate the expressive effect of the university emblem and cognitive mechanism of meaning processing.Moreover,the characteristics of multimodal metaphor in university emblems from ethnic minority autonomous regions are summarized,so as to provide some suggestions for the design of university emblems from the cognitive perspective of multimodal metaphor.It is found that double-domain theory well illuminates the way of different modities as the source domain mapping onto the target domain and illustrates how the symbolic elements existing in different modalities represent the spiritual idea that the university tends to convey,thereby metaphorical effect is achieved.However,the construction of the multimodal metaphor in university emblems is not only the one-way mapping of the source domain to the target domain.Multimodal discourse of university emblem constructed by a number of symbolic elements involves multi-demensional cognitive interaction in multiple spaces,and activates the relevant space mapping and integration.The whole process not only achieves the construction of metaphorical meaning,but also conveys the emotional aesthetic effect.This study also concludes that the similarities of symbolic elements used in the school emblems of ethnic minority autonomous regions are based on the common bodily experience and cultural conventions,the differences are the result of regional environment,national characteristics,subject category and designers' different characters.It is hoped that this study contributes to the analysis of multimodal metaphor theoretically,and strengthens the public's cognition to overall image of the university in ethnic minority autonomous regions practically.