Metaphor Scenarios In Chinese And American Political Discourse

According to the Conceptual Metaphor Theory(CMT),metaphor is not just a rhetorical device,but is in essence a cognitive device that interprets abstract concepts in terms of concrete bodily experiences.As CMT mainly deals with conceptual metaphors from a cognitive perspective.it is sometimes criticized for lack of attention to the pragmatic dimension.However,in discourses that are laden with ideological values,for example political discourses,the use of metaphor is closely related to people’s ideas,attitudes and values and could not be fully accounted for by a purely cognitive approach.Thus with regard to the interaction between the cognitive and the pragmatic dimension,the approach of Critical Metaphor Analysis(CMA)is proposed.To account for the cognitive and pragmatic functions of Chinese and American political metaphors,this study presents a critical analysis of metaphorical expressions in the 2018 Chinese Government Work Report and the 2018 the State of the Union Address.Following the method of Metaphor Identification Procedure(MIP)and Critical Metaphor Analysis(CMA)and applying Musolff s(2004)notion of "metaphor scenarios",major scenarios in the two sets of data are identified,including OHYSICAL FUNCTIONING,JOURNEY,MACHINE OPERATION,MANUAL LABOR and WAR.The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the metaphor scenarios leads to the following findings:1)Metaphor scenarios are employed in both the Chinese and the American data to simplify and enable the understanding of abstract political concepts.Although Chinese and American scenarios overlap to a large extent,there are also considerable differences.2)The scenarios also play an essential role in the communication of political attitudes and evaluations and in the creation of political images.While the configuration of the Chinese scenarios shows an obvious inclination toward steady and consecutive development,conservativeness and orderliness in decision-making and a proactive attitude in the solution of realistic issues,the American scenarios are characteristic of an adventurous spirit,a high level of alertness to external challenges,the emphasis on the reorganization of the present situation and on the consolidation of ideology.3)Although both the Chinese and the American scenarios express an optimistic attitude toward the ongoing progress of national development,the Chinese data is observed with a more evident positive overtone,whereas the American scenarios are more polarized and contain both positive and dismissive connotations.The thesis concludes that the formation of metaphor scenarios in a discourse community is intimately related to entrenched cultural traditions,the economic and social status,the dominant political ideology in the discourse community,and the strategies that are adopted in political persuasion.The scenario analysis of Chinese and American political discourses may provide supplementary evidence of contrasting political attitudes and evaluations of the two nations.The findings will hopefully help the audience develop critical language awareness and lead to a more profound understanding of the differences between Chinese and American political thinking and reasoning.