A Study Of Types Of Conceptual Metaphors In Coco

Metaphor study has always been one of the core topics in cognitive linguistics.In traditional metaphor theory,it was regarded as a linguistic phenomenon and rhetorical device.In the 1980 s,Lakoff and Johnson put forward the conceptual metaphor theory for the first time in their co-authored metaphor we live by.The main idea is that metaphor is not only a rhetorical device,but also a way of thinking and cognitive means,and it is the essence of systematic mapping across the conceptual domain.People can use concrete concepts(such as space,entity,etc.)to understand abstract concepts(such as thinking,emotion,etc.)by metaphorical theory.It indicates that the study of metaphor has changed from rhetoric to cognition.In the 1990 s,Liu Ningsheng’s translation of the metaphor we live by and Zhao Yanfang’s book review of he metaphor we live by initiated the research of conceptual metaphor in China.In the past 20 years,people began to engage the concept of metaphor research into different disciplines,such as comparative study on the English and Chinese conceptual metaphor,conceptual metaphor in foreign language teaching,and conceptual metaphor in literature,etc.While in recent years,conceptual metaphor theory has gradually become an important carrier of language of film literature creation,playing an important role in this process as a tool of n meaning construction.Taking the movie Coco as an example,the scriptwriters of this film base on the classic conceptual metaphor that is“LIFE IS JOURNEY” as the foundation of creation to deduce the plots and dialogue of characters in Coco,which can arouse their various emotions.For example,the scriptwriters use structural metaphor,ontological metaphor and orientational metaphor to highlight the theme of “life”,“death”,“family”,and “dream” and promote the development of plots of film.However,they always use metaphorical theory frequently for expressing the significance of the film,which complicates the plots and language to a great extent.In other words,understanding the conceptual metaphor language in the film becomes the key to understand the meaning behind the film.Therefore,by selecting several types of conceptual metaphor as Coco’s lines about different plots,characters and themes,scriptwriters want to show the different characteristic and functions in this film by analyzing how they use the conceptual metaphor theory to write Coco’s lines,we can have a deeper comprehension that metaphors are ubiquitous in people’s communication.The research background of this dissertation is based on two points: one is the universality of conceptual metaphor used in the compilation of film,the other is the typicalityof conceptual metaphor used in Coco,to some extent,there are some ideas of the representativeness and innovation in the process of researching.Generally speaking,the current research on Coco mainly focus on the interpretation of film theme,business value,cultural value,narrative skills,shooting skills and so forth,but there are relatively few studies on Coco from the perspective of conceptual metaphor,which is also the research significance of this dissertation.With regard to the research methods of this dissertation,author divided it into sixty chapters basing on plot,clues of development in the film to make data statistics and analysis.Underlying on the conceptual metaphor theory of Lakoff and Johnson as the theoretical framework,author approaches case analysis,quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis to make studies about the types of conceptual metaphor in this film.The details are as follows:firstly,the collected corpus is presented in chapter five by case analysis,in which the typical parts of metaphor types will provide a concrete basis for the use of metaphor in Coco.Secondly,the frequency of different types of conceptual metaphor in different chapters are counted by quantitative analysis,and the statistical table is attached following it.Next,qualitative research method is used to describe and analyze the data,and point out what the characteristics and preferences are employed,and what the functions of conceptual metaphor are chosen when scriptwriters use conceptual metaphor.Finally,answer the following three questions:(1)What types of conceptual metaphor are used in Coco?(2)What are the characteristics of conceptual metaphors in Coco?(3)What are the functions and effects of conceptual metaphors in Coco?Here are the major findings of this study.The conceptual metaphor is the narrative strategy that appears in each lines.When Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina compiles movie lines,the types of conceptual metaphor involved in Coco were flexible,creative and systematic.In the process of compiling,there are three types of conceptual metaphor(structural metaphor,ontological metaphor,orientational metaphor)and the characteristics of function(rhetoric,cognitive function).The conceptual metaphor with constructive function connects three themes together,so as to present them more clearly for readers to understand deeply with a new perspective of and inspire them have more positive thinking direction instead of the original thinking direction.When depicting important clues,scenes and layouts,scriptwriters are fond of ontological metaphors.When describing the lines of the characters,the scriptwriters tend to use orientational metaphors to stress the characteristics of differentcharacters,as well as by shifting "up" and "down" metaphor actively,it depends on the change of time and situations to enrich characters’ personality.In summary,according to the study of types of conceptual metaphor in Coco,a steady but significant trend can be seen in the application of conceptual metaphor that occupies the main status in people’s communication.It is quite common in the process of using language,especially structural metaphor under the branch of conceptual metaphor is one of the most popular one no matter in film’s work or people’s communication.The virtual lives of characters in Coco also reflect the people’s lives from the real world,and the features’ language in Coco is the language that people use on daily basis.The dialogue of the characters in the film also refracts people’s reliance on conceptual metaphor when using language in real life.Moreover,it helps readers and audiences get a better understanding towards life though the real meaning behind Coco.Our potential imagination or motivation can be arouse by metaphorical thinking.In the end,this dissertation provides some references for the creative process of film works in terms of applying the principle of conceptual metaphor to enrich the story plots,highlight the character’s personality and sublimate the theme,at the same time,demonstrates the flexibility and diversity are use in film’s lines.