| In 2020,the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic posted a major threat to human security.Even with the best medical resources,the US has failed to bring the epidemic under control and even become the country with the highest number of infections,which is partly an ideological disaster brought about by mass media.As a cognitive and rhetorical device,metaphor constructs specific meanings and influences public understanding by highlighting some aspects of metaphor while hiding other elements.Therefore,metaphors are frequently used by media to guide public opinions and even manipulate their behaviors.A study of the conceptual metaphors in the US news reports on COVID-19 might be helpful to delve into the way US media manipulate people’s thoughts.Accordingly,under the guidance of Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Critical Metaphor Analysis,this thesis builds a small corpus and undertakes a critical analysis of metaphors in the US news reports on COVID-19.The research procedure is composed of data collection and data analysis: Firstly,the self-built corpus is taken from 130 news reports in the New York Times,spanning from March2020 to December 2020;secondly,the thesis identifies the conceptual metaphors in the corpus;and lastly it critically analyzes the working mechanisms and functions of those conceptual metaphors as well as the dominating factors underlying metaphorical choices.The major findings of this thesis can be concluded into the following four aspects:(1)There are five types of metaphors used in US news reports on COVID-19,namely,FORCE metaphor,WAR metaphor,ANIMATE THING metaphor,NATURAL PHENOMENON metaphor,and MOVEMENT metaphor,among which COVID-19 is conceptualized as a threatening and evil force by the FORCE metaphor,a merciless attacker by WAR metaphor,and a brutal animal by the ANIMATE THING metaphor;the NATURAL PHENOMENON metaphor highlights the emotion of depression and fear under COVID-19;and the MOVEMENT metaphor focuses on the drastic change due to COVID-19.(2)The negative function of metaphors used in the American news reports on COVID-19 is reflected in the following aspects: misinterpreting the nature and characteristics of COVID-19 through the metaphors noted above,misleading the people’s understanding of COVID-19,and making Americans disoriented about the prevention and control of COVID-19;constructing the conceptualization of COVID-19 as an economic destroyer and keeps reinforcing the negative evaluation of COVID-19;and evoking a sense of anxiety and powerlessness among the general public via metaphors,which fails to build confidence for coping with COVID-19.(3)The dominating factors of metaphor choices are Americans’ ideologies and beliefs: First of all,the US government values political interest over the lives and health of the public.Besides,the individualism claiming freedom and equality as well as capitalism that relies on a desire for wealth irrespective of social cost are the ideologies underlying those metaphors,which affect the Americans’ perception of and response to COVID-19 to a certain extent.The thesis,which is an attempt to deal with COVID-19 news reports by means of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory of Cognitive Linguistics,is at least of the following two aspects of insight: On the one hand,the Conceptual Metaphor Theory can serve as an analytical framework for public health emergency discourse,helping to extend the research scope of Cognitive Linguistics;on the other hand,a new perspective is provided for the research of public health emergencies,which helps to shed some new light on the enhancement of the capacity of the government and media for handling public health emergency. |
