政治演讲概念隐喻

An Analysis of Conceptual Metaphors in Obama’s PoliticalSpeechesAbstract: This article focuses on the application of Conceptual Metaphors in Obama’s Political Speeches. Pointing out the significant role Conceptual Metaphors played in Obama’s Political Speeches. The aims of this paper are 1)to introduce the relationship between Conceptual Metaphors and Political Speeches; 2) elaborate the definition and classification of Conceptual Metaphors on the basis of Lakoff and Johnson’s great work Metaphors We Live By;3)Take Obama’s Political Speeches as background information, analyze the Conceptual Metaphors used and relevant functions in his Political Speeches. this research aims to study the metaphors in political speeches systematically and reveal how metaphors work in the political world. At the same time, through the analysis of metaphors, this research can help people know the American politics and understand its culture.Key words: Political Speeches; Conceptual Metaphors; Application奥巴马政治演讲的概念隐喻分析摘要:本文着重研究了概念隐喻在奥巴马政治演讲中的使用,指出概念隐喻在奥巴马的政治演讲中发挥的重要角色,本文旨在:1)简要介绍概念隐喻与政治演讲之间的关系;2)根据莱考夫和约翰逊合著的《我们赖以生存的隐喻》,来阐述概念隐喻的定义、分类;3)以奥巴马的政治演讲作为背景材料,分析其中所使用的概念隐喻,以及这些隐喻对其演讲的辅助作用.本文试图对所选语料中的隐喻进行系统研究,揭示隐喻在政治演讲语篇中的特殊作用,并且通过分析隐喻,帮助人们了解美国的政治和文化.关键词:政治演讲；概念隐喻；应用Contents1.IntroductionMetaphor has always been the hot topic which gets much attention from linguists, it has been studied as long as 2000 years. In traditional metaphor theories, metaphor was only regarded as a kind of rhetorical devices, but with the springing of cognitive linguistics, a growing number of scholars begin to study this linguistic phenomenon.from the point of cognitive. Lakeoff and Johnson put forward the theory of conceptual metaphor theory the first time, they think A metaphor (or figurative comparison) in which one idea (or conceptual domain) is understood in terms of another, and metaphor is the cognitive tool. The domestic scholar 束定芳had done some researches on the psychology and language caused by metaphor, and proposed the goal of building modern science of metaphor, she also elaborate the study objectives and ways of modern science of metaphor. The purposes of this paper are to analyze the conceptual metaphors used in political speeches, and reveal the significant functions of conceptual metaphors in political speeches.2 .The conceptual metaphor theory2.1. The Definition of conceptual metaphor theoryI n cognitive linguistics, conceptual metaphor, or cognitive metaphor, refers to the understanding of one idea, or conceptual domain, in terms of another “In cognitive linguistics, the conceptual domain from which we draw metaphorical expressions to understand another conceptual domain is known as the source domain. The conceptual domain that is understood in this way is the target domain. Thus the source domain of the journey is commonly used to explain the target domain of life”.(Lakeoff and Johnson,1980,p.1).2.2 The Classification of conceptual metaphorBy studying , it can be found that conceptual metaphors occupy a high frequency in political speeches. Generally speaking, in order to gain support and understanding from public, and fulfill their political goals, the statesmen will instill their political views into the listeners and make them more acceptable and understandable with the help of conceptual metaphors.Lakeoff divided conceptual metaphors into three categories: orientational metaphor;ontological metaphor; and structural metaphor. The following paragraphs will analyze these three types of conceptual metaphors.2.2.1 Orientational metaphorOrientatinal metaphor refers to “a metaphor that most of them have to do with spatial orientation like up and down, in and out, front and back, on and off, deep and shallow”.(Lakeoff and Johnson, 1980, p.140). “They organize a whole system of concepts with respect to one ano ther.” (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980, p.15). The most important thing in this regard is “our direct physical experiences of living on Earth” (Brown 38). And this experience develops into part of ways that we conceive and conceptualize the physical world. For examples:(1)She is feeling up today.(2)Keep your voice down, please.2.2.2 Ontological metaphorOntological metaphor is “a type of metaphor in which something concrete is projected onto something abstract”(Lakeoff and Johnson,1980,p.20). Structural metaphor is the metaphor between abstract and concrete concepts; Ontological metaphor is the metaphor between abstract things and entities or substances. The abstract things include behaviors, ideas, feelings and so on. Most of the ontological metaphors are formulated on the basis of experience of physical objects, especially our own bodies. Naturally, part of the human body becomes the source to describe a target object. Once we can identify our experiences as entities or substances or even our own body, we can refer to them, categorize them, group them, and quantify them and, by this means, reason about them. The sub-categories of the ontological metaphor consist of the human being metaphor and the liquid metaphor, Here are some examples:(1) The economy are very sick now.(2)For as much as government can do and can not do……….In above examples, the abstract things “economy”and “government”are all used metaphorically as person, because they can feel sick and do the things.2.2.3 Structural metaphorStructural metaphors grounded in systematic correlations within our experiences.(Lakeoff and Johnson,1980,p.61). Structural metaphor means “a metaphorical system in which onecomplex concept (typically abstract) is presented in terms of some other (usually more concrete) concept”(Lakeoff and Johnson,1980,p.38). The words can be used to describe the abstract concepts are also available for the complex ones. For example, in the sentences “time is money”, all the words suitable to represent “money” are also can be apply to “time”. People get to know the abstract concept “time” through the concrete concept “money”. Moreover, it derives a number expressions of daily languages, such as “you’re wasting my time”; “I have no time to spare”.3.The application of conceptual metaphor in Obama’s political speechesBarack, Obama is the first African-American president in American history, his distinguished speaking skills has been recognized by the world. Conceptual metaphors are also widely used in his political speeches , the following part will discuss the application of conceptual metaphors and the significant roles these metaphors played in his political sppeches.3.1 The application of orientational metaphorThe orientational metaphors in Obama’s political speeches are concluded as following:(1) ……I stand here today humbled by the task before us……(2) ……and roll back the specter of warming planet……Orientatinal metaphors are utilized in the two examples, the former uses “before”to inspire the public’s hope to the future; the later uses “back”to show his determination to deal with the difficulties.(3)……rising tides of prosperity……(4)……we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off(5)(6)In these two sentences, “rising”signify the past strong and prosperous, “up”signify the citizens must bestir themselves to fight the risk and revitalize the America economy.3.2 The application of ontological metaphor3.3 The application of structual metaphorIn Obama’s first inaugural address in 2009, he applied structural metaphor in several places, for example(1) Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted.(2) we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us…In above two examples, he metaphorize America’s development as a “journey”. During the journey, the Americans hold together and constantly strive to the end of the journey. The example one also become the basic structural frame of the whole paragraph, this part of speech is around the key metaphor , and the key metaphor keeps the whole paragraph coherent.4.ConclusionIt can be seen that conceptual metaphorReferencesBlack, Charteris. Politicians and Rhetoric: The Persuasive Power of Metaphor. New York:Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.Lakoff, George & Johnson, Mark. Metaphors We Live by. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1980.Lakoff, George. Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002.Lakoff, George. The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor. 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