| Metaphor has long been regarded as a rhetorical device. However, from the midst of 20th century, a number of linguistics began to recognize another aspect of metaphorical research and raised theories contrasting with traditional views. In the year 1980, Lakoff and Johnson published their book Metaphor We Live by, fostering an array of interesting publications on metaphor in cognitive linguistics. Metaphor is no longer viewed as a matter of mere language, but a way of thinking. It is pervasive in people's daily life, for human being's conceptual system is metaphorical in nature.On the basis of previous studies on metaphor, especially the conceptual metaphor theory, this thesis adopts a cognitive approach to explore the working mechanism of conceptual metaphors in English economic news. In this respect, we have found that the research of metaphor based on qualitative approach can provide valuable insights into the nature and the basis of metaphor in economic discourse. Following a great number of articles from a selected English newspaper China Daily, the metaphors found are divided into six categories:ECONOMY IS A CONTAINER, BUSINESS IS WAR, ECONOMY IS A PERSON, BUSINESS IS A GAME, ECONOMY IS A MACHINE, and ECONOMY IS A JOURNEY. Our research carries both theoretical and practical significance regarding human cognition and its linguistic realization. As a result of the exploration into the metaphor in economic news, the research findings have once again proved the cognitive view that metaphor, instead of being merely a figure of speech, is an effective instrument for human beings to describe one thing in terms of another. Conceptual metaphors are grounded in our bodily experience and common knowledge. It is hoped that the research may provide a valuable insight for journalists and readers in writing and writing economic news. |
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