A Comparative Study Of Conceptual Metaphor On Bush’s Obama’s Inaugural Addresses

With the emergence of conceptual metaphor, the study of metaphor has transferredfrom the purely device of rhetoric and decoration in linguistics to the study of cognitionin people’s mind. According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), metaphor is pervasive ineveryday life, not just in language but in thought and action. People’s ordinaryconceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentallymetaphorical in nature. In essence, based on mutual culture and experience, metaphor isone cognitive activity of understanding one thing in terms of another.Metaphor plays an important role in delivering political discourse. AmericanPresidential Inaugural Address (APIA) is one typical representative of politicaldiscourses. Conceptual metaphor, occurring as the bridge, transfers the abstract politicalviews to ones that are comprehensible and accessible. It can motivate people, achieveintimacy and persuade people to support him.Based on conceptual metaphor proposed by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), thedissertation has made a comparative study on Bush’s and Obama’s inaugurals. Firstly,the previous studies mostly focus on the generality of conceptual metaphors in APIA,including their classification and functions. To study the specific characteristics anddistribution in different inaugurals is, comparatively, seldom. Secondly, in order toanalyze the dynamic character of conceptual metaphors in APIA, the dissertationchooses two presidents’ inaugurals. Thirdly, as the two influential presidents, Bush’sand Obama’s inaugurals can reflect the modern political life in America. Lastly,although the linguistic data is limited, it can make the analysis more concrete andimplicational.Through the methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis, conceptualmetaphors have been classified, compared, and analyzed. The results show that there arefive major conceptual metaphors they both share with higher percentage than other metaphors: journey metaphor, human metaphor, war metaphor, world as a communitymetaphor, and physical environment metaphor. They are sharing the same culturalbackgrounds of American history. However, each president has his own preference ofselecting different metaphors, which is influenced by the social factors, ideologies andpersonal experience. The research gives an understanding that APIA can not only beinterpreted in the perspective of linguistics but in culture. For one thing, it can givepeople a better understanding of potential political intensions. For another, it canprovide some suggestions for speakers to write more political speeches that areaccessible to people.