"Pie" And "Trap" - A Metaphor Study In The Mainstream Media Report In Nigeria On Sino-african Cooperation

With the convening of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September 2018 and the deepening of the “One Belt One Road”strategy to Africa,China-Africa relations have entered a new era.The two sides have become increasingly close in many aspects such as politics and economy,and the media of both sides have also reported a lot on China-Africa cooperation.There are a lot of metaphors in news reports.Lakoff and Johnson's conceptual metaphor theory holds that metaphor is a cognitive tool for human beings to understand the external world and a way of thinking in human daily life,not just a rhetorical device in literary works.Therefore,the African media's metaphor in the Sino-African cooperation report directly reflects the African media's perception of China-Africa cooperation and China-Africa relations,and also affects African people's perception of it.Nigeria is Africa's largest economy and the most populous country in Africa.It is of great significance to China-Africa cooperation and the spread of the “One Belt One Road” strategy.This study focuses on the metaphorical phenomena in the mainstream media in Nigeria on China-Africa cooperation and Sino-Nepalese cooperation reports.Through the method of critical metaphor analysis,these metaphors are identified,illustrated and interpreted,that is,the main types of metaphors in the reports are identified,how the Nigerian media perceive China-Africa cooperation are reflected,and finally to find out the cognitive basis of these metaphors and the underlying reasons behind the emergence of metaphors.The study found that "China-Africa cooperation is a pie" and "China-Africa cooperation is a trap" is the two main metaphors of the Nigerian media on China-Africa cooperation reports.Under these two metaphors,there are sub-metaphors such as "China is a friend","China is a capitalist","Africa is a brother",and "Africa is a victim".These metaphors reflect the complex cognition of the Nepalese media on both positive and negative cooperation between China and Africa,both recognition and resistance.Such cognition has a cognitive basis derived from human experience,social experience,and historical and cultural aspects,and it is influenced by factors such as the history of Sino-Nepal exchanges,the image of China,the credibility of the Nepalese government,and the Western media.