A Comparative Study Of Commonly Used Conceptual Metaphors In American And Chinese Business Context And Their Cultural Roots

Contrary to the traditional view that metaphor is merely regarded as a rhetorical device, linguists Lakoff and Johnson argue that metaphor is a figure of thought, while the figure of speech serves as a surface manifestation of such metaphorical thought. They further contend that metaphors are grounded in experience, and that the experience may not always be direct, but may be conveyed through the cultural background. With the belief that our metaphorical concepts structure what we perceive, how we get around the world and how we relate to things and other people, they coined the terms "conceptual metaphor" and "metaphorical expression". The former refers to the metaphorical system rooted deeply in people's conceptual system and the latter means the surface manifestation of conceptual metaphor.Following the theory of conceptual metaphor proposed by Lakoff and Johnson, the intention of the thesis is to extend the applied study of metaphors to the business context by comparing conceptual metaphors frequently utilized in American and Chinese business contexts and exploring the cultural roots of some cultural-specific categories.Based on the idea of "entailment" of metaphor, which refers to the relationships and concepts that the metaphor brings to mind, the author has studied and categorized the metaphorical expressions in a Chinese book The Spirits of Chinese Entrepreneurs into five main conceptual metaphors: BUSINESS IS A WAR, BUSINESS IS AN ORGANISM, BUSINESS IS A JOURNEY, BUSINESS IS A DINNER, and BUSINESS IS A FAMILY. Since the book reveals the common perceptions of Chinese entrepreneurs from a diversified background, the conceptual metaphors used in it can be regarded as reasonably representative and typical in Chinese business context. The thesis adopted the research of John J. Clancy that the commonly used conceptual metaphors in American business context are: BUSINESS IS A JOURNEY, BUSINESS IS A WAR, BUSINESS IS AN ORGANISM, and BUSINESS IS A SPORT/GAME. Comparison of the two findings discloses both universal and cultural-specific conceptual metaphors in the two languages. The differences in the choice of metaphor imply different attitudes toward business, so a discussion is followed over the influence that different conceptual metaphors exert on business practice. While one's attitudeis inseparable from his beliefs, values, social knowledge, and environmental cognition, it is natural to trace the cultural roots of the cultural-specific conceptual metaphors by further studying the differences revealed in the early stage of the research. The thesis explores the cultural roots of three cultural-specific metaphors from four aspects: political factor, economic factor, beliefs and values, and social life. The research not only provides powerful backing for the cognitive theory of metaphor, but also helps people get a better understanding of the relationships among culture, metaphor and language learning.The thesis ends with some suggestions on the teaching of EFL and highlighted significance of the current study for the cross-cultural business practice.