Power Of Metaphors In English Economic Discourses

As a linguistic phenomenon, metaphor has attracted scholars' attention for ages. Due to the fast economic development, the number of metaphors in economic discourses has increased by leaps and bounds. Previous study of metaphors in economic discourses from a rhetorical perspective could not reveal the profound mechanism of them. However, study of metaphors in economic discourses from a cognitive perspective has uncovered the mechanism and power of metaphorical construction. Therefore, within the framework of Fauconnier's Conceptual Blending Theory, the author has developed an analytic model to analyze metaphors in economic discourses.Conceptual Blending Theory is based on Mental Space. There are four mental spaces in this theory, including two input spaces, a generic space, and a blended space. There is a partial mapping of counterparts between the two inputs. The generic space, which reflects some more abstract structure and organization shared by the inputs, defines the core cross-space mapping between them. The inputs are partially projected onto the blend, which has an emergent structure that is impossible for the inputs. The emergent structure is the mechanism of metaphorical generation.The analytic model, which is based on Conceptual Blending Theory, contains three steps. The first step is the Background, which introduces the relevant social and cultural background of the metaphor in question. The second step is a detailed analysis of the four metal spaces, cross-space mappings, and the emergent structure of the metaphor. Analysis in the second step is accompanied with abundant sample sentences gathered from various media. The third step is the Power. With the help of the emergent structure, the power of the metaphor discussed is revealed.The case analysis of this thesis mainly focuses on three conventional metaphors, including ECONOMY IS JOURNEY, ECONOMY IS GAME, and ECONOMY IS HUMAN BEING, and a novel metaphor COMPANY IS DINOSAUR. Through caseanalysis, the author draws the conclusion and represents the power of metaphors in economic discourses.