An Analysis Of Conceptual Metaphor In English Advertising

Nowadays, more and more attention has been drawn to the study of English advertising, which contributes to the steady progress in this field. At the same time, interest in conceptual metaphor has been on the rise. Conceptual metaphor is a persuasive and effective means to express the advertiser's selling idea. However, few studies have been undertaken about conceptual metaphor used in English advertising. This thesis plans to have a bold attempt to make an investigation of conceptual metaphor used in English advertising.The theory of conceptual metaphor is quite influential in the whole academic world. It is put forward by Lakoff and Johnson, who propose that metaphor is human cognitive mechanism. The essence of metaphor is cognitive and conceptual. Metaphor is "a cross-domain mapping", which means we use the familiar and specific concept to reason about the unfamiliar and abstract concept. In a cognitive perspective, metaphor can be classified as three types: structural metaphor, orientational metaphor and ontological metaphor.This thesis first gives a brief introduction to the theory of conceptual metaphor, and then applies this theory to the analysis of English advertising. It mainly focuses on the analysis of these three types of conceptual metaphor used in English advertisements and on the cross-domain analysis of conceptual metaphors in English advertisement examples. Through this research the thesis aims to find out how the conceptual metaphor conveys the main selling idea to the customers, thus enhances the understanding of English advertising of English learners.