Critical Metaphor Analysis(CMA)was proposed by Jonathan Charteris-Black in 2004.It is simultaneously formed with Conceptual Metaphor Theory(CMT),Critical Discourse Analysis(CDA),Corpus Linguistics and Pragmatics,as an approach for profound study of the cognitive and pragmatic features of metaphor.Based on CMA,two small-scale corpora were built.The study focuses on the classification,distributions and pragmatic functions of conceptual metaphors in the Chinese and American political discourses so that the motivations and factors of metaphor choosing can be figured out.It is found that journey metaphor,religion metaphor,human metaphor,conflict metaphor,construction metaphor,family metaphor and plant metaphor exist both in APDC and CPDC.Liquid metaphor and drama metaphor only exist in APDC and circle metaphor is the unique one in CPDC.With in-depth analysis on the conceptual metaphors in both corpora,the higher proportion of DEFEND metaphors in CPDC reveals China’s strong determination in protecting its sovereignty over its isles.With the highest resonance,journey metaphor shows that China values the stability and development of itself and other involved countries more than the United States.Likewise,the major conceptual metaphor NATIONAL RELATIONSHIP IS A JOURNEY in APDC accounts for the US interference in the dispute settlement for its own benefit,which brings about the deterioration of the situation in that area.This study also exposes the factors behind the choice of conceptual metaphors from the perspectives of culture,cognition,and pragmatic motivation. |