A Cognitive Study Of Conceptual Metaphors In English Economic Reports

Based on the theory of conceptual metaphor,this paper makes a systematic analysis and summary of the common conceptual metaphors in English economic reports.As everyone knows,the economic crisis has a profound impact on the development of the economy,to a certain extent also changes the use of economic metaphors,so this paper will regard the economic crisis as the boundary,compare the use of economic metaphors in two different periods,that is,before and after the economic crisis.By a qualitative and quantitative analysis and a method of diachronic contrast,this thesis achieves two purposes:(1)summarizing several typical conceptual metaphors that systematically occur in English economic reports by the descriptive analysis of numerous materials in the two different periods(2000-2007 and 2008-2015);(2)examining the similarities and differences about the economic metaphors used in the English economic reports between the two periods from a diachronic perspective.Specifically,in this study,a large number of metaphorical expressions in English economic reports are collected from the Economist,Business week and Financial Times in the period from 2000 to 2015.All the data selected cover a wide range of economic topics: world economy,trade,commerce,business,finance,accounting,insurance,investments and so on.Then theses chosen metaphorical expressions are classified in accordance with their source domains.In order to ensure the accuracy of the study,the quantitative and qualitative methods are used simultaneously.The qualitative methodology is realized by summarizing the types of conceptual metaphors in English economic reports and explaining these metaphorical patterns from the cognitive perspective.The quantitative analysis measures the frequency of different conceptual metaphors.This thesis will attempt to answer the following questions:(1)What are the typical conceptual metaphors used in English economic reports in 2000-2007 and 2008-2015?What are their mapping process,cognitive characteristics and functions?(2)What are the differences and similarities of the conceptual metaphors used in the Englisheconomic reports between the two different periods? Moreover,what are the reasons ?In this research,we have found that,firstly,in 2000-2007,living organism metaphor,up-down metaphor and journey metaphor are the typical metaphorical patterns,however,in 2008-2015,the war metaphor became the most frequently used metaphorical pattern,and the frequency of living organism metaphor,up-down metaphor,journey metaphor display a decreasing tendency while some metaphorical patterns rarely used in the past,became more and more popular,like building metaphor,bubble metaphor.These metaphors are rooted in people's physical experience and culture life.Some more concrete and familiar concepts are frequently used as source domain to understand target domain,that is,some relatively complicated and abstract concepts.Conceptual metaphors used in English economic reports are not only used to explain some abstract economic terms,but also one of the major mechanisms used to think about economic phenomena.Secondly,by comparing the economic metaphors used in the English economic reports between the two periods from a diachronic perspective,we found that,in2000-2007,the distribution of economic metaphor is centralized,on the contrary,in2008-2015,the distribution of economic metaphor is relatively decentralized,that is,the type of concept metaphor is more diversified.Besides,occurrence rate of economic metaphor in 2008-2015 is higher than the occurrence rate of economic metaphor in 2000-2007.It indicates that with the development of society,the economic metaphors become more and more popular.Moreover,the economic metaphors used in two different period are not arbitrary because they are all rooted in the people's physical experience and are consistent with the economic situation at that time,besides,the change of the use of economic metaphor is a reflection of the social and cultural development.From the whole point of view,economic metaphor is widely used in English economic reports,besides,the application of economic metaphor presents an increasing trend,and the type of concept metaphor is more diversified.After economic crisis,the global economic situation is becoming increasingly complex,and the new economic terms emerge in an endless stream.In order to let more readersunderstand the meaning of these new economic phenomenon,more and more economic metaphors are used in the English economic reports.The innovation of this research lies in analyzing economic metaphor from diachronic perspective.As we all know,there are a lot of researches on economic metaphor at home and abroad.However,there is fewer research from the diachronic perspective.This study can make up for this deficiency to some extent.The value of this research is that we can have a better understanding about the development trend of economic metaphor.Several typical conceptual metaphors that systematically occur in English economic reports in the two different periods(2000-2007 and 2008-2015)are discussed,including their mapping process,cognitive characteristics and function.It will be helpful for us to read English economic reports.At the same time,this research applies the theory of conceptual metaphor to study the metaphors patterns in the specific field,and to some extent,it promotes the concrete and in-depth development of conceptual metaphor theory.