A Comparative Analysis Of Multimodal Metaphor In English And Chinese Public Service Advertising From The Perspective Of Conceptual Blending Theory

Metaphor possesses an indispensible place in human language.Originally,metaphor is considered as a rhetorical device used in literature.However,with the advancement of human cognition,the study of metaphor has been turned to the cognitive approach which believes that metaphor is a powerful cognitive tool used in perceiving and understanding the world.With the improvement of cognition,humans have entered into a multimodal society in which language,color,music and feelings can be seen as ways of perceiving the world.Multimodal metaphor,through the mapping among different modes,can stimulate various sensorial organs,thus realizing the cognitive construction of the multimodal metaphor in an impressive way.Advertising is an important component of modern society in which Public Service Advertising,non-profitable,aims to serve public benefits.Public Service Advertising is featured by a number of pictorial metaphors,rendering the study of multimodal metaphor within itself.This study will base its theoretical framework on the Conceptual Blending Theory proposed by the famous linguist Fauconnier.The research will be analyzed through the method of text analysis.The data,English and Chinese Public Service Advertising exemplified by themes of anti-smoking and environmental protection,will be mainly collected from the internet and printed materials.This study,through the analysis of the mode,the source domain,the target domain and the metaphorical meaning of the multimodal metaphors,aims to find out the cognitive construction,cognitive similarities and differences of the multimodal metaphors in English and Chinese Public Service Advertising.The analysis of the multimodal metaphors in English and Chinese Public Service Advertising has obtained several results.Firstly,the multimodal metaphors have realized their meaning construction through the mapping of different mental spaces.Secondly,the multimodal metaphors in English and Chinese Public Service Advertising do share some similarities.For example,they all use modes like color and image;they all involve the interaction among different sensorial modes;the selections of the source domain are cultural related;and they all aim at improving public consciousness.Thirdly,there do exist differences between the multimodal metaphors in English and Chinese Public Service Advertising.In terms of mode,English ads tend to use less verbal metaphor than Chinese ones;and Chinese ads tend to use more olfactory and gustatory modes compared with English ads.From the aspect of the source domain,English ads usually choose explicit and direct images whereas Chinese ads usually select implicit and indirect images as the source domain.In terms of cultural orientation,the multimodal metaphors in English ads are related to individualism while the Chinese ones are associated with collectivism.This thesis,through a comparative analysis of multimodal metaphors in English and Chinese Public Service Advertising,has investigated the cognitive construction,similarities and differences behind multimodal metaphors,enriched the corpus of multimodal metaphor and provided suggestive instructions to the making of Public Service Advertising.However,this study is only a preliminary research whose results bear some insufficiencies which may need mature theories to support and further data to prove.