A Study Of Multimodal Metaphors In Print Public Service Advertisements (PPSAs) For Animal Protection

The animal protection PPSAs convey the urgency and importance of animal protection to the the public through the interplay of text and images,and they are beneficial to the harmonious coexistence of human beings and animals.It is worth noting that animal protection PPSAs contain quantities of multimodal metaphors which not only construct the deep connotations of the advertisements but also strengthen the persuasive functions.However,there are few studies concentrating on the multimodal metaphors in PPSAs for animal protection.Based on this background,this study attempts to take multimodal metaphor as the theoretical framework to analyze the representation types,metaphorical meanings,and persuasion strategies of multimodal metaphors in animal protection PPSAs.According to the identification standard of multimodal metaphor,this study collected 160 animal protection PPSAs that contained multimodal metaphors from the websites of advertising database(www.welovead.com)and Baidu Images.Quantitative and qualitative research methods were adopted to analyze these advertisements.The major findings are as follows:(1)The multimodal metaphors in animal protection PPSAs involve four types of representation: “multimodal mapping”(61.25%),“mono-modal mapping”(22.5%),“implicit mapping”(15%)and “cross-modal mapping”(1.25%).For the multimodal mapping,the mono-modal mapping and the implicit mapping,the pictorial signs can alone instantiate metaphorical mappings,in which the similarities between source domains and target domains are mainly triggered by the ways of juxtaposition,fusion and replacement.Written signs help to reveal the metaphorical meanings of images and further explain the deep meanings of metaphors.For the cross-modal mapping,pictorial signs and written signs construct metaphorical mappings together,and they can not convey metaphorical meanings alone.(2)The animal protection PPSAs mainly contain 6 conceptual metaphors: “ANIMAL IS OBJECT”(29.375%),“ANIMAL IS HUMAN BEING”(21.875%),“ANIMAL IS ACCESSORY”(18.125%),“ANIMAL IS FOOD/DRINK/MEDICINE”(13.125%),“ANIMAL IS RARE ANIMAL”(9.375%),“ANIMAL IS CHARACTER”(4.375%).Nearly all the metaphors are mapped from the concrete domains to the concrete domains.In addition,8 metaphorical meanings are constructed through these metaphors based on the characteristics and current situation of animals and the relationship between human beings and animals.(3)The persuasion strategies of multimodal metaphors can be divided into two types.The first type is to catch the readers' attention through the manifestation form of multimodal metaphors(the combination of different modes,vividness and intuitiveness of the picture and the semantic conflict presented by the image).The second type is to arouse the readers' negative emotions(worry,fear,guilt,etc.)and positive emotions(sympathy,sense of responsibility,love and concern,etc.)through the metaphorical content to achieve the persuading functions.The study on animal protection PPSAs from the perspective of multimodal metaphor can not only broaden the research scope of multimodal metaphor,but also provide a new analytical perspective for animal protection PSAs.In a practical sense,this study can help the public better understand the deep connotations of the advertisements and provide reference for designers.Thus,this study has both theoretical and practical significance.