A Conceptual Metaphor Analysis Of Commencement Speeches Of Harvard University (2008-2018)

Metaphor is a language rhetoric often used in speeches,and speakers can make use of metaphors to arouse resonance and convey ideas to audiences.Conceptual metaphors are widely used in the speeches and discourses because of their reflection and presentation of daily life,practical experience as well as cognitive thinking.There are more and more studies on conceptual metaphor analysis of news and political discourses.However,studies on commencement speeches are relatively few.Commencement speech is a significant part of university graduation ceremony,which has a strong enlightenment and appreciation value in terms of language and education.This study selects 11 commencement speeches of Harvard University delivered by the President of Harvard University from 2008 to 2018 as the corpus,and tries to explore the following two questions:the first is what kinds of conceptual metaphors are applied in commencement speeches of Harvard University?And the second is what are the main characteristics of these conceptual metaphors?The thesis firstly identifies all kinds of conceptual metaphors used in corpus on the foundation of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory,and then combines quantitative and qualitative tools to classify these conceptual metaphors according to different criteria of source domains.Secondly,the main characteristics of conceptual metaphor are summarized in terms of the resonance value.Finally,this paper analyzes the characteristics of conceptual metaphor used in the selected data based on the speech context,history and realistic background.Through the analysis,the following conclusions are drawn:first,a total of 18 kinds of conceptual metaphors are used in 11 commencement speeches of Harvard University from 2008 to 2018,among which Human Being Metaphor,Object Metaphor,Journey Metaphor and Commodity Metaphor accounts for 86.26%and they are the major four frequently used types of conceptual metaphors.Second,the usage of conceptual metaphors on the whole is various in kind and numerous in frequency.Taking the change of year as a reference,the distribution of conceptual metaphors in commencement speeches are intensive from the synchronic aspect while are dispersed from the historical aspect.And the formation of these characteristics are closely related to the fine tradition of history,the people-oriented education philosophy,the open and free education atmosphere,the governance policy of building a world-class research university,the knowledge and leadership of the President of Harvard University,and even the role of the education and guidance of the commencement speeches.Through the analysis of the classification,characteristics and influence factors of conceptual metaphors in commencement speeches of Harvard University,the thesis deepens understanding and the understanding of the conceptual metaphor applied to discourse speeches,expands the application field and application process of conceptual metaphors,verifies the language features and the practical function of commencement speeches.All in all,this thesis provides cross-field materials for cognitive metaphor researchers,provides a cognitive metaphor perspective for discourse researchers,and provides a scientific method for better understanding the profound connotation of commencement speeches.