A Comparative Study Of Multimodal Metaphor In Chinese And American COVID-19 News Cartoons Based On New Visual Grammar~+

Metaphor is a hot spot in linguistics research.With the development of multimodal metaphor,metaphor research has been carried out in a wider range:advertisements,posters,cartoons,picture books,etc.Since the end of 2019,Corona Virus Disease 19(COVID-19)has become a global phenomenon and the top issue the whole world facing.On-and off-line pandemic prevention and control propaganda have sprung up,among which COVID-19 cartoons featuring visual and multimodal metaphors are particularly noticeable.But previous studies of multimodal metaphor are chiefly conducted from the cognitive perspective,and visual grammar is mainly used to analyze cartoons.Besides,previous studies on multimodal metaphor of COVID-19 discourse lack comparative studies between China and America.According to the features of the research object and data,the author revised new visual grammar,not using the three subsystems of its ideational metafunction(character appearance,inter-event and inter-circumstance),but instead absorbing the narrative representations system(action process,reactional process,speech and mental process)of visual grammar as a supplement,and then forming a suitable framework for cartoon analysis-new visual grammar~+.Under the guidance of new visual grammar~+,this thesis takes Chinese and American COVID-19 cartoons as the data,and makes a comparative study of their multimodal metaphors.This thesis selects 65 Chinese and 65 American COVID-19 news cartoons respectively from http://cartoon.chinadaily.com.cn/focusview.shtml?fid=238and http://www.caglecartoons.com/as data,using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods for research.First of all,the author will classify these cartoons according to their target domains.Then,the author will analyze the cartoons one by one through new visual grammar~+and analyze their source domains,target domains and multimodal metaphors.At last,some similarities and differences between Chinese and American COVID-19 cartoons are found and discussed.This thesis answers three questions:(1)What are the characteristics of multimodal metaphor,source and target domains of Chinese and American COVID-19 cartoons?(2)What are the similarities and differences between the construction of Chinese and American COVID-19 cartoons?(3)What are the stances behind the Chinese and American COVID-19 cartoons?The findings are as follows:(1)The author integrates visual grammar and new visual grammar into new visual grammar~+,which can analyze the similarities and differences between the construction of Chinese and American COVID-19 cartoons and reveal the stances of cartoonists.It is an appropriate framework for cartoon analysis.(2)The target domains of Chinese COVID-19 cartoons are:COVID-19,medical personnel and pandemic prevention and control efforts,which are mainly positive themes,with image mapping in the majority,aiming to show the bravery of medical staff in fighting against the virus,and the positive and effective measures taken by the Chinese government.But the target domains of American COVID-19cartoons are:COVID-19,American president and American problems,which are mainly negative themes,with“source domain-image,target domain-verbiage”mapping in the majority,aiming to reflect the American government’s inaction on the pandemic.(3)In Chinese COVID-19 cartoons,action process is realized most frequently,showing the fight against the pandemic by various forces.But in American COVID-19 cartoons,speech and mental processes are realized most frequently,and various political,economic and social problems are better presented with the help of bubbles by cartoonists.(4)In the layout,American COVID-19cartoons present locution projection and idea projection,directly revealing the president’s lies or tricks in the cartoons.But Chinese COVID-19 cartoons have no locution or idea projections,leaving viewers to imagine.This thesis aims to make a comparative study of multimodal metaphor in Chinese and American COVID-19 cartoons based on new visual grammar~+.On one hand,it can test the applicability of the new framework,new visual grammar~+,providing a new theoretical framework different from the traditional visual grammar for cartoon analysis.On the other hand,it can help people have a better understanding of cartoons and help cartoonists better conceive cartoons to attract viewers and strike a chord with them.