解讀奧巴馬就職演說辭中的概念隱喻【畢業(yè)論文】

1、<p><b>　?。?0_ _屆）</b></p><p><b>　　本科畢業(yè)設(shè)計(jì)</b></p><p><b>　　英語</b></p><p>　　解讀奧巴馬就職演說辭中的概念隱喻</p><p>　　A Study of Conceptual Metaph

2、ors in Obama’s Inaugural Address</p><p><b>　　內(nèi)容摘要</b></p><p>　　認(rèn)知語言學(xué)的研究表明，隱喻不僅是一種修辭手段，更是人類的一種思維方式，是人類基本的認(rèn)知方式。它廣泛存在于日常生活中，存在于任何學(xué)科領(lǐng)域。政治術(shù)語和政府的經(jīng)濟(jì)政策對(duì)民眾來說是相當(dāng)抽象、陌生的，為了讓民眾接受政黨的價(jià)值觀、形成共同的意識(shí)形態(tài)，

3、美國總統(tǒng)奧巴馬在其就職演說詞中通過隱喻說服民眾接受自己的觀點(diǎn)。演說中旅程隱喻、建筑隱喻和沖突隱喻的巧妙運(yùn)用積極發(fā)揮了隱喻的說服功能。</p><p>　　本文以概念隱喻理論為基礎(chǔ)，通過對(duì)奧巴馬就職演說詞中隱喻的分析，探討概念隱喻的理解機(jī)制，旨在提高英語學(xué)習(xí)者對(duì)概念隱喻的解讀能力，加強(qiáng)聽眾對(duì)演講語篇的深層理解。</p><p>　　關(guān)鍵詞：概念隱喻理論；說服功能；奧巴馬就職演說</p&

4、gt;<p><b>　　Abstract</b></p><p>　　The studies of cognitive linguistics show that metaphor is not only a means of rhetoric, but more importantly it is a way of thinking, a fundamental cogni

5、tive style of human beings. It is pervasive in every subject area as well as in everyday life. As it is rather abstract for most people to understand the political terminologies and the economic strategies of a governmen

6、t, metaphor is applied as a mapping to illustrate Barack Obama’s beliefs and values in his inaugural address.</p><p>　　Based on the theory of conceptual metaphor, this thesis exemplifies a number of metaphor

7、s used in Obama’s inaugural address. The mechanism of conceptual metaphors are discussed with three of them ― “journey metaphor” , “building metaphor”, “conflict metaphor” ―being elaborated, and the persuasive functions

8、of conceptual metaphors are concluded, in an effort to enhance English learners’ interpreting ability of conceptual metaphors and facilitate audiences’ understanding of public speaking discour</p><p>　　Key w

9、ords: conceptual metaphor theory; persuasive function; Obama’s inaugural address</p><p><b>　　Contents</b></p><p>　　Abstract……………………………………………………………………………....II</p><p>　　1

10、. Introduction..............................................................................................................1</p><p>　　2. Various Approaches toward Metaphor………………………………………..1</p><p

11、>　　3. Elucidation of Conceptual Metaphors in Obama’s Inaugural Address………. 4</p><p>　　3.1 Journey metaphors…………………………………………………………….…...4</p><p>　　3.2 Building metaphors……………………………………………………………

12、…..6</p><p>　　3.3 Conflict metaphors………………………………………………………………...7</p><p>　　4 Persuasive Function of the metaphors in Obama’s Inaugural Address…….......8</p><p>　　4.1 Metaphor and per

13、suasion……………………………………………………….….8</p><p>　　4.2 Metaphor and intention……………………………………………………………9</p><p>　　5 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………11</p><p>　　Bibliography………………………………………

14、………………………………....12</p><p>　　Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………….13</p><p>　　1 Introduction</p><p>　　Metaphor is a universal phenomenon. British rhetorician I.A. Richards once

15、said, in every three sentences of our daily conversation, there is a possible metaphor (quoted in Shu Dingfang 2000:1). According to Aristotle’s view, metaphor is mainly, and for most people nowadays, a device of the poe

16、tic imagination and the rhetorical flourish. When a new view of metaphor, later known as the cognitive linguistic view of metaphor, was first developed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in the book Metapho</p><

17、;p>　　By analyzing conceptual metaphors in President Obama’s inaugural address, this paper attempts to explore the effective use of metaphors. This linguistic analysis is expected to provide a crystal clear insight int

18、o the nature of how ideologies are conveyed and maintained and how persuasive function is accomplished in public speaking discourses.</p><p>　　2 Various Approaches toward Metaphor</p><p>　　There

19、 are five main views on metaphor in the field of linguistics and the traditional three are substitution theory, the comparison theory and the interaction theory. The substitution theory was developed by Roman rhetorician

20、 Quintilian in the 1st century. He holds that a metaphorical expression is used in place of some equivalent literal expression (quoted in Shu Dingfang 2000:3). The comparison theory can be traced back to Aristotle. Arist

21、otle regarded metaphor as “implicit comparison between </p><p>　　The contemporary theories of metaphor are two: the mapping theory and the blending theory.</p><p>　　Lakoff and Johnson’s conceptu

22、al metaphor theory marked the beginning of a new understanding of metaphor. The most fundamental notion of conceptual metaphor theory（CMT）is the “mapping”. Metaphor can be thought of as a mapping of features from a sourc

23、e domain to a target one. This mapping is ubiquitous, unidirectional, systematic, invariable and grounded in physical and sociocultural experience（Lakoff and Johnson 1980）.</p><p>　　The systematic projectio

24、n of elements from one conceptual domain onto elements of another involves not merely the objects and properties characteristic of the domain but also the relations, events, and scenarios that characterize the domain. Si

25、ngle sub-metaphors have a coherent structure in their own right, but also show coherence with other sub-metaphors at the same level, yielding a structured concept. Any given metaphor will be productive for certain parts

26、of its source domain. Only selected </p><p>　　Besides systematicity, the asymmetrical directionality of conceptual metaphors is one of the features most strongly emphasized by Lakoff and Johnson and other co

27、gnitive linguists. While a term like weather may be used metaphorically to refer to a set of economic and political circumstances, the reverse metaphor is not possible, linguistically or conceptually. This directionality

28、 is more than an interesting and characteristic feature of metaphorical conceptualizations; it is evidence against a tr</p><p>　　The emphasis on “experiential motivation” is another central principle of CMT.

29、 Lakoff and Johnson outline an “experientialist” theory that defines meaning and truth in terms of “embodied understanding”. Conceptual structure is embodied in so far as it arises from preconceptual experience, which is

30、 itself claimed to be “directly meaningful” ( Lakoff 1987: 267). Preconceptual experiences are structured in terms of basic-level categories, which are “characterized by gestalt perception, mental imag</p><p&

31、gt;　　To sum up, conceptual metaphor allows us to understand one domain of experience in terms of another, thus it is likely for us to make use of relatively familiar, tangible domain of experience to deal with relatively

32、 unfamiliar, less tangible domain of experience. Altogether, for our conceptualization of abstract concepts we rely on basic experiences.</p><p>　　The most important recent trend in cognitive metaphor studie

33、s was the advent of blending theory in the mid 1990s. The conceptual blending theory was introduced by some American scholars represented by Gills Fauconnier and Mark Turner. They developed a comprehensive theory to acco

34、unt for cognitive process, a frame work for exploring human information integration. Like metaphor in CMT terms, blending is understood as a pervasive phenomenon in human thought, one which shows its effects regularly in

35、</p><p>　　In conclusion, the establishment of conceptual metaphor theory symbolizes the emancipation from the bondage of traditional literature-and-rhetoric based metaphoric theories and the entry of evoluti

36、onary cognitive sciences. Metaphor has been acknowledged to be not only a figure of speech in the language, but also a unique approach to experience and comprehend one thing in terms of another. The study of conceptual m

37、etaphors mainly follows the Lakoff and Johnson’s methodology― the mapping theory, t</p><p>　　3 Elucidation of Conceptual Metaphors in Obama’s Inaugural Address </p><p>　　The most substantial typ

38、e of behavior by which speakers mobilize their followers is their linguistic performance, or on most formal occasions, speech delivery. Speakers, whether they are American presidents on their inaugural ceremonies or they

39、 are contestants on speaking competitions, have to rely on speeches to convince others of the benefits that may arise from their suggestions. Speakers must try their best to arouse, engage and satisfy the motives of thei

40、r followers by means of speeches.</p><p>　　The prevalence of metaphor in public speaking discourses is attested to in the contemporary literature. One of the most distinguishing features of public speaking d

41、iscourse is that it is a goal-driven discourse. Analysis of metaphors can add to our understanding of how specific ideological goals are achieved through the use of metaphors that match the speakers’ intentions with the

42、audiences’ experience and knowledge of their familiar domains. Therefore, the purpose of analyzing metaphors in publ</p><p>　　3.1 Journey metaphors</p><p>　　Journey metaphors have quite an outst

43、anding history in the tradition of cognitive linguistic research. Originally, Lakoff and Johnson (1980:44) propose conceptual metaphor “l(fā)ove is a journey” encompassing expressions such as “l(fā)ook how far we have come”, “we

44、 are at the crossroads”, “our marriage is on the rocks” etc. Lakoff and Johnson (1993:78) continue to suggest “ life is a journey” and then enlarge the journey metaphor as “purposeful activity is traveling along a path t

45、owards a destination.” </p><p>　　Journeys are one of the most commonplace metaphoric source domains and are a defining feature of public speaking discourse. Evidence of this idea can be found in metaphoric u

46、ses of “journey”, “path”, “route”, “way”, etc, which in turn serve the function of linguistic forms of the source domain for journey metaphors. All these are conventional ways of talking about progress towards a goal and

47、 are employed by the president in his inaugural address. This is illustrated by the following examples:</p><p>　　(1) Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less.</p><p>　　(2

48、) It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.</p><p>　　In example (1), the journey is conceived as the movement of t

49、he American people over a path towards prosperity and freedom. In example (2), we have this mapping onto the target domain: striving for establishing the United States of America is starting on a painstaking path.</p&

50、gt;<p>　　In journey metaphors the purposes of Obama’s actions are conceptualized as the destination of travelers. Obama emphasizes that the prosperity and freedom of American can only be gained through a long stru

51、ggle. It must be earned, however long it may take. Likewise, in all cases it is assumed that we want to attain a predetermined end. So journey metaphors imply social efforts towards worthwhile goals and can be represente

52、d by the conceptual metaphor “purposeful activity is traveling along a path </p><p>　　As a matter of fact, all journey metaphors have strong positive orientations such as morale enhancement and creation of a

53、 feeling of optimism: even when negative aspects of journeys are highlighted by the metaphor, such as burdens to bear, the effort necessary to achieve anything appraised as worth undertaking. These burdens are perfect re

54、minders to impel the audience to take actions. Just as example (2) implies, not all journeys are pleasant. We may encounter dangers and, at times, may slip, st</p><p>　　3.2 Building metaphors</p><

55、p>　　The building metaphor has been commonly used in discourses in a variety of forms to emphasize different aspects of a sociocultural phenomenon. Building is taken to be an archetypal creative activity and therefore

56、symbolizes constructive human endeavors and there is clear evidence that the underlying conceptual metaphor is “worthwhile activity is building ( Lakoff and Johnson 1980：89).” Generally speaking, words from the lexical f

57、ield of building have a literal reference but the word that is most</p><p>　　(3) And we will act not only to create new jobs but to lay a new foundation for growth.</p><p>　　In example (3), the

58、idea that lay a new foundation for economic growth in America is regarded as the symbol of a worthwhile endeavor. Here, Obama calls on all the American people to take bold and swift action to make contribution to the eco

59、nomy.</p><p>　　Building metaphors are motivated by the conceptual metaphor “society is a building” and constantly convey a positive evaluation because a cherished outcome requires social cooperation between

60、parties that may hold different opinions. As in example (3), such metaphor conveys a positive evaluation of an activity because its outcome is valuable. Metaphors from the source domain of building are typically evaluati

61、ve, carrying a strong positive connotation and are employed to express aspiration toward</p><p>　　As with journey metaphors, building metaphors highlight the need for patience since it also takes time and ef

62、fort to construct a building. This is evidently effective in giving a sense of purpose to the suffering and difficulty that people encounter in their everyday lives. After all, it is a common sense that a soaring skyscra

63、per can’t be completed within a single day.</p><p>　　3.3 Conflict metaphors</p><p>　　Metaphors from the source domain of conflict include words such as “fight”, “battle”, “threat”, “defeat”, etc

64、. In its original sense, if an army or a group fights a battle with another army or group, they oppose each other with weapons. We can also say that two armies or groups fight a battle. In a more abstract sense, to live

65、in contemporary society is far from easy and leisurely, and we are constantly encountered with challenges and difficulties. An effort to survive in today’s world is to kee</p><p>　　(4) Our nation is at war a

66、gainst a far- reaching network of violence and hatred.</p><p>　　(5) You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.</p><p>　　In example (4), terrorism and economic crisis are conceptualized as en

67、emies. Here, conflict metaphors are well employed to clarify the transparent standpoint that these enemies are strongly opposed to by the American people. In example (5), Obama does not mention the parties concerned dire

68、ctly. It is a better policy to avoid offending parties concerned and to illustrate one’s own opinions unilaterally. Naturally, this strategy has been adopted by the president consciously.</p><p>　　Conflict m

69、etaphors commonly have an important role in the evaluation of abstract social goals. It is suggested that the domain of conflict highlights the personal sacrifice and physical struggle necessary to achieve social goals.

70、We could employ conflict metaphors to imply that some form of short-term hardship is necessary to attain long-term worthwhile goals. Much effort should be expended towards the attainment of a worthwhile goal. This is cle

71、arly effective in giving a sense of purpose to the</p><p>　　4 Persuasive Function of the metaphors in Obama’s Inaugural Address </p><p>　　The employment of metaphor in President Barack Obama’s i

72、naugural address can be only explained by its effectiveness. Metaphor is a highly serviceable rhetorical strategy for combining our understanding of familiar experiences in everyday life with deep-rooted sociocultural va

73、lues that evoke powerful emotion responses. Metaphor is vital to public speaking because it mediates between the conscious and sensible basis of ideology and its unconscious elements. Metaphor draws on the unconscious em

74、otio</p><p>　　4.1 Metaphor and persuasion</p><p>　　Persuasion is an interactive communicative process in which a message sender aims to influence the beliefs, attitudes and behavior of the messa

75、ge receiver (Jowett, G and O’ Donnell 1992: 21-26). Although the receiver’s role is passive, if persuasion is to be successful, the message needs to comply with their wants and needs, their desires and imagination. Jowet

76、t and O’ Donnell (1992 ) argue that there are three ways in which the persuader may seek to influence the receiver of a persuasive messag</p><p>　　People are reluctant to change; thus, in order to convince t

77、hem to do so, the persuader has to relate change to something in which the persuadee already believes. This is called an “anchor” because it is already accepted by the persuadee and will be used to tie down new attitudes

78、 or behaviors. An anchor is a starting point for a change because it represents something that is already widely accepted by the potential persuadees. (1992; 22-23)</p><p>　　This is particularly true in publ

79、ic contexts where the majority is often unsure or uncommitted on the detailed content of measures raised. They respond more effectively to messages with reference to familiar experiences such as journeys, buildings, conf

80、licts, etc. In journey metaphors, Obama emphasizes that the greatness of the United States of America is never a given. It is a process of painstaking effort. It has been the “path” for the risk-takers, the doers, the ma

81、kers of things who have car</p><p>　　(6) Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only

82、 the pleasures of riches and fame. </p><p>　　From the above illustrations, it is safe to claim that successful speakers are those who can develop their argument with evidence derived from beliefs about the

83、world around them. Messages become persuasive when they evoke things that are already well-known or are at least familiar. The persuader is advocating a belief shared by the audience present. As Jowett and O’ Donnell go

84、on to say:</p><p>　　A persuader analyses an audience in order to be able to express its needs, desires, personal and social beliefs, and values as well as its attitudes and concerns about the social outcome

85、of the persuasive situation. The persuader is a voice from without speaking the language of the audiences’ voice within.( ibid.; 25-26)</p><p>　　An indispensable function of metaphor choice, therefore, is it

86、s rhetorical aim of persuasion. Metaphor selection in particular types of discourse, in some sense, is governed by the rhetorical aim of persuasion. For the reason that metaphor is persuasive it is frequently employed di

87、scursively in rhetorical and argumentative language such as speeches.</p><p>　　4.2 Metaphor and intention</p><p>　　Persuasion is a multi-layered discourse function that is the outcome of a compl

88、ex interaction between linguistic choice and intentions. In persuasion the active role of the sender is characterized by deliberate intentions: persuasion does not occur by chance but out of the sender’s purposes. In oth

89、er words, persuasion either seeks to confirm or to challenge existing beliefs, attitudes and values; that is, persuasion is never devoid of intention. As Jamieson (1985: 49) argues:</p><p>　　Intention is a k

90、ind of forcing device in the imaginative consciousness; it concentrates and thus it excludes; it is a selective device, selecting an image to be raised into consciousness from a range of alternatives. Without intention,

91、nothing has prominence, therefore one has to intend when one imagines. The ideological quality of a speaker’s intentions behind the use of a metaphor is very much in the eye of the beholder. Identification of possible in

92、tentions underlying metaphor choice through </p><p>　　In this respect, we can see that it is indeed underlying utterance meaning, as determined by the speaker’s intention, which is central in understanding w

93、hat metaphor is. In order to understand why one conceptual metaphor is preferred to another we need necessarily to consider the speaker’s intentions.</p><p>　　In “journey metaphors”, every “way” has three al

94、ternatives, e.g. “to go forward”, “to stand still”, “to draw back”. Among these three choices, “to go forward” is given unquestionable priority, because the intention is to follow the speaker’s footsteps and to arrive at

95、 an ideal and appealing situation described. Just as in example (7), President Obama emphasizes that it has been the hardworking American who have carried the nation up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedo

96、m. It is men</p><p>　　(7) Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things― some celebrated, but more often man and women obscure in their labor― who have carried us up the long, rugged p

97、ath towards prosperity and freedom.</p><p>　　Once metaphor choice is seen as a conscious selection of one linguistic form to make a discourse persuasive, we can explain this choice with reference to both soc

98、ial and individual considerations. By becoming aware of linguistic choices we are also becoming aware of the speakers’ underlying assumptions. Since metaphor is a way of creating cognitive and affective meaning, by chang