describe the vertical development process of an idea. So the structural metaphor IDEAS ARE PLANTS become a complete system.
4.3.2 The external systematicity among the different structural metaphors Not only the single structural metaphor is a system, the different structural
metaphors may constitute a system. This section can be explained from the following two parts. Here, we need to make it clear the difference between tenor and vehicle. Tenor can be understood as the target domain in the sentence while the vehicle can be viewed as the source domain. For example:
Love is War.
In this sentence, Love can be understood as the tenor while War can be viewed as the vehicle.
4.3.2.1 The systematicity among the structural metaphors with the same tenors
The external systematicity can be understood as the characteristics of the vehicle is similar with those of tenors, which means that the same tenor can be analysed from different perspectives rather than from different stages.A concept are always understood in terms of a number of different metaphors. The more abstract a concept is, the more metaphors are created, for there are more users understanding it in more ways. For example: A.IDEAS ARE FOOD
What he said left a bad taste in my mouth. B.IDEAS ARE PRODUCTS
We need to take the rough edges off that idea, hone it down, and smooth it out. C.IDEAS ARE BUILDINGS.
We need some more facts or the argument will fall apart. D.IDEAS ARE PEOPLE
He breathed new life into that idea.
The above metaphors analyses the characteristics of ideas from different angles.
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\receivers. \
4.3.2.2 The systematicity among the structural metaphors with the same vehicle
Different from the above ideas, the same vehicle can reflect the different tenors, which can be divided into: the consistency and inconsistency of the vehicles.
1) The consistency of vehicles
The vehicle is the common event or concept with obvious structure, so it is able to be used to describe other concepts. The concept \argument and love.
1. ARGUMENT IS WAR
(1) His criticisms were right on target. (2) He shot down all my arguments. 2. LOVE IS WAR
(1) He is slowly gaining ground with her. (2) He made an ally of her mother.
So both LOVE and ARGUMENT can be mapped onto the same vehicle WAR. Compared 1 with 2, we come to the conclusion that the vehicles in the sentences are the same, that is WAR. We can understand in this way: in the argument, we see the person we are arguing with as an opponent, we attack his position and we defend, we may lose or win the argument. In the war of love, what happens is the same, all the pursuers compete for their lover, the results can be either the winner gets his lover or no winner appears for the person for the person doesn’t love any one of them. This is what we mean “the consistency of vehicles”.
2) The inconsistency of vehicles
Sometimes the structure of the vehicle is inconsistent, so the different metaphors created by it are diverse. Take the \“ fire” from two different perspectives.
A:
INTEREST IS FIRE
He has a burning interest in biology.
From the above example, we may come to the conclusion that \is
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connected with warmth, passion, hope, light and wisdom, which conveys the active meanings. B:
ARGUMENT IS FIRE
Tempers flared and harsh words were exchanged.
Different from A, the above example tells us that \stands for danger, disaster and harm, which conveys the negative meanings.
We are able to discover that the vehicles in the above examples are the same, that is FIRE. According to what we have mentioned above, we are able to figure out that FIRE can either refer to warmth, passion or danger, disaster, one is active in meaning and the other is negative in meaning, which reflects the inconsistency of vehicles.
We are able to discover that the \much more complex than \comparing the two vehicles.
4.3.3 A case study: Idioms denoting anger under motivation of structural metaphor
In the Metaphor We Live by , Lakoff pointed out that emotions have an extremely complex conceptual structure, and many idioms denoting anger reflect some “ coherent cognitive model.”
1) ANGER IS INSANITY
This metaphor has the following correspondences: The cause of insanity is the cause of anger
Becoming insane is passing the limit point on the anger scale We could find the corresponding idioms in the following sentences:
(1) You are driving me nuts!
(2) When the umpire called him out on strikes, he went bananas.
2) ANGER IS A DANGEROUS ANIMAL
This metaphor reflects anger is very dangerous. (1) He has a ferocious temper (2) To jump down someone’s throat
3) ANGER IS AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR
Aggressive behavior is one kind of the misbehavior caused by anger. (1) She gave him a tongue-lashing
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(2) I really chewed him out good!
5. Conclusion
Based on the approaches we have mentioned, we may get access to a general understanding of metaphor and idiom. The knowledge of the sources of idioms may help us to comprehend what they really mean. For example, in English, bread is usually eaten together with butter to make it more tasty, and butter is made from milk and cream, and thus appear “hard cheese”. In terms of metaphor, scholars focus their researches on ontological metaphors, orientational metaphors and structural metaphors, which can be best seen in the book Metaphors We Live By.
All these approaches contribute to this thesis, especially the cognitive approaches. They concern the relationship between idiom and cognition, which initiates the research of idiom and metaphor. This thesis tries to reveal metaphorical features of idiom according to Lakoff’s theory. On the other hand, it will deepen our understanding of idiom and promote the research on idiom.
The main body of this thesis is to reveal the metaphorical features of idioms from the three kinds of metaphors: ontological metaphors, structural metaphors and orientational metaphors.
The main objective of this research is to analyse the metaphorical features of English idioms according to Lakoff’s theory, thus providing evidence for the cognitive linguist’s claim that our abstract reasoning is largely metaphorical and that
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there should exist universal metaphorical concept.
Acknowledgements
My initial thanks go to my supervisor Zhu Min, who patiently supervised my dissertation and was at times very willing to offer me illuminating advice or suggestions. Without her help, I could not have finished this dissertation.
I am also indebted to other teachers and my classmates who have not only offered me their warm encouragements but also shared with me their ideas and books.
My greatest personal debt is to my grandparents and parents, who have cultivated a soul of sensitivity, hospitality, and honesty out of me, and offered a harbor of happiness and sweetness for me.
The remaining weakness and possible errors of the dissertation are entirely my own.
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