Conceptual Metaphors and Metonymies in Chinese American Literary Works
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/jlapsu.2023.4Keywords:
Chinese American, metaphor, metonymy, literary worksAbstract
Metaphors and metonymies, which are types of figures of speech, can be used as the basis to analyze the esthetics of literary works. However, in cognitive linguistics, metaphors and metonymies are also pervasive in our everyday life and reflect human conceptualizations. Employing cognitive linguistics perspectives, this research, is aimed to analyze the conceptual metaphors and metonymies (Lakoff & Johnson, 2003) in two Chinese American literary works: The Joy Luck Club (Tan, 2016) and Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (Chua, 2011). Major conceptual metaphors and metonymies were extracted from the two books. The data gained were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed and categorized into themes. The results revealed that, of all 322 cases found, 83-84% showed
a combination of conceptual metaphors and metonymies. After being classified into 21 theme groups, the analysis revealed that the center of most conceptual metaphors and metonymies was found to be linked to “human.” This finding indicated that conceptual metaphors and metonymies were, most of the time, based on human life and experiences that were pervasive in everyday life. These conceptual metaphors and metonymies are shared universally and play a role in truly understanding culture-specific beliefs and practices, especially in the Chinese American society. It is hoped that better understanding of the commonality gained from this research can help guide future research in cognitive linguistic analysis of other literary works.
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