VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES NGUYEN TIEN DUNG CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR IN POLITICAL DISCOURSES (FROM ENGLISH & VIETNAMESE RESOURCES) Field of study: Code: Linguistics 9.22.90.20 SUMMARY OF PHD THESIS IN LINGUISTICS HANOI - 2019 The thesis is completed at: GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES VIỆN NGÔN NGỮ HỘC VIỆN KHOA HỌC XÁC HỘI VIỆT NAM Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Hong Con Examiner 1: Prof Dr Do Viet Hung Examiner 2: Prof Dr Nguyen Quang Examiner 3: Assoc Prof Dr Pham Van Tinh The thesis is defended at the Board of Examination of Academy level, summoned at the Graduate Academy of Social Sciences, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, 477 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi At … o’clock date … month … year 2019 Archived at: the National Library the Library of the Graduate Academy of Social Sciences PREFACE THE NECESSITY OF THE TOPIC 1.1 From the perspective of the cognitive linguistics, metaphor is a typical and effective cognitive instrument for human to conceptualize abstract concepts, and a human’s reasoning mode of the world Most human’s cognitive process of the surrounding world is based on metaphorical concepts which are to structurize and exert effects on human’s languages Apart from its importance, metaphor is found prevalent in all facets of life Metaphor is used commonly in daily conversations and in such fields as economics, politics, culture, education, science The most fundamental and universal concepts of the world are cognitized via metaphorical mappings originating from realistic and specific experiences undergone or accumulated in daily life Reseaching metaphor from the perspective of cognitive linguistics is a new trend which draws the interest of many temporary linguists 1.2 There has been much research on literature, poetics, science, law, press and on metaphor in political discourse in the world However, research on conceptual metaphor in Vietnam is limited in terms of number and variety, let alone research on metaphor in political discourse 1.3 Conceptual metaphor in political discourse is a complex but attractive issue since each political discourse contains tactics, strategies and impacts of the whole political system and a culture which are expressed vividly and persuasively through the use of political metaphor of political speakers The choice of the dissertation topic “Conceptual metaphor in political discourses (from English and Vietnamese resources)”, the researcher wishes to offer additional evidence in this field of research in Vietnam, helping to further clarify how native speaker of English and Vietnamese cognitize the world THE OBJECT AND SCOPE OF RESEARCH 2.1 The object of research The object of research in this dissertation is conceptual metaphors in a number of political discourses of political leaders in such English speaking countries as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia as well as Vietnamese political leaders 2.2 The scope of research The dissertation focuses on structural metaphor and ontological metaphor in English and Vietnamese political discourses of a number of political leaders such English speaking countries as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia as well as Vietnam since the 20th century THE OBJECTIVE AND DUTY OF RESEARCH 3.1 The objective of research The thesis researches the use of structural and ontological metaphors in English and Vietnamese political discourses from the perspective of cognitive linguistics in an attempt to clarify the features of various types of conceptual metaphors commonly used in English and Vietnamese political discourses, the role of these conceptual metaphors, the similarities and differences of conceptual metaphors in the political discourses of the two languages The thesis then presents explanations to the similarities and differences (if applicable) on the linguistic, cultural and reasoning basis 3.2 The duty of research (1) Investigating the research and theoretical basis of conceptual metaphor in English and Vietnamese political discourses; (2) Collecting and describing conceptual metaphor in English and Vietnamese political discourses to clarify the use, the conceptualization and the role of conceptual metaphor in English and Vietnamese political discourses; (3) Contrasting to figure out the similarities and differences and analyze the effects of language, culture and reasoning to explain the above features of conceptual metaphor in English and Vietnamese political discourses METHODOLOGY The thesis uses such methods of research as: analysis and description; discourse analysis; comparison-contrast In addition, the following techniques are also utilized: statistics and classification THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE DISSERTATION 5.1 In theory The research findings will contribute to concepts, linguistic phrases, semantics, pragmatics and mappings of conceptual metaphor in English and Vietnamese political discourses, a little-researched field in Vietnam The research will also assert the advantage of cognitive linguistics and theory of conceptual metaphor in the analysis and comparison of English and Vietnamese political discourses 5.2 In practice The thesis will help linguists to futher understand conceptual metaphor from the perspective of cognitive linguistics in English and Vietnamese political discourses The research will also help translators and interpreters of political English, lecturers and students majoring in English have deeper understanding of English and Vietnamese political discourses The research findings will help with the translation and interpretation of political materials, compilation and design of Engligh teaching materials, especially for the ESP context, improving the effectiveness and quality of teaching material use and English teaching – learning at the universities THE STRUCTURE OF DISSERTATION The thesis comprises three chapters (apart from the Preface, Conlcusion, List of dissertation-related published works of the researcher, List of References, and Appendices): Chapter 1: Overview of previous studies and Theoretical Base; Chapter 2: Investigating the structural metaphor in English and Vietnamese political discourses; Chapter 3: Investigating the ontological metaphor in English and Vietnamese political discourses Chapter OVERVIEW OF PREVIOUS STUDIES AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 Overview of previous studies 1.1.1 Researching metaphor from the traditional perspective The classic linguistic theory regards metaphor as an issue of linguistics rather than of reasoning or action; and metaphor is believed not to be found in daily language In other words, metaphor is found only in poetics - a special type of language Metaphor is based on the similarities or comparison between the literal and figurative meanings of a linguistic phrase and such similarities make it possible to explain the use of a word in metaphorical manner Some Vietnamese linguists also see the similaritiers between two objects as the base of metaphor (Do Huu Chau, 1962; Nguyen Thien Giap, 1998) 1.1.2 Researching metaphor from the perspective of cognitive linguistics 1.1.2.1 Foreign research Research in cognitive linguistics dates back to the 1980s with such names as G Lakoff, M Johnson, G Fauconnier, Ch Fillmore, R Jackendoff, R Langacker, L Talmy, M Turner, A Wierzbicka Unlike the traditional perspective, cognitive linguistics regards metaphor as an important instrument for conceptualization Cognitive linguistics studies metaphor via experiences and sees metaphor as a cognitive phenomenon rather than a linguistic one In 1980 Lakoff and Johnson initiated the theory of conceptual metaphor and in the past years, the theory has developed intensively and extensively The initial research trend regards conceptual metaphor as arising mainly from embodiment Lakoff (1987) points that the emotional metaphors are found in language and arise from human’s cultural and bio-physical ground Grady (1997) has made major progress in the theory of metaphor when asserting hat daily experience and emotional experience of human is the ground for subjective assessments of linguistic cognition Fauconnier Turner (2002) have developed the theory of blended space with metaphorical mappings serving as a neuro map and creating natural neuro mechanisms in metaphorical reasoning on the physical basis Later, with some other researchers, Lakoff has developed the theory about the role of metaphor in the creation of human’s conceptual system and structure of natural language into the theory of embodied mind, researching the reliance of human’s reasoning capacity and worldview on the structure of human’s body and mind Metaphor is a cognitive mechanism through which the logic of abstract concepts is replaced with the logic of more concrete concepts It is a significant mechanism through which we can have complicated reasoning The cognitive mechanism of metaphor comprises the source domain and target domain in human’s perception with the features of the source domain mapping onto the target domain Both the source domain and target domain are concepts structured as the field-function, center- periphere model with the concepts in the center being universal and the periphere comprising linguistic and national cultural elements to be found in a typical cultural “frame” or “foundation” The focal point of conceptual metaphor is not the language but the way we conceptualize a mind field through another mind field Researchers in other fields have also applied the theory of conceptual metaphor to investigate metaphor in law, poetry, politics, psychology, physics, computer science, math and philosophy Research findings of metaphor structure have helped to clarify the way man reasons in certain intellectual fields 1.1.2.2 Domestic research In Vietnam, Nguyen Lai is regarded as the first linguist researching cognitive tendency with the textbook “Words denoting to movement in Vietnamese language” (1990) which studies the semantic development of words denoting movement RA VÀO, LÊN - XUỐNG, ĐẾN - TỚI, LẠI - QUA, SANG - VỀ from the perspective of cognitive linguistics with the embodiment theory seeing the human’s body as the source The one who officially laid the foundation for cognitive linguistics in Vietnam systematically is Ly Toan Thang (2005) with the book titled “Ngôn ngữ học tri nhận – từ lý thuyết đại cương đến thực tiễn tiếng Việt” The author studies the way to perceive space and time in languge when approaching the space with the mancentered principle; accordingly, language reflects the way man perceives the world through pairs of location concepts according to the position of man in the space like above - under, front - back, right - left, in - out,… and time concepts according to the position of man through tenses: past, present and future In 2008, Nguyen Van Hiep looked at the approach of cognitive linguistics to the role of meaning when analyzing and describing syntax In 2009, Tran Van Co systematically and comprehensively synthesized the central issues related to the theory of conceptual metaphor from the “Metaphors we live by” of Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and “Women, Fire and The Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about The Mind” of Lakoff (1987) In the recent years, most research in cognitive linguistics has been in conceptual metaphor Phan The Hung (2007: 12) rejects comparison view when claiming that “metaphor is not simply the hidden comparison but the classification under the deep structure of reasoning” The author states that: metaphorical comparison conforms to the layer of hierachy and the nature of classification is the basis of metaphor; metaphor is irreversable and the relation between objects in metaphor is not assymmetric Vo Kim Ha (2011) studies the expression of metaphor in Vietnamese language according ot the theory of prototype in comparison with English and French using the press articles and literature works as the linguistic data Ha Thanh Hai (2011) researches the conceptual metaphor in English – Vietnamese economic press articles on the basis of the relation between language, culture and reasoning Ly Lan (2012) studies from multi-perspectives the “embodiment” in the expression of emotional concepts of HAPPINESS, LOVE, SCARE, ANGER Tran Thi Phuong Ly (2012) studies the conceptual metaphor of plants, the conceptual transfer model from concept of plants to other concepts Vi Truong Phuc (2013) investigates the emotional conceptual metaphors of human Nguyen Thi Bich Hanh (2015) uses the conceptual metaphor theory to study conceptual metaphors in the lyrics of Trinh Cong Son, a research work with the cross-interaction between language, poetry and music; Nguyen Thi Bich Hop (2012) also uses the theory of conceptual metaphor to study the cognitive features and cultural traits of Vietnamese people through the conceptual metaphor “food” Nguyen Thi Nhu Ngoc (2015) investigates the use of conceptual metaphor in American political speeches It can be stated that in Vietnam, the issues of cognitive linguistics in general and the theory of conceptual metaphor in particular have drawn the interest of many linguists Nevertheless, research of conceptual metaphor in political discourses in Vietnam is still limited, highlighting the necessity of further research on the issue 1.1.3 Research of conceptual metaphor in political discourses 1.1.3.1 Foreign research There have been a number of research works on conceptual metaphor in political discourses in the world In his book “Moral Politics: What Conservatives Know That Liberals Don’t, Lakoff (1996) analyzes the viewpoints being the foundation of political thinking in the US and sees the conceptual metaphor FAMILY at the center of the social conceptualization system in American politics Lakoff has listed a number of common conceptual metaphors namely THE NATION IS A FAMILY, THE GOVERNMENT IS A PARENT, THE CITIZENS ARE THE CHILDREN Vestermark (2007) investigates the choice and use of conceptual metaphor in inaugural speeches of four American Presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H.W Bush, Bill Clinton and George W Bush, coming to the conclusion that the deliberate use of conceptual metaphors in the speeches of the four Presidents is to exert an impact on the attitude and thinking of the listeners The author has noticed the frequent use of personification concept to regard America as a person in the speeches of the four Presidents, with the conceptual metaphors namely NATION AS A PERSON, NATION WITH HUMAN ATTRIBUTES and NATION ACTING AS HUMAN Analysing of 06 discourses of President George W Bush, Fadda (2006) notices the appearance of the conceptual metaphor WAR AS A FAIRY TALE Meadows (2006) analysing the speeches of American politicians about Iraq in the 2004-2005 period also confirms the commonality of the conceptual metaphor WAR AS A FAIRY TALE Arcimaviciene (2008) witnesses the commonality of the conceptual metaphors POLITICS AS SPORTS / GAMBLING in the UK while the metaphor POLITICS AS A TEAM GAME / HUNT is common in the Republic of Latvia despite deriving from the same general conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS SPORTS Taiwo (2013) mentions the commonality of such conceptual metaphors related to the nations, politicians and politics in English political discourses of Nigeria as NATION AS A FAMILY, NATION AS A PERSON, POLITICIAN AS BUILDER, POLITICS AS A BATTLE and POLITICS AS A JOURNEY Stenvoll (2011) points out the presence of the conceptual metaphor POLITICS IS PHYSICS, Pikalo (2011) points to the conceptual metaphors INDIVIDUALS AS SOCIAL ATOMS, STATES AS MASS PARTICLES, and Ringmar (2011) mentions STATE AS A MUSICAL DIRECTOR and STATE AS A MACHINE Investigating the conceptual metaphor NATION AS A FAMILY in speeches of American politicians like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain, Ahrens and Sphia Yat Mei Lee (2009) notices the more common use of the metaphor GOVERNMENT AS A NURTURING PARENT than the use of the metaphor GOVERNMENT AS A STRICT FATHER no matter whether those are from the Republican party or the Democratic one Such findings differ from the previous comments of Lakoff (1996) that Republican party members tend to refer to the model of STRICT FATHER in their speeches It can be seen that research on conceptual metaphor in political discourses varies but research findings reveal a high degree of concentration on such conceptual metaphors as NATION AS A PERSON, NATION WITH HUMAN ATTRIBUTES and NATION AS A FAMILY, which is in line with the viewpoint of Lakoff (1996) 1.1.3.2 Domestic research In Vietnam there has been some research on conceptual metaphors in political discourses Nguyen Thi Nhu Ngoc (2015) in her thesis titled “Ẩn dụ văn diễn thuyết trị Mỹ việc dịch ẩn dụ từ tiếng Anh sang tiếng Việt” has classified conceptual metaphors in political discourses into 14 source domains (13 source domains already mentioned in previous research and a newly found source domain – economic / financial value) and common target domains Nguyen Tien Dung (2015) studies the structural conceptual metaphor NATION IS A BUILDING in English and Vietnamese political discourses and confirms the universal similarity in the way the US and Vietnamese politicians express the conceptual metaphor NATION IS A BUILDING In another work, Nguyen Tien Dung (2016) investigates the conceptual metaphora in English political discourses and notices the diversity of conceptual metaphors in English political discourses but the common focus on such ontological metaphors as NATION AS A PERSON, NATION WITH HUMAN ATTRIBUTES and NATION AS A FAMILY Resrarching the conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS A JOURNEY in articles on Nhan dan newspaper – online version, Nguyen Thi Bich Hanh and Ho Thi Thoa (2018) point to conceptual metaphors: POLITICS AS A ROCKY JOURNEY, POLITICS AS A JOURNEY OF TRAVELERS WITH THE SAME PURPOSE, POLITICS IS A JOURNEY OF DIRECTION AND CHOICES, POLITICS IS A RACE TO DESTINATION and confirm the existence of the simulation mechanism of domains (journey and politics) in the language and culture of the Vietnamese Nguyen Tien Dung (2018) investigates the conceptual metaphors in speeches of President Ho Chi Minh and notices the commonality of such sources as HUMAN ACTIVITIES, FAMILY, JOURNEY, BUILDING and LIVING BODY with 22 different conceptual metaphors As a matter of fact, research on conceptual metaphors in political discourse is considerable but is still limited in Vietnam, failing to draw the interest of many Vietnamese linguists in the cognitive approach 1.2 Theoretical background 1.2.1 An overview of cognitive science and cognitive linguistics Cognitive science was born in the second half of the 20th century with the purpose to study human’s intelligence from perception to action, from language to reasoning Cognitive science concerns the mind and the way information is processed in the mind Cognitive science sets the goal to find answers to the reasoning and experience of the world, the conceptual system and the way to organize human’s conceptual system In the late 1970s, some research in linguistics started turning towards the cognitive approach with the interest in the relation between language and mind, between language elements and the externalities, specifically the way human perceive and classify objects and phenomena in the surrounding world mapped onto language By the late 1980s, cognitive linguistics theory was developed by Fillmore, Talmy and especially Lakoff with his research on metaphor and Langacker with the formation of cognitive grammar theory According to Ly Toan Thang (2008), cognitive linguistics is a new trend in modern linguistics with the foucs being “researching language on the ground of human’s experience and perception of the world as well as the way human perceive and conceptualize the surrounding world” Tran Van Co (2007) states that cognitive linguistics researches human’s mental process through natural language and differentiates the two pictures of the world from the view of cognitive linguistics: the scientific picture of the world formed form the logical concepts reflecting human’s cognition of the objective reality; and the language picture of the world being the way human embody the worldview through language materials with the objective reality perceived by different body organs It can be said that cognitive linguistics is a way to approach languages based on human’s experiences of the world and the way human perceive and conceptualize the world Cognitive linguistics is confined to cognitions related to human’s study and use of languages The objective reality reflected in human’s brain forms the world and structure of cognition Cognitive linguistics aims at researching the effects of cognitive structure and the rules of cognitive structure on languages Ly Toan Thang (2005) states that cognitive linguistics consists of three main approaches with different key points: the “experience” approach, the “prominence” approach and the “attention getter” approach 1.2.2 Concepts and conceptualization Cognitive models are structured by concepts Cognitive linguistics regards concepts as the top research object Concepts are understood as a unit of perception, the mental symbols reflecting the way human perceives the surrounding world and interacts with that world Concepts include relatiopns and impressions being experiences of language users Concepts cover pragmatics, interaction, society-culture of languages in use Concepts are not only the outcome of the reflection of the objective world into human’s mind but also the product of the cognitive process Concepts are universal and national since they are closely attached to a nation’s language and culture The structure of concepts reflects the psychology of language and is the mid-layer linking language and cognition Conceptualization is understood as the process to form concepts, the process of development from feeling to reasoning; in other words, conceptualization is the process of development from abstract reasoning to vivid intuition One of the fundamental theories of cognitive linguistics is: semantics is conceptualization Language units express concepts which are co-related in meaning to those language units This relation is visualized in a conceptual structure comprising the concept shadow and the concept foundation, also called cognitive domains Hence, the meaning of language units must be defined in terms of shadow concepts and foundation concepts 1.2.3 Conceptual metaphor Conceptual metaphor is one of the form of conceptualization, the mapping of one structure from a concept domain onto another concept domain, the means of cognition of man in general Therefore, the similarity between conceptual metaphors in different languages is fundamental and the difference, if there is, is found in the dimension being activated; in other words, conceptual metaphors of different languages are mainly alike and the difference is only found in language expressions reflecting the differences in the choice of the perspectives of a concept or partial concepts in a concept domain The cognitive mechanism of conceptual metaphors is related to two knowledge domains, namely the source domain and the target domain, which exists inherently in human’s perception The two domains are systematically connected for there are systematic similarities between the two domains or a relation in line with human’s experiences Conceptual metaphor is a combination of mappings from the source domain to the target domain where metaphorical linguistic expressions display conceptual metaphors The source domain and the target domain are concepts structured as the field-function model: center-periphere, with the concept in the center bearing universality of mankind and at the periphere being national language and culture in a specific cultural “frame” The view “the target domain is the source domain” illustrates the tendency of man reasoning about abstract concepts through more concrete concepts The mapping in the conceptual metaphor structure is a fixed system of correspondences between elements forming the source domain and the target domain When the system of correspondences is activated, from the source domain the metaphor to persuade listener since metaphor is one of the most common instruments to exert heavy-weight persuasion and undertake the propaganda in political discourse Summary of Chapter Conceptual metaphor is reasoned on the basis of concepts Concepts are not only universal but also socio-culturally typical The mechanism of conceptual metaphor is in line with the mapping mechanism between the two space domains Conceptual metaphor in political discourse is complicated but very interesting since each discourse contains tactics, strategies and effects of the whole political system and the culture expressed vividly and persuasively through the use of conceptual metaphors of politicians Chapter INVESTIGATING STRUCTURAL METAPHORS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE POLITICAL DISCOURSES 2.1 Structural metaphors in English political discourses 2.1.1 Structural metaphors with the source domain HUMAN ACTIVITIES 2.1.1.1 POLITICS AS A JOURNEY Conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS A JOURNEY is commonly found in political discourses and can be defined according to the following mapping: a) traveler politicians / government b) path / road political activities c) destination political goals d) means of transport policies of government đ) obstacle political problems The main features of the conceptual metaphor POLITICS IS A JOURNEY are go / move forward, step, journey, traveler, path/pathway, road, route The conceptualization of political activities as a journey can help with clear visualization and awareness of the issue Politicians also face problems in their political career They bear burdens, making it hard to move to the destination Such burdens can be the responsibilities and duties on those who are national leaders The journey is mainly towards ahead on a fixed route However, the travelers may lag behind their companions as they fail to surpass the obstacles And sometimes they find themselves at a crossroad and they wonder which path to choose to get to the destination Likewise, in the political life, politicians sometimes face problems and have to make a hard decision, choosing an appropriate policy to reach the set goal Under this concept, there are a number of sub-level conceptual metaphors POLITICS AS A ORIENTATIONAL JOURNEY, POLITICS AS A JOURNEY ON A ROUTE, POLITICS AS A JIOURNEY OF TRAVELERS WITH THE SAME DESTINATION, POLITICS AS A JOURNEY WITH OBSTACLES 2.1.1.2 POLITICS AS BUILDING The conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS BUILDING comprises two sub-level conceptual metaphors THE NATION IS A BUILDING and POLITICIAN IS A BUILDER The conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS BUILDING can be identified as the following mappings: a) foundation base of a political system b) building government system c) collapse failure of political system d) fracture weakness of government system đ) stability stability of political system e) builder political leader f) build form political system g) cement connector of government system The features of the sub-level conceptual metaphors THE NATION IS A BUILDING and POLITICIAN AS A BUILDER are often expressed through such words and phrases as build / rebuild, cement, collapse, construct, crack / fracture, foundation / ground, shaking, solid, stable, wall The concept BUILDING is a very familiar concept to human since it is one of the essential needs of human: food, clothes, accommodation and workplace Human evolved from apes to primitive people living in caves and late civilized people living and working in modern buildings It can be said that building sites develop through time, marking the development and evolution of human’s civilized society Hence, it can be seen that the concept building is an appropriate source domain to help us express the abstract concept nation growing and developing 2.1.1.3 POLITICS AS WAR Human often conceptualizes the source domains of war and conflict in the fields of politics, love, argument and economics; therefore, the conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS WAR is one of the most common conceptual metaphors expressed in political discourses The conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS WAR and its sub-level metaphors POLITICIANS AS SOLDIERS and POLITICAL FIELD AS BATTLEFIELD can be identified as the following mappings: a) battlefield political field b) soldier politician c) war, conflict clashes among political parties d) fight, attack political move đ) weapon political trick The concept fight/war is one of the familiar concepts of human because throughout the history of formation and development of man’s society since the early time, man has fought non-stop against severe nature, beasts, enemies, invaders and other problems so as to exist and develop This is expressed in the subconscious metaphorical reasoning of man and metaphors have functioned to describe the reality 2.1.2 Structural metaphors with the source domain NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 2.1.2.1 POLITICS AS A WEATHER PHENOMENON Weather has always been a common factor in human life since the time of hunting and gathering for livelihood, then settling to live on farming to the civilized society Hence, the presence of weather in conceptual metaphors in political discourses can be anticipated The conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS A WEATHER PHENOMENON and its sub-class ones such as INNOVATION AS WIND, CHANGE AS STORM can be identified as in the following mappings: a) weather political environment b) dawn new period c) sunset end of a period d) wind innovation đ) storm political instability 2.1.2.2 POLITICS AS LIGHT AND DARK The source domain NATURAL ENVIRONMENT also comprises LIGHT and DARK and the research findings from English political discourses reveal the presence of the conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS LIGHT AND DARK The conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS LIGHT AND DARK and its sub-class ones can be identified as in the following mappings: a) light positive factor b) dark negative factor What is common in the political discourses studied is the policians conceptualizing the negative factors like hatred or diseases as darkness and positive factors like freedom as light of the sun or of dawn The concepts of light and darkness are universal due to the close attachment to man’s life and development along the line of history 2.2 Structural metaphors in Vietnamese political discourses 2.2.1 Structural metaphors with the source domain HUMAN ACTIVITIES 2.2.1.1 POLITICS AS A JOURNEY The metaphor POLITICS AS A JOURNEY, in the view of many researchers, is very common in various types of discourses, including political discourses thanks to its familiarity embodied in man’s daily life The conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS A JOURNEY can be illustrated in the following mappings: a) traveler politicians / government b) road / route political activities c) destination political goals d) milestone political achievement đ) obstacle political instability e) bog down political gridlock The conceptual metaphors with the source domain JOURNEY are highly conventional and easily perceived by listeners The findings reveal the presence of four sub-class conceptual metaphors, namely REVOLUTION AS A JOURNEY, WAR AS A JOURNEY, PATRIOTISM AS A JOURNEY and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AS A JOURNEY Of the words and phrases expressing the features of the source domain JOURNEY, the word “pathway” accounts for up to 48% in the 56 political discourses in question since political leaders in Vietnam tend to disseminate policies of the Party and the State in their speeches and the concept pathway is often selected to concretize the abstract policies as viewed by the common people who then relate to a specific journey leading to the destination 2.2.1.2 POLITICS A S BUILDING The conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS BUILDING can be illustrated as in the following mappings: a) foundation base of a political system b) house government system c) collapse failure of political syste d) crack down weakness of government system đ) firm and solid stability of political system e) roof leaders f) build form the government The conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS BUILDING is the most commonly used in the Vietnamese political discourse in question The common sub-class conceptual metaphors in Vietnamese political discourses include NATION AS A BUILDING, LEADERS AS ROOF, POLICY AS A BUILDING and BELIEF AS A BUILDING 2.2.1.3 WAR AS HUMAN ACTIVITIES The conceptual metaphor WAR AS HUMAN ACTIVITIES can be expressed as in the following mappings: a) escalate intensify war activities b) descend reduce war activities c) bog down gridlock in war activities d) heal overcome war consequences The conceptual metaphor WAR AS HUMAN ACTIVITIES comprises such sub-class metaphors as WAR AS HUMAN MOVEMENT, WAR AS VIOLENCE, WAR AS ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES and WAR AS A JOURNEY The presence of the conceptual metaphor WAR AS HUMAN ACTIVITIES in Vietnamese political discourses is relatively limited since most linguistic data in use in this research is in the peacetime and the topic of war is less common than other contemporary topics 2.2.2 Structural metaphors with the source domain NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 2.2.2.1 POLITICS AS A WEATHER PHENOMENON Weather is an indispensible part in man’s work and life, which can be reflected in the presence of weather in conceptual metaphors in Vietnamese political discourses The conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS A WEATHER PHENOMENON can be seen in the following mappings: a) weather political environment b) wind innovation, revolution c) storm political change, war The conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS A WEATHER PHENOMENON comprises such sub-class metaphors as INNOVATION AS A WIND, CHANGE AS A STORM, PROBLEMS AS TIDES and PATRIOTISM AS A WAVE The findings reveal an interesting phenomenon of conceptual metaphors when the same source domain can map onto two different target domains, forming two different conceptual metaphors with even anti-meanings 2.2.2.2 POLITICS AS LIGHT The conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS LIGHT can be mapped as follows: light positive factor What is found common is the Vietnaamese political leaders conceptualizing possitive factors as light, a universal concept as light indicates clarity, the source of life, the future and hope Summary of Chapter The findings show that models of structural metaphors conform to the rule of single linear mapping from the source domain to the target domain, displaying the partiality of the conceptualization process and the hierachy of the conceptual structure with the existence of the coneptual metaphors and their sub-class ones Specifically, the two source domains HUMAN ACTIVITIES and NATURAL ENVIRONMENT in English political discourses consist of five conceptual metaphors and twelve sub-class conceptual metaphors while in the Vietnamese data there are five conceptual metaphors and sixteen sub-class ones Chapter INVESTIGATING ONTOLOGICAL METAPHORS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE POLITICAL DISCOURSES 3.1 Ontological metaphors in English political discourses 3.1.1 Ontological metaphors with the source domain HUMAN ACTIVITIES 3.1.1.1 THE WORLD AS A COMMUNITY The conceptual metaphor THE WORLD AS A COMMUNITY can be described as follows: a) community groups of nations b) neighbor adjacent nation c) friend nation in cooperation d) enemy nation in conflict The conceptual metaphor THE WORLD AS A COMMUNITY has three subclass metaphors, namely NATION AS A PERSON, NATION HAS HUMAN FEATURES and NATION ACTS AS HUMAN with the total number of turns being 144, the highest of all the ontological metaphors recorded That is because American politicians tend to personify the United States of America to show the role of a leader in the community of nations worldwide Political leaders of English speaking nations see themselves and the government in power as public servants of the people, of the nation and hence the thesis records the sub-class conceptual metaphor GOVERNMENT AS PUBLIC SERVANTS 3.1.1.2 THE NATION AS A FAMILY The conceptual metaphor THE NATION AS A FAMILY can be seen in the following mapping: a) parents government b) children citizens c) care beneficial policy d) brother, sister fellow citizens đ) nơi sinh sống territory The concept FAMILY is often employed by politicians to exert familiar impact on listeners because once the relation between the government and the citizens is conceptualized as the relation between parents and children, every policy and regulation of the government can be seen as necessary for the sake of the people’s interest and comparable to the care of parents towards children Even when such policies are strict, adversely affecting the citizens but once they are conceptualized as parents’ care for the sake of their children’s future, politicians will receive understanding and support of the people It can be said that politicians use the conceptual metaphor NATION AS A FAMILY in this case to call for sharing and support of the people for the government’s policies and regulations is a smart and effective measure 3.1.1.3 BAD THINGS ARE ENEMIES In the real life, human often distinguish friends from foes Friendship is reliable and can offer good things whereas enemies are scary as they can exert negative effects As a result, the conceptualization of bad things as enemies is based on man’s real-life experiences The conceptual metaphor BAD THINGS ARE ENEMIES can be presented as follows: a) bad things enemy b) fight bad things fight enemies c) bad things are enemies surrender prevented 3.1.2 Ontological metaphors with the source domain NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 3.1.2.1 GOVERNMENT AS A MACHINE The US, the UK and Australia are the world’s leading industrialized nations and the concept machine is not alien to people in their daily life Therefore, the appearance of the concept machine when the management of the government is in question is inevitable The conceptual metaphor GOVERNMENT AS A MACHINE can be identified in the following mapping: a) boat / ship nation b) engine government in question c) steering managing the nation d) instrument policy to manage the nation đ) gridlock problems in the government’s operation 3.1.2.2 POLITICS AS ANIMALS AND PLANTS Animals and plants are one of the source domains to constitute the conceptual metaphors since animals and plants are common in man’s daily life, attaching to man’s life throughout the history from the time of hunting and gathering to the domestication of wild animals and plants to form farming jobs Therefore, man’s rich knowledge about the source domain ANIMALS AND PLANTS is often used to help man perceive and reason about the abstract target domains The conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS ANIMALS AND PLANTS can be identified in the following mapping: a) trunk government b) branch government organ c) root citizen d) seed new policy đ) fruit benefit for citizens e) farmland society f) cultivate develop The course domain ANIMALS AND PLANTS is frequently used to conceptualize the diplomatic relation between people according to the conceptual metaphor RELATION AS PLANTS In addition, peace between nations can also be conceptualized from the source domain PLANTS and arises another conceptual metaphor PEACE AS PLANTS 3.1.3 Ontological metaphors with the source domain LIVING BODY The findings from the English political discourses show two conceptual metaphors NATION AS A LIVING BODY and BAD THINGS ARE ILLNESS The ontological metaphors with the source domain LIVING BODY can be illustrated as follows: a) living body nation b) wound negative effects on nation c) epidemic bad effects on nation d) heal overcome bad effects on nation As the nation is a living body, it can have wounds on its body As the nation can be hurt by negative factors, such bad influences are conceptualized as diseases harming the living body 3.2 Ontological metaphors in Vietnamese political discourses 3.2.1 Ontological metaphors with the source domain HUMAN ACTIVITIES 3.2.1.1 THE WORLD AS A COMMUNITY The conceptual metaphor THE WORLD AS A COMMUNITY comprises such sub-class metaphors as NATION AS A PERSON, NATION HAS HUMAN ATTRIBUTES and NATION ACTS AS HUMAN The conceptual metaphor THE WORLD AS A COMMUNITY can be mapped as follows: a) community group of nations b) neighbor adjacent nation c) friend nation in cooperation d) enemy nation in conflict Nations are often conceptualized as people living in the world community with many social relations: neighbouring relations, friendship and even hatred Aprt from the above sub-class metaphors, the findings also reveal the sub-class metaphor GOVERNMENT / LEADERS AS CIVIL SERVANTS, CITIZENS AS MASTERS This metaphor can concretize the status and role of leaders in the government in relation with people, highlighting the difference of the people’s revolutionary government, the excellence of the nation of the people and for the people 3.2.1.2 NATION AS A FAMILY The use of the conceptual metaphor NATION AS A FAMILY in Vietnamese political discourses is relatively limited Still, the thesis identifies sub-class LEADERS AS PARENTS, CITIZENS AS CHILDREN and PEOPLE IN A NATION AS SIBLINGS The conceptual metaphor NATION AS A FAMILY and its sub-class ones can be mapped as follows: a) extended family nation b) family relation national feeling c) sibling fellow citizen d) house national territory The conceptualization of nation as a family reflects a cultural trait of the Vietnamese with more focus on family as a collective and highlights household activities Therefore, Vietnam’s political leaders use conceptual metaphors in their speeches to exert positive effects and call for national solidarity and miraculous strength of the nation 3.2.1.3 THE BAD AS AN ENEMY In Vietnam President Ho Chi Minh was the pioneer in using the source domain enemy to conceptualize the bad things He used a simple word “giặc” (enemy) to concretize what must be condemned or destroyed in a concerted effort The conceptual metaphor THE BAD AS AN ENEMY can be described in the following mappings: a) enemy bad things b) soldier people c) frontier field of life 3.2.2 Ontological metaphors with the source domain NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 3.2.2.1 THE GOVERNMENT AS A MACHINE The conceptual metaphor THE GOVERNMENT AS A MACHINE and its subclass ones can be illustrated as follows: a) machine government b) boat revolutionary course c) engine leader d) operate government’s activities The features of the conceptual metaphor THE GOVERNMENT AS A MACHINE has a lower frequency of use in Vietnamese political discourses possibly because Vietnam is far behind such English-speaking countries as the US, the UK and Australia in terms of industrial development, especially the UK as one of the first countries in the world undergoing the First Industrial Revolution 3.2.2.2 POLITICS AS PLANTS & ANIMALS The features of the conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS PLANTS & ANIMALS has the frequency of use as low as of the conceptual metaphor THE GOVERNMENT AS A MACHINE The conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS PLANTS & ANIMALS can be presented in thw following mapping: a) tree Government b) seed young government c) fruit achievement d) cultivate build & protect government đ) forest strong government Though the frequency of use of the features of the conceptual metaphor POLITICS AS PLANTS & ANIMALS is not high but the sub-class metaphors vary: YOUNG IS SEED, DEVELOPMENT IS BROWING SEED, STRONG IS FOREST, REVOLUTIONARY COURSE AS PLANTS, SUCCESSFUL REVOLUTION AS FRUIT, PEOPLE AS TRUNK, GOVERNMENT AS TREE, RELATION AS TREE, FOLLOWERS AS DOGS and EXPLOITED PEOPLE AS BUFFALOES 3.2.3 Ontological metaphors with source domain LIVING BODY The features of the source domain LIVING BODY has a low frequency of use (only 30 times) in the Vietnamese political discourses but there are up to 02 conceptual metaphors, being NATION AS A LIVING BODY and THE BAD AS A WOUND / DISEASE The conceptual metaphor NATION AS A LIVING BODY and THE BAD AS A WOUND / DISEASE can be mapped as a follows: a) body nation b) disease / wound bad effects on nation c) mầm họa risk of bad effects d) heat / depoison solution to bad effects President Ho Chi Minh was one of the political leaders of Vietnam frequently using the source domain DISEASE to concretize negative socio-political issues as well as bad things to concemn and eliminate in his discourses Summary of Chapter The analysis of the linguistic phrases containing metaphorical features as well as sub-class ontological metaphors in the political discourses of the two languages has helped to clarify the similarities and differences of the role of conceptual metaphors and their use by political leaders of the two languages In this chapter, we have summed and analysed linguistic data containing ontological conceptual metaphors of the three source domains HUMAN’S ACTIVITIES, NATURAL ENVIRONMENT and LIVING BODY in English and Vietnamese political discourses The findings show that English political discourses have 15 ontological metaphors with seven upper-class and eight sub-class metaphors while Vietnamese political discourses also contain seven upper-class metaphors but as many as 22 sub-class metaphors CONCLUSION Based on the analysis and comparison of various kinds of conceptual metaphors used in political discourses in English and Vietnamese, the thesis has concluded as follows: The political discourses in question contain many metaphors, indicating the importance of conceptual metaphor for political discourses as identified by many researchers In terms of cognitive function, structural metaphors and ontological metaphors are two types of metaphors commonly used in political discourses both in English and Vietnamese Orientational metaphors are in less frequent use Regarding the source domain, both the structural and ontological metaphors of such source domains as HUMAN’S ACTIVITIES, NATURAl ENVIRONMENT and LIVING BODY are found common in political discourses, not only in the literature as claimed by the traditional linguistics In political discourses, the conceptual metaphors not only bear rhetorical nature to beautify the language but also perform cognitive function They help language users understand the abstract concepts through concrete concepts in the source domains derived from embodied experiences closely related to human like their daily activities or the surrounding natural environment Apart from the cognitive function, conceptual metaphors used in political discourses persuade listeners when the speaker wishes to present a certain political view on an issue The thesis findings also show how the system and hierarchy of the conceptual metaphors in the two languages and the political issues are conceptualized in political discourses of the two different languages and cultures Based on the description and contrast, the thesis points out certain similarities and differences of the conceptual metaphors used in English and Vietnamese political discourses In general, the number and frequency of use of metaphors in the English political discourses are higher than in the Vietnamese ones The difference in terms of the number of upper-class metaphors between the English and Vietnamese political discourses is inconsiderable, which makes it possible to claim that those upper-class conceptual metaphors found in this language can also appear in the other language The difference tends to be found mainly in the sub-class conceptual metaphors as shown in the two main chapters of the thesis The difference in the use of conceptual metaphors in the political discourses of the two languages may derive from the fact that Vietnamese political discourses tend to disply the formaility of politics, partly limiting the use of conceptual metaphors of Vietrnamese politicians, apart from President Ho Chi Minh Also, the Vietnamese traditionally regard the use of metaphors as a rhetorical means to beautify the language, bearing the personal trait and being suitable for literature Hence, creative metaphors are not common in Vietnamese political discourses The only figure showing creativity in the use of metaphors in his political discourses is President Ho Chi Minh A number of sub-class conceptual metaphors display cultural and living environmental differences As a result, cross-language comparing and contrasting the use of conceptual metaphors prove to be useful From the investigation of conceptual metaphors in English and Vietnamese political discourses, we have a number of recommended applications in language teaching as follows: According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), metaphor is embedded in many linguistic phrases; therefore, blending the teaching of conceptual metaphors in foreign language teaching promises positive outcome, especially in vocabulary teaching Metaphor is significant in the use of language and the complicated structure of metaphor can help language users understand the systematic relation of objects and phenomena In reality, foreign language learners with good language proficiency may not be able to master the language since the awareness of the hidden message in the discourses is more important than mastering the vocabulary and grammatical rules Metaphor is a product of culture, the essence of the national cultural value of a language so foreign language teaching and learning must be attached to the provision of cultural knowledge in general and metaphor in particular Conceptual metaphor is the essence of culture, a symbol of knowledge in the form of language, the means through which human perceive the physical world, the mental world and the emotional world Hence, the knowledge of metaphor is indispensable in foreign language teaching and learning to help language learners both the language proficiency and the cultural understanding to master the language in question Students majoring in politics in an attempt to acquire professional knowledge should be well aware of the metaphorical nature of political discourses and be able to interpret such metaphors English lessons in politics should comprise activities and exercises to enhance the learners’ awareness of professional English vocabulary, the reading comprehension of major-related documents and the ability to formulate political documents in a native-like manner when translating political documents LIST OF AUTHOR’S RESEARCH WORKS RELATED THE THESIS ‘The conceptual metaphor “NATION IS A BUILDING in English political discourses compared with the Vietnamese ones’ The Journal of Foreign Language Science, No 45, 2015, pp 34-40 ‘Conceptual metaphor in political discourses’ The Journal of Foreign Language Science, No 46, 2016, pp 28-34 ‘Conceptual metaphor in President Ho Chi Minh’s discourses’ The Journal of Foreign Language Science, No 56, 2018, pp 9-15 ... political discourses Nguyen Thi Nhu Ngoc (2015) in her thesis titled Ẩn dụ văn diễn thuyết trị Mỹ việc dịch ẩn dụ từ tiếng Anh sang tiếng Việt” has classified conceptual metaphors in political discourses... Vietnam systematically is Ly Toan Thang (2005) with the book titled Ngôn ngữ học tri nhận – từ lý thuyết đại cương đến thực tiễn tiếng Việt” The author studies the way to perceive space and time... FIELD AS BATTLEFIELD can be identified as the following mappings: a) battlefield political field b) soldier politician c) war, conflict clashes among political parties d) fight, attack political