Startseite The Metaphoric and Metonymic Use of Country Names in Economic News:A Corpus-Based Analysis
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The Metaphoric and Metonymic Use of Country Names in Economic News:A Corpus-Based Analysis

  • Yongqi Wang

    Yongqi Wang is a lecturer at the International College of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS). He received his Ph. D from the Center for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics in Sociolinguistics, GDUFS. His research focuses on the cognitive approach to discourse analysis.

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Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 16. Januar 2021
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Abstract

Personification is widely acknowledged for its central role in the understanding of a nation. However, empirical evidence of its pervasiveness in authentic language data is lacking. In a self-built corpus of news report, this study coded, categorized, and analyzed the metaphoric and metonymic use of two country names: China and Australia. The distribution of the use of country names shows a continuum ranging from the literal, through metonymy, to metaphor. A clear majority of the figurative use of national names in the corpus lies in the category of metonymy, and the fuzzy area between metonymy and metaphor. In contrast, metaphors only take up a minor proportion, and most of them are based on metonymic link. By examining the mundane and seemingly literate use of country names, this study exemplifies that consistent patterns of conventional metonymy and metaphor are able to incur significant cognitive impact. Thus, this study calls for more attention on metonymy and metonymy-metaphor interaction in empirical studies on metaphor.

About the author

Yongqi Wang

Yongqi Wang is a lecturer at the International College of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS). He received his Ph. D from the Center for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics in Sociolinguistics, GDUFS. His research focuses on the cognitive approach to discourse analysis.

Acknowledgments

The present study is part of the Chinese MOE Key Research Project of Humanities and Social Science (Project No. 16JJD740006) conducted by the Centre for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. I would like to acknowledge the contribution of the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions on the earlier drafts of this article. Special thanks should also go to the editors of CJAL, and particularly the Column Editors, Professors Jianping Chen and Tao Xiong for their advice during the revision of this paper.

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Published Online: 2021-01-16
Published in Print: 2020-11-25

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