Ẩn dụ ý niệm trong tác phẩm “Túp lều của bác Tôm” từ góc nhìn của ngôn ngữ học tri nhận

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGÔ CẨM TÚ

CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR
IN ―UNCLE TOM’S CABIN‖ FROM COGNITIVE
LINGUISTICS PERSPECTIVE
Ẩn dụ ý niệm trong tác phẩm ―Túp lều của bác Tơm‖
từ góc nhìn của ngơn ngữ học tri nhận

MA THESIS

Field :

English Linguistics

Code :

8220201.01

HANOI - 2020


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES

NGÔ CẨM TÚ

CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR
IN ―UNCLE TOM’S CABIN‖ FROM COGNITIVE
LINGUISTICS PERSPECTIVE
Ẩn dụ ý niệm trong tác phẩm ―Túp lều của bác Tơm‖
từ góc nhìn của ngơn ngữ học tri nhận
MA THESIS

Field

:

English Linguistics

Code

:

8220201.01

Supervisor :

HANOI - 2020

Huynh Anh Tuan, Ph.D.


DECLARATION
I hereby certify my authority of the research submitted entitled ―Conceptual
metaphor in Uncle Tom‘s Cabin from cognitive linguistics perspective‖ in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts.

Hanoi, 2020

Ngô Cẩm Tú

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I am in large measure indebted to my supervisor, Dr. Huỳnh Anh
Tuấn for his constant enthusiastic guidance, detailed suggestions and helpful
encouragement without which this study would not have been accomplished. I
would like to express my sincere thanks to him for his meticulous and intensive
comments, constructive criticisms on all the drafts.
A similar vote of thanks goes to people who have directly or indirectly
contributed to the completion of this paper. I owe my gratitude to the teachers in the
M.A course at University of Languages and International Studies, VNU, whose
informative lectures have a great influence on the formation and development of the
ideas of my own study.
Finally, I would also like to thank my colleagues at Thang Long University
and my beloved family and friends, who have offered me heartfelt words of
encouragement

ii


ABSTRACT
This study aims at exploring the conceptual metaphors generated and
investigating how these conceptual metaphors can be categorized in the short story
Uncle Tom‘s Cabin‖ by Harriet Beecher Stowe from cognitive linguistics

perspective. The theory of conceptual metaphor suggested by Lakoff and Johnson
(1980) and Kovecses (2002) is adopted as the analytical framework in this study for
my exploring and investigating the generation and categorization of conceptual
metaphors in the story. 20 conceptual metaphors were found and they can be
categorized in various ways depending on how we conceptualize the source
domains and the target domains. It can be concluded that conceptual metaphors
appear in every chapter, every page and event every paragraph of the story, thus
confirming Lakoff and Johnson (1980)‘s argument that metaphors are pervasive in
our life.

iii


TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ....................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. iii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................1
1.1. Rationale of the research ......................................................................................1
1.2. Aim and objectives of the research ......................................................................2
1.3. Research questions ...............................................................................................2
1.4. Scope of the research ...........................................................................................3
1.5. Significance of the research .................................................................................3
1.6. Structure of the thesis ...........................................................................................3
CHAPTER

II:

LITERATURE

REVIEW

AND

THEORETICAL

BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................5
2.1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................5
2.2. Theoretical background ........................................................................................8
2.2.1. Cognitive linguistics..........................................................................................8
2.2.2. Metaphor .........................................................................................................10
2.2.3. Conceptual metaphor ......................................................................................12
2.2.4. Types of conceptual metaphors.......................................................................13
2.2.5. Categorization and elaboration of conceptual metaphors ...............................15
2.3. Summary ............................................................................................................16
CHAPTER III – METHODOLOGY ....................................................................18
3.1. Research questions: ............................................................................................18
3.2. Research approach: Qualitative .........................................................................18
3.3. Data collections instruments ..............................................................................19
3.4. Data analyzing method and techniques ..............................................................19
3.4.1. Technique of data generation ..........................................................................20
3.4.2. Technique of data categorization ....................................................................20
3.5. Data analytical framework .................................................................................21
iv


3.6. Summary ............................................................................................................21
CHAPTER IV - FINDINGS & DISCUSSIONS ...................................................22
4.1 FINDINGS ..........................................................................................................22
4.1.1 The conceptual metaphors generated in the story ............................................22

4.1.2 The categorization of the conceptual metaphors .............................................31
4.2 DISCUSSION .....................................................................................................35
CHAPTER V – CONCLUSION ............................................................................37
5.1 Summary of major findings ................................................................................37
5.2. Implications for studying, teaching and researching .........................................39
5.3. Limitations of and Suggestions for further research ..........................................40
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................41
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................... I

v


CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
This chapter mentions basic information related to the research, including the
rationale, aim, objectives, research questions, scope and significance of the
research.

1.1. Rationale of the research
Figurative language in general and metaphor in particular has always been an
interesting and inspiring research field. Though a large amount of research has been
done on metaphor and metaphorical expressions, it still needs further investigation.
Metaphor plays a very important role not only in language study but also in
everyday life, because many metaphorical concepts are used by ordinary people
without being recognized or being aware of. In Metaphors We live by (George
Lakoff and Mark Johnson, 1980) the authors state that ―metaphor is pervasive in
everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action‖. Thus, it can be said
that metaphor is a powerful tool helping people use and enjoy the use of language.
To have a thorough look at the matter of metaphor, literature is the best choice.
Literature can be considered the product of imagination, but it reflects real life. The
language used in literature is therefore both imaginative and realistic, which means

we can examine metaphors in both ―ordinary and extraordinary‖ perspectives.
Nowhere is figurative language found in such great amount and variety as in
literature, and so is a great source of authentic metaphors, which are employed to
create imagery and enhance the powerful effect of the language use. In fact, a
number of researchers have chosen literature as a means of studying language.
Therefore, in order to study language, the present paper would like to take
investigation in conceptual metaphor in literature works.
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (June 14, 1811 - July 1, 1896) was an
American author and abolitionist. She came from the Beecher family, a famous
religious family. Stowe wrote thirty books, including novels, three travel memoirs,
and collections of articles and letters. She was influential both for her writings and

1


for her public stances and debates on social issues. She became best known for her
best-selling anti-slavery story Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), which depicts the harsh
conditions experienced by enslaved African Americans. The book reached an
audience of millions as a novel or play and became influential in the United States
and Great Britain, energizing anti-slavery forces in the American North, while
provoking widespread anger in the South. The researcher had chances to read the
story at least three times since a little child and has a deep feeling about the plot, the
meaning as well as characters of the story. The story became one of the researcher‘s
favorite literary works.
For all the above reasons, the present paper would like to take an investigation
into conceptual metaphors in Uncle Tom‘s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. This
study is hoped to contribute something to the research of metaphors in literature and
to the teaching and learning foreign literature of students of English.

1.2. Aim and objectives of the research

This study aims at studying conceptual metaphors in the short story ―Uncle
Tom‘s Cabin‖ by Harriet Beecher Stowe from cognitive linguistics perspective.
Specifically, it aims at exploring the conceptual metaphors generated in the short
story and investigating how these conceptual metaphors can be categorized.

1.3. Research questions
In order to achieve the above aim and objectives, the study tries to seek out the
answers to the following research questions:
-

What conceptual metaphors are generated in the short story?

-

How can we categorize these conceptual metaphors?

The first research question is such formulated on the assumption that conceptual
metaphors are pervasive throughout the story and it is the task of the researcher to
explore the metaphors generated based on the diversifying linguistic resources
utilized in the story. Categorization is another crucial issue in cognitive linguistics.

2


Conceptual metaphors can be categorized in many different ways based on the
researcher‘s understanding, experience and interpretation. That is the underlying
assumption for the second research question.

1.4. Scope of the research
The present research takes its basic theoretical background from the works of

Lakoff and Johnson (1980), Lakoff and Turner (1989), Lakoff (2006) and some
other authors in conceptual metaphor studies. The study was conducted on the data
of the short story ―Uncle Tom‘s Cabin‖ by Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Research into conceptual metaphors takes within its strand a variety of issues
and perspectives such as frames, image schemas, etc. However, within the limited
scope of the study, those issues were intended to fall out of the aims of the research.
Moreover, no specific types of conceptual metaphors were predetermined for the
investigation. In other words, the whole story was investigated with a view to
identifying any conceptual metaphors generated.

1.5. Significance of the research
Metaphor is one of the most basic phenomena in human language. This kind of
study has significance not only for investigation into language in use, but also for
the research of human mind. Beside the theoretical significance, this research also
contributes to improve second language teaching and learning. This thesis aims to
analyze metaphorical saying from perspective of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory
in literature works such as short story Uncle Tom‘s Cabin. Both theoretical analysis
and empirical study are conducted on the research. Therefore, it can contribute a
part to literature studying.

1.6. Structure of the thesis
This research comprises five chapters:

3


Chapter I – Introduction – This chapter discusses the rationale, aim and objectives,
research questions, scope and significance of the study.
Chapter II – Literature review & Theoretical Background – This chapter discusses
the fundamental concepts that function the foundations for the study such as

metaphor, conceptual metaphors, categorization of metaphors. Previous studies
related to the research were also analyzed to shed light on the methodology, the data
analysis, the findings and discussions of the thesis.
Chapter III – Methodology – This chapter discusses the research approach, data
analysis, data analytical framework of the study.
Chapter IV – Findings & Discussions – This chapter presents the data and discusses
the results of the study.
Chapter V – Conclusion – This chapter summarizes the findings, discusses the
limitations and makes suggestions for further research.

4


CHAPTER II:
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
This chapter reviews the existing literature to describe how previous researches
contribute to the topic. Then, it provides theoretical background related to cognitive
linguistics, metaphor and conceptual metaphor and framework that the study is
based on.
2.1. Introduction
Metaphor studied by linguists from many years ago. For traditional schools of
linguistics, metaphor is merely a figure of speech used in literature. However, from
the late of 20th century, with the publication of ―Metaphors We Live by” of Lakoff
and Johnson (1980), cognitive linguistics presents a different view of metaphor.
With the core conceptual metaphorical metaphor, this work has created an
important turning point in the history of metaphorical research that deeply changes
the notion of metaphor from time to time. Now, metaphor is not only a phenomenon
of language just in literature but also pervasive in daily life language, a way of
thinking that serves as a means of expressing thoughts as well as a vehicle of
cognition that helps human beings recognize the world.

According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), the system of human thoughts, which
help human think and act, are essentially metaphorical. Therefore, a lot of
cognitively metaphorical or conceptual metaphorical studies have been carried out
in many aspects and on the material of languages around the world. It leads to the
forming of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory as Gibbs (1994) discusses the
distinction between metaphor as a product and metaphor as a process for
understanding differences between metaphors when being used in a text and being
triggered in thinking; Steen (1994) makes a distinction between system-level
metaphors (language or thought) and metaphor at the level of use (in personal
language or in personal thought); Shore (1996) offers metaphorical models as types
of models of culture shared by members of a multicultural community; Kövecses
5


(1999)

defends the view that many abstract ideas can only arise through

metaphorical insights; Goatly (2007) studies the relationship between conceptual
metaphors and thought; Kövecses (2010) provides a holistic view of new
achievements in cognitive metaphorical research over twenty years of development
and explores the feasibility of cognitive metaphorical theory in different areas of
social life.
In Vietnam, it can be said that this new trend of study was first introduced in
1994 by Ly Toan Thang 's article on Language and Space Recognition. By the
beginning of the 21st century, more and more researches have been made of
metaphor from the view of cognition. For example, with the publication “Cognitive
linguistics – From general theory to practice in Vietnamese” (Ngôn ngữ học tri
nhận - Từ lý thuyết đại cương đến thực tiễn tiếng Việt), Ly Toan Thang (2005)
mentions about the theory of cognitive linguistics and its application to Vietnamese

practice; Nguyen Duc Ton (2007) with “Cognitive linguistics: Notes and thinking”
(Ngôn ngữ học tri nhận: Ghi chép và suy nghĩ), compares pre-cognitive metaphor
and cognitive metaphor perceptions in the world and Vietnam, thus giving an
account of the nature of metaphor; Nguyen Van Hiep (2008) mentions the approach
of cognitive linguistics to the role of meaning in syntactic analysis and description;
Tran Van Co (2009) points to the achievements of the study of cognitive metaphor
in the world and outlines the whole concept of tools to understand cognitive
metaphor in Vietnamese.

The conceptual metaphors are also investigated by

Nguyễn Đức Tồn (2008) with cognitive metaphor in Vietnamese idioms and
Nguyễn Lai (2009) explores some conceptual metaphors of poetry.
The past few years have seen an explosion in interest in cognitive approaches
to literature. Metaphor has been extremely important as a concept for understanding
the workings of the mind throughout the cognitive disciplines and as a means of
meaning-making. George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in their book, Metaphors We
Live By (1980), defined conceptual metaphors as our means of understanding

6


abstract concepts in terms of more concrete ones. Many authors write figuratively
by deploying literary devices like metaphor and irony to convey their meanings.
Ester Vidović (2011) in her research ―Conceptualization of time and space in
fairy tales written during the Victorian period‖ focused on the three different
authors: John Ruskin, George MacDonald and Oscar Wilde ‗s use of conceptual
metaphors in conceptualization of time and space. The genre of the fairy tale posed
a challenge since it has been rather unexplored in the context of studying metaphors
conceptualizing time and space and relating these two concepts to the spirit of a

historical era.
Jamshidian, S. and Motlagh, A. A. (2020) in their study ―A Cognitive Black
Feminist Study of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and Uncle
Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stow” analyzed that metaphor is used to overcome
the inadequacy of language in the face of indescribable phenomena such as slavery,
racism and especially double oppression on black women in Colson whitehead‘s
The Underground Railroad (2016) and Harriet Beecher Stowe‘s Uncle Tom‘s Cabin
(1852). By using these titles as metaphors for freedom, these authors provide a
critique of the white domination to change the consciousness of the oppressed
women and to manifest what they contrast with what they should be. The result
indicates that Whitehead has given life to the same slavery story of Uncle Tom's
Cabin which faded into obscurity over centuries to emotionally engage a global
audience at the present time when racial hatred seems to be a thing of the past.
Phí Thị Thu Trang (2010) in her research ―A Study of Water and Fire as
Metaphors in American and Vietnamese Short Stories of the 20th Century‖
investigated the use of water and fire as metaphors in American and Vietnamese
short stories of the 20th century. Metaphor is not only a linguistic phenomenon but
also mentally related on the grounds that our everyday activities, including the use
of language, is governed by thoughts. Water and fire – stylistically used as a figure
of speech – appear with high frequency throughout 60 explored stories, showing
their domination on people‘s perception and the natural world and human society in

7


both cultures. The study points out that metaphors of water and fire are constructed
with lexical and grammatical devices to serve as a powerful instrument to describe
strong emotions and create imagery. Water and fire also connote both positive and
negative meanings in American and Vietnamese cultures, depending on how people
project their attitudes towards the beauty and danger of water and fire.

Hoàng Diệu Thu (2012) in her research ―Life and Death metaphors in some
short stories by Jack London from cognitive perspective‖ show the commonly
conceptual metaphors of Life and Death are summarized and ranked according to
their proportions of linguistic manifestation in those short stories. In the LIFE
system, the main conceptual metaphors are ―LIFE IS A JOURNEY‖, ―LIFE IS A
FIGHTING/LIFE IS A BATTLE‖. ―LIFE IS FIRE/HEAT/WARM‖ and ―LIFE IS
LIGHT/LIFE IS DAYTIME‖. Conceptual metaphors of death have a close
relationship with the LIFE system, and the ones that are most seen are ―DEATH IS
THE END OF THE JOURNEY‖. ―DEATH IS COLD‖, ―DEATH IS
NIGHT/DARKNESS‖ and ―DEATH IS SLEEP/REST‖. It is clearly observed that
Life and Death are such encompassing matter that there can be no single conceptual
metaphor that will enable us to comprehend them.
Despite all the existing researches on conceptual metaphors in the world in
general and Vietnamese in particular, there has been no specific study on
conceptual metaphors of story Uncle Tom‘s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, which
leaves a gap in the understanding of story, especially in sector of conceptual
metaphors.

2.2. Theoretical background
This section provides a theoretical background related to the study. The main
aim is to give a clear and deep understanding of cognitive linguistics, metaphor,
conceptual metaphor, classification and features of conceptual metaphor.

2.2.1. Cognitive linguistics
Cognitive linguistics is a modern school of linguistic thought and practice,
8


which describes how language interacts with cognition, forms our thoughts, and the
parallel between the development of language and the change in the common

mindset across time (Robinson and Ellis, 2008). Because cognitive linguistics sees
language as rooted in man‘s overall cognitive abilities, cognitive linguistics topics
are of particular interest: the structural characteristics of natural language
categorization (such as systematic polysemy, cognitive models, mental imagery,
and metaphor); the functional principles of linguistic organization (such as iconicity
and naturalness); the conceptual interface between syntax and semantics; the
experiential and pragmatic background of language-in-use; and the relationship
between language and thought (Geeraerts and Cuyckens, 2007). Preeminent figures
in cognitive linguistics include Lakoff and Johnson (1980), Langacker (1987),
Fauconnier (1997), Talmy (2000), Kövecses (2002), Lý Toàn Thắng (2005), Evans
(2007), Trần Văn Cơ (2007), etc.
Two basic commitments characterize the cognitive linguistics enterprise
(Lakoff, 1991). The first key commitment is the Generalization Commitment which
characterizes the general principles essential for all aspects of human language. This
commitment seeks generalization of principles of language, so the previous ways of
studying the language, like semantics (word and sentence meaning), phonology
(sound), morphology (word structure) and syntax (sentence structure) will not be
suitable, because there is little room for generalization. The second key
commitment of cognitive linguistics is Cognitive Commitment. It provides a
characterization of general principles of used language that are consistent with what
is known about the human cognition from other disciplines. Hence, general
cognitive principles should be reflected by language and linguistic organization
rather than specific cognitive principles (Evans, 2012).
So there are many definitions of cognitive linguistics, it depends on what aspects
of linguistics that researchers want to study on the cognitive perspective. The
different feature from other approaches is that language is hypothesized to reflect
certain principle properties and design features of the human mind. In other words,
it is the studying of relationship of human language and the mind, socio-physical
9

experience.
Cognitive linguistics is divided into two subfields which are cognitive grammar
and cognitive semantics. Cognitive grammar emphasizes the study of the cognitive
principles that give rise to linguistic organization. According to Langacker (1987),
cognitive grammar hypothesizes that instead of being different systems themselves,
grammar, semantics and lexicon exist on a continuum. Semantics is the study of
linguistic meaning. Cognitive semantics shows that language is a part of a more
general human cognitive ability and can therefore explain the world only as people
perceive it (Croft and Cruse, 2004). Besides that, conceptual metaphor theory,
which is a fundamental subdiscipline in the fields of cognitive grammar and
cognitive semantics, aims to provide an explanatory basis for conceptual systems
and language in general brain and mind studies.
2.2.2. Metaphor
Metaphor is defined by Oxford Advanced Learner‘s Dictionary, as ―a word or
phrase used to describe somebody or something else, in a way that is different from
its normal use, in order to show that the two things have the same qualities and to
make the description more powerful‖, but it is understood as the meaning
transference based on the similarity, quality or common features between two or
more objects (Hoàng Tất Trường, 1993).
According to Galperin (1981), metaphor is a relation between the dictionary and
contextual logical meanings based on the affinity or similarity of certain properties
of two corresponding concepts. In Metaphors We Live By (1980), Lakoff and
Johnson say that metaphors play an important role in defining our everyday
realities. In cognitive linguistics, metaphor is defined as understanding one
conceptual domain in terms of another conceptual domain. According to Lakoff
(1993), ―The metaphor is not just a matter of language but thought and reason‖. The
language is secondary. The mapping is primary, and it sanctions the use of source
domain language and inference patterns for target domain concepts.
The nature of metaphor can be understood from linguistic and cognitive

perspectives. Traditionally, metaphor or linguistic metaphor is viewed as a figure of
10


speech in which an expression is used to represent something that it does not denote
literally. For example, in the sentence ―He’s going to ask for her hand‖, the bolded
phrase refers to the action of proposing marriage to someone. The similarity
between them is that when someone is proposing marriage, he wants to put a ring
on his life partner‘s finger. In terms of linguistics, metaphor is a non-literal use of
language, a ―characteristic of language alone, a matter of words rather than thought
or action‖ (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980).
Based on cognitive linguistics, another point of view emerged, defining
metaphor as ―understanding one conceptual domain in terms of another conceptual
domain‖ (Kovecses, 2002). Similarly, in Metaphor We live by (1980), Lakoff and
Johnson view metaphor as a ―way of conceiving of one thing in terms of another,
and its primary function is understanding‖. This kind of metaphor is called
conceptual metaphor. Our everyday functioning, including communication is
governed by a number of concepts. For instance, in most culture people think and
talk about life or love in terms of journeys. These concepts are so common that
most of us do not consider them metaphors, or some kind of figure of speech. Our
concept of love and life is expressed by speakers of English as follows:
My life is going to an end. / He’ll end up in prison.
Our relationship is going nowhere. / We won’t go far in this marriage.
Obviously, these expressions are derived from the way we talk about journeys,
even though we do not straightly say ―My life is a journey‖. We talk about things
the way we conceive them.
With the development of cognitive linguistics and the publication of Metaphors
We Live By by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), the understanding of metaphor has been
changed dramatically. Cognitive linguistics takes a conceptual approach to
linguistic analysis. They consider linguistic knowledge - knowledge of meaning and

form - as being basically of conceptual structure (Croft and Cruse, 2004). Before
the publication of the great work, metaphor was viewed by most people as an

11


extraordinary form of language rather than a form of language used in everyday life.
It was understood to mostly appear in poetry and literary works for the sake of
decoration and beautification. It was considered as a language phenomenon alone.
However, in the work of Lakoff and Johnson, metaphor is seen as a conceptual
process that people use to understand and categorize the world around them. It
exists everywhere and plays an important role in our daily life. It exists not only in
language but in thought and action as well (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980)
2.2.3. Conceptual metaphor
A conceptual metaphor consists of two conceptual domains and one conceptual
domain is used to understand the other. CONCEPTUAL DOMAIN (A) IS
CONCEPTUAL DOMAIN (B) can be used as a convenient way to capture this
view of metaphor (Kövecses, 2002). When people understand life in terms of a
journey, the conceptual metaphor LIFE IS A JOURNEY is drawn on to understand
the concept of life. However, the conceptual metaphor LIFE IS A JOURNEY is not
directly used in everyday life. It is realized by metaphorical linguistic expressions
(Kövecses, 2002), such as the following:
He’s without direction in life.
I’m where I want to be in life.
I’m at a crossroad in my life.
She’ll go places in life.
He’s never let anyone get in his way.
She’s gone through a lot in life.
From the above examples, we can see that the way we speak about life in
English is similar to the way we speak about journey. People use the concept of

journey to understand the highly abstract concept of life. The two domains involved
in a conceptual metaphor are called the TARGET DOMAIN and the SOURCE
DOMAIN. The source domain is used to understand the target domain. Normally,
the target domain is more abstract (as LIFE) and the source domain is more
12


concrete (as JOURNEY) (Kövecses, 2002). A set of systematic correspondences
between the source and the target is the basis for conceptual metaphors. These
conceptual correspondences are named as mappings. Take the conceptual metaphor
LIFE IS A JOURNEY as an example. There is a set of mappings between the
source and the target (Kövecses, 2002).
Source: JOURNEY

Target: LIFE

the travelers

→ the people

companions

→ friends

guides

→ people who give us suggestions

the starting point

→ birth

distance covered

→ events experienced

the obstacles encountered → the difficulties met
different roads

→ different choices

the destinations and stops → the goals and achievements
the end of the journey

→ death

From the example above we can see that the constituent elements of the
conceptual domain JOURNEY are in systematic correspondence with constituent
elements of the conceptual domain LIFE. The application of the journey domain to
the love domain provides the concept of life with this particular structure or set of
elements (Kövecses, 2002).
2.2.4. Types of conceptual metaphors
2.2.4.1. Structural metaphors
In structural metaphors, rich structure knowledge is provided by the source
domain for the target concept. By the structure of the source, the speakers are able
to understand the target. The understanding process happens when the elements of
the source are conceptually mapped onto the elements of the target (Kövecses,
2002). Take the TIME IS MOTION metaphor as an example. Here, time is
13

structured according to motion and space and we can get the following mappings in
this metaphor (Kövecses, 2002): Times are things. The passing of time is motion.
Future times are in front of the observer; past times are behind the observer. One
thing is moving, the other is stationary; the stationary thing is the deictic center. Our
concept and understanding of time are structured and understood in this way.
Without structural metaphor, it would be difficult to understand and imagine what
our concept of time would be.

2.2.4.2.

Ontological metaphors

Ontological metaphors can also be understood as entity and substance metaphors
(Lackoff and Johnson, 1980). Ontological metaphors are based on our experience
with the physical world around us. When things we want to refer to are not very
concrete and do not have a clear physical shape, we tend to understand them as
entities or substances. This means that we can ―refer to them, categorize them,
group them, and qualify them‖ (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980). Take the INFLATION
IS AN ENTITY metaphor from Metaphors We Live By (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980)
as an example. Inflation is understood as an entity and it enables us to refer to and
qualify it in the following sentences (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980):
Inflation is lowering our standard of living.
If there‘s much more inflation, we‘ll never survive. We need to combat
inflation. Inflation is hacking us into a corner. In the above cases, inflation is
understood as something that can affect our lives and be combated. The use of
ontological metaphor enables people to talk about and understand inflation as a
physical entity.

2.2.4.3.

Orientational metaphors

Most orientational metaphors are related to basic spatial orientations of human
beings, such as up-down, center-periphery, and so on. The cognitive function of
orientational metaphor is a series of target concepts coherent in our conceptual
system. It could sometimes be called a ―coherence metaphor‖. In the following
14


examples, an upward orientation characterizes certain target concepts, while their
opposite concepts are characterized by a downward orientation (Kövecses, 2002).
MORE IS UP; LESS IS DOWN: Speak up, please. Keep your voice down,
please.
HEALTHY IS UP; SICK IS DOWN: Lazarus rose from dead. He fell ill.
CONTROL IS UP; LACK OF CONTROL IS DOWN: I’m on top of the
situation. He is under my control.
HAPPY IS UP; SAD IS DOWN: I’m feeling up today. He’s really low these
days.
It should also be pointed out that the spatial orientation up-down is not the only
spatial source image. Orientational metaphors also utilize spatial images such as
whole, center, link, balance, and so on (Kövecses, 2002).
However, according to Lakoff and Johnson (1980) in Metaphor We live by, it
was artificial to divide metaphors into three types which are orientational,
ontological and structural because all metaphors are structural (by mapping
structures to structures), all metaphors are ontological (by constructing target
domain entities) and many of them are orientational (by mapping orientational
image-schemas).
2.2.5. Categorization and elaboration of conceptual metaphors
A metaphor can be conceptualized in many different ways depending on how we

classify or elaborate the source domain and the target domain or on how we
interpret the mappings between the two domains. This is because in our daily life,
all the concepts that our thoughts and actions are based on are interconnected. This
is also because from cognitive linguistics perspective, how a language use is viewed
is much dependent on human experience.
The following example taken from the story Uncle Tom‘s Cabin will help us to
realize how this conceptual metaphor is mapped in different ways through the
means of lexical items.

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―But stronger than all was maternal love, wrought into a paroxysm of frenzy by
the near approach of a fearful danger”
The most natural interpretation of conceptual metaphor MATERNAL LOVE IS
FIRE is based on positive features associated with both MATERNAL LOVE and
FIRE. With MATERNAL LOVE, it is the typical and very strong feeling of caring
from mother towards a child. It makes the child feel warm, safe, pleasant, and
happy. That felling is the instinct, always exists inside all mothers and can be
strongly explosive anytime. With FIRE, it is a symbol of survival, safety, and
comfort, the metaphorical usage can reflect the very same associations of something
that ensures human well-being, the pleasant bodily sensation of warmth after a
period of coldness. It likes the feeling we can have from a mother's hug in the cold
night. We can use the word “wrought” to describe the status of the fire with high
level and degree. It likes the strong and never end love of the mother. With these
common features between two domains, we can have an ontological metaphor
MATERNAL LOVE is FIRE with the target domain is MATERNAL LOVE and
source domain is FIRE.
However, when we analyze the old literary meaning of the verb “wrought”, this
verb describes an action that makes a material – often iron - into a particular shape

or form by pressing, stretching, and hitting it. After this action, we can have a new
material - wrought iron. We can see the same structure when we think about the
development of maternal love, from the instinct, after learning, practicing and even
failing, it can become a real maternal love. Hence, we have a structural metaphor
MATERNAL LOVE is WROUGHT IRON with the target domain is MATERNAL
LOVE and source domain is WROUGHT IRON.

2.3.

Summary

In summary, this chapter reviews the contribution of some earlier studies on this
topic. Despite all the existing researches on conceptualization in the world in
general and Vietnamese in particular, there has been no specific study on
conceptual metaphors in the short story Uncle Tom‘s Cabin, which might help
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readers, teachers, learners and translators master the idea of the story.
Then, this chapter provides a theoretical background that helps us to study more
about theories related to this thesis. It has some main viewpoints of Lakoff and
Johnson (1980) about cognitive linguistics, metaphor and conceptual metaphor.
Cognitive linguistics is a modern school of linguistic thought and practice, which
describes how language interacts with cognition, forms our thoughts, and the
parallel between the development of language and the change in the common
mindset across time. With conceptual metaphor, it is used as one conceptual domain
in terms of another conceptual domain. To understand a target domain (abstract
domain), it needs more than one source domain (specific domains) and those
domains have interactions that are called mappings. Next, this chapter wants to deal
with types of conceptual metaphors including structural metaphor, ontological

metaphor, and orientational metaphor. Then, this chapter mentions the
categorization and elaboration of conceptual metaphors.

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CHAPTER III – METHODOLOGY
This chapter mentions the research questions and approach. Next, it also
provides the instrument that researcher used to collect data. Finally, this chapter
presents the methods and techniques to analyze data and the framework that the
study is based on.
3.1. Research questions:
The following two research questions are formulated to address the objectives of
the study:
-

What conceptual metaphors are generated in the short story?

-

How can we categorize these conceptual metaphors?

To implement the study, with the assumption that conceptual metaphors are
luxuriant throughout the story, the researcher has the duty to identify all conceptual
metaphors based on linguistic resources of the story. Then, by using own
researcher‘s understanding, experience, and way of interpretation, the conceptual
metaphors can be categorized into suitable types. They are the assumption and
method that the researcher uses to build and solve the two research questions.
3.2. Research approach: Qualitative
Shank (2002) defines qualitative research as ―a form of systematic empirical

inquiry into meaning‖ (p. 5). By systematic he means ―planned, ordered and
public‖, following rules agreed upon by members of the qualitative research
community. By empirical, he means that this type of inquiry is grounded in the
world of experience. Inquiry into meaning says researchers try to understand how
others make sense of their experience. Denzin and Lincoln (2000) claim that
qualitative research involves an interpretive and naturalistic approach: ―This means
that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make
sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them‖.
In the ground-breaking work Metaphors We live by (1980), Lakoff and Johnson
showed that metaphors are in fact a fundamental, structuring mechanism in the way
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