Luận văn thạc sĩ conceptual metaphors in english and vietnamese idioms relating to love and desire for life

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
QUY NHON UNIVERSITY

HUỲNH LỆ MY

CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS
IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE IDIOMATIC
EXPRESSIONS
RELATING TO LOVE AND DESIRE FOR LIFE

Field: English Linguistics
Code: 8.22.02.01

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phan Văn Hòa

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BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN

HUỲNH LỆ MY

ẨN DỤ Ý NIỆM TRONG
CÁC YẾU TỐ THÀNH NGỮ TIẾNG VIỆT VÀ TIẾNG ANH
LIÊN QUAN ĐẾN TÌNH YÊU VÀ KHÁT VỌNG SỐNG

Chuyên ngành:

Ngôn ngữ Anh

Mã số:

8.22.02.01

Người hướng dẫn: PGS. TS. Phan Văn Hòa

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

There are no materials published anywhere. Of course, this study doesn’t get
any materials extracted in the whole, or in part from a thesis by which it has
qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma except where reference is
made in the thesis.
No other person’s work has been used without any acknowledgement in the
thesis.
The thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in
any other tertiary institutions.
Binh Dinh, 2020

Huỳnh Lệ My

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

First and foremost, I would like to extend my deepest and most sincere
thanks to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phan Van Hoa, who always instructs me
with patience and enthusiasm. My thesis would not have been finished without his
enormous help. This work has been fulfilled with his giant and meaningful
guidance.
I also would like to show my deep gratefulness to all of the lecturers of
Foreign Languages Department of Quy Nhon University. Especially, the lecturers
are the pioneers in introducing the classic essential theory on conceptual metaphor
and translation for my thesis. I would like also express my best feelings to the
lecturers from other universities for their great teaching.
Finally, I would love to emphasize my appreciation to my family who is
always on my side to support me and my best friend Le Thi Trinh Nu, who has
encouraged me with patience.
Binh Dinh, 2020
`

Signature

Huynh Le My

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ABSTRACT
This study has been conducted with my tremendous attempt to investigating
conceptual metaphors expressing to Vietnamese and English idioms relating to love

and desire for life. Many idioms have been collected with a large number. The
chosen idioms are popular with both Vietnamese and English people. The theory of
cognitive linguistics raised by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (1980) and
Kövecses (2002)are considered as the main theories in this study. There are 200
samples concluding Vietnamese and English idioms used with the total of 30
conceptual metaphors. By applying with various methods comprising quantitative,
qualitative, descriptive and contrastive approaches, the study achieved the important
aims and objectives. The result points out those kinds of metaphors used with the
different purposes in English and Vietnamese idioms.
Keywords: Conceptual Metaphors, Vietnamese and English Idioms, Love,
Desire for Life

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................. iv
ABBREVIATIONS........................................................................................... x
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................... xi
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................. 1
1.1. RATIONALE ............................................................................................. 1
1.2. AIM AND OBJECTIVES .......................................................................... 3
1.2.1. Aim .......................................................................................................... 3
1.2.2. Objectives ................................................................................................ 3

1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS........................................................................ 3
1.4. SCOPE OF THE STUDY .......................................................................... 4
1.5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ........................................................... 4
1.6. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY ........................................................ 4
CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL
BACKGROUND ............................................................................................. 6
2.1. LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 6
2.2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ........................................................... 9
2.2.1. Conceptual Metaphor .............................................................................. 9
2.2.1.1. Definition ............................................................................................. 9

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2.2.1.2. Classification ...................................................................................... 13
2.2.1.3. Conceptual Metaphorical Mappings .................................................. 18
2.2.2. The Idioms in English and Vietnamese ................................................ 19
2.2.2.1. Definition ........................................................................................... 19
2.2.2.2. Features .............................................................................................. 20
2.2.2. The differences and similarities between idioms and proverbs ............ 21
CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ............. 24
3.1. RESEARCH METHODS ........................................................................ 24
3.2. DATA COLLECTION ............................................................................ 24
3.3. DATA ANALYSIS .................................................................................. 25
3.4. RESEARCH PROCEDURES .................................................................. 26
3.5. SUMMARY ............................................................................................. 26
CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ......................................... 27
4.1. CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

IDIOMS RELATING TO LOVE ................................................................... 27
4.1.1. Love is a journey ................................................................................... 27
4.1.1.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 27
4.1.1.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 27
4.1.2. Love is an object ................................................................................... 28
4.1.2.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 28
4.1.2.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 28
4.1.3. Love is fire ............................................................................................ 29
4.1.3.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 29
4.1.3.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 30

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4.1.4. Love is a unity ....................................................................................... 30
4.1.4.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 30
4.1.4.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 31
4.1.5. Love is heaven....................................................................................... 31
4.1.5.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 32
4.1.5.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 32
4.1.6. Love is a container ................................................................................ 33
4.1.6.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 34
4.1.6.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 34
4.1.7. Love is parts of body ............................................................................. 34
4.1.7.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 35
4.1.7.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 35
4.1.8. Love is vegetation ................................................................................. 36
4.1.8.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 36

4.1.8.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 37
4.1.9. Love is an unstable state ....................................................................... 37
4.1.9.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 37
4.1.9.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 38
4.1.10. Love is a game .................................................................................... 38
4.1.10.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................. 39
4.1.10.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ...................................................................... 39
4.1.11. Love is a valuable commodity ............................................................ 40
4.1.11.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................. 40

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4.1.11.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ...................................................................... 41
4.1.12. Love is flavour .................................................................................... 41
4.1.12.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................. 41
4.1.12.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ...................................................................... 42
4.1.13. Love is a colour ................................................................................... 42
4.1.13.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................. 42
4.1.13.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ...................................................................... 43
4.1.14. Love is an animal ................................................................................ 43
4.1.14.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................. 44
4.1.14.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ...................................................................... 45
4.1.15. Love is food......................................................................................... 46
4.1.15.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................. 46
4.1.15.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ...................................................................... 46
4.1.16. Love is a choice................................................................................... 47
4.1.16.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................. 47

4.1.16.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ...................................................................... 47
4.1.17. Love is life........................................................................................... 48
4.1.17.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................. 48
4.1.17.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ...................................................................... 49
4.1.18. Love is foolishness .............................................................................. 49
4.1.18.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................. 49
4.1.18.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ...................................................................... 50
4.1.19. Love is a rope ...................................................................................... 50

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4.1.19.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................. 50
4.1.19.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ...................................................................... 51
4.1.20. Love is a natural force ......................................................................... 51
4.1.20.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................. 52
4.1.20.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ...................................................................... 52
4.2. CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
IDIOMS RELATING TO DESIRE FOR LIFE .............................................. 56
4.2.1. Desire for Life is an object .................................................................... 56
4.2.1.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 56
4.2.1.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 57
4.2.2. Desire for Life is an animal................................................................... 58
4.2.2.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 58
4.2.2.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 58
4.2.3. Desire for Life is a container................................................................. 59
4.2.3.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 59
4.2.3.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 59

4.2.4. Desire for Life is a valuable commodity............................................... 60
4.2.4.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 60
4.2.4.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 61
4.2.5. Desire for Life is vegetation.................................................................. 61
4.2.5.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 62
4.2.5.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 62
4.2.6. Desire for Life is fire ............................................................................. 62
4.2.6.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 63

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4.2.6.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 63
4.2.7. Desire for Life is a unity ....................................................................... 63
4.2.7.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 64
4.2.7.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 64
4.2.8. Desire for Life is heaven ....................................................................... 64
4.2.8.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 65
4.2.8.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 65
4.2.9. Desire for Life is human beings ............................................................ 66
4.2.9.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................... 66
4.2.9.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ........................................................................ 66
4.2.10. Desire for Life is a game ..................................................................... 67
4.2.10.1. In English Idioms ............................................................................. 67
4.2.10.2. In Vietnamese Idioms ...................................................................... 67
CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS ............................ 71
5.1. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................ 71
5.2. IMPLICATIONS...................................................................................... 73

5.3. LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH .. 74
REFERENCES .............................................................................................. 75
APPENDICESI

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ABBREVIATIONS

MIP

: metaphor identification procedure

SD

: source domain

TD

: target domain

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1. The metaphorical correspondences between Source
Domain and Target Domain.
Table 2.2. Metaphorical Mapping between Conceptual Domains.
Table 4.1. Conceptual metaphorical mapping of the source domain
―Heaven‖ and the target domain ―Love‖.
Table 4.2. The occurrence and percentage of conceptual metaphors
denoting love in Vietnamese and English idioms.
Table 4.3. The occurrence and percentage of conceptual metaphors
denoting desire for life in Vietnamese and English idioms.

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18
32

53

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CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. RATIONALE
From past to present, the topic of love and desire for life is always associated
with people and is very popular. Indeed, people from birth to adulthood carry a
burning love that can be family love, the country love, especially love between men
and women, and the desire for life. The special thing is that love and the desire for
life are two things that go hand in hand in human life, and they are the most

important things that help people succeed and develop more in life. For example, if
people do not like their work, the productivity will not be high, leading to them
being unsuccessful at their work, or musicians without faith in love will not be able
to make immortal music. It is also possible that, in some cases, people without the
desire for life cannot develop themselves. Thus, many idioms relating to love and
desire for life was born to motivate people, especially they are used in literature to
educate students. Also, the idioms usually contain conceptual metaphors which are
difficult to understand deeply.
Although love and the desire for life in idioms are very familiar, the concepts
of love and desire for life are two abstract concepts, so it is difficult to express them
to make the listeners understand the whole of the speakers' deep implications and .
This can be easily seen in life, we can see some examples below. To express the
meaning of ―I love you‖, some people say directly ―I love you‖ while others use
familiar images in life to describe it ―My heart has turned on the green light, but
why do you keep pushing the brakes like this‖. ―The heart turns green light‖ refers
to the speaker who has loved the listener. For the same idea, some people choose to
speak frankly but others choose to use some pictures to illustrate their sentences
more vividly, perspicuously, and deeply. Such usage is called a conceptual
metaphor.

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Metaphor is popularly used in literature and everyday language. Besides, it is
commonly used in idioms, especially idioms about love and the desire for life.
Vietnamese and English idioms contain a lot of conceptual metaphors; however,
due to differences in culture, lifestyle, and thinking, some idioms have the same
meaning but different languages will also differ in the types of metaphors in those
idioms. Let us take a look at the following idioms to see their metaphorical forms:

(1) Jules and Nora are a match made in heaven. They love doing things
together and cannot bear to be away from each other.
(2) Ai nói chi chàng chớ có nghe, ơng tơ bà nguyệt đã xe ta rồi.
(3) Their marriage was on the rocks as they couldn't get along with each
other anymore and were having huge arguments very frequently.
(4) Cơm chả lành, canh chả ngọt.
(5) Có cơng mài sắt có ngày nên kim.
All the idioms in the above examples contain common conceptual
metaphors. For example, in the first example ―Match made in heaven‖, the idiom
borrows the image of heaven to say that a couple is very compatible in all aspects of
love. The target domain here is LOVE and the Source domain is HEAVEN. In
example (2), people also use the HEAVEN metaphor to express the meaning of the
target domain LOVE. The special thing is that these idioms contain the same kinds
of metaphor, but they are two different objects, ―ông tơ bà nguyệt‖ only exists in
Vietnamese culture, and ―heaven‖ exists in both cultures. In the two idioms ―on the
rocks‖ and ―cơm chả lành canh chả ngọt‖, although the same meaning is the
quarrels or conflicts of couples in love, the two idioms contain two different types
of conceptual metaphors, the metaphor of object and the metaphor of flavour
respectively. Example (5) is also in the form of the metaphor of object, ―KIM‖
AND ―SẮT‖ are two source domains used to conceptualize the target domain
―DESIRE FOR LIFE‖.
In summary, how love and desire of life are conceptualized in English and
Vietnamese idioms, what the similarities and differences of metaphors of love and
desire for life in the idioms are have inspired me to conduct a research entitled:

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―Conceptual Metaphors in English and Vietnamese Idiomatic Expressions

Relating to Love and Desire for Life‖. Hopefully, this study will contribute to the
comprehending of conceptual metaphors in the Vietnamese and English idioms
relating to love and desire for life.
1.2. AIM AND OBJECTIVES
1.2.1. Aim
This research aims at identifying clearly the idioms relating to love and
desire for life, and finding out the similarities and differences about conceptual
metaphors in English and Vietnamese idioms involved.
1.2.2. Objectives
In order to achieve the aim of this research, the thesis concentrates on:
-

Identifying specifically the conceptual metaphors of love and desire for
life in English and Vietnamese.

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Describing how the concept of love and desire for life is metaphorically
expressed in English and Vietnamese idioms.

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Comparing the conceptual metaphor of love and desire for life between
English and Vietnamese idioms.

1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In order to fulfil the objective above, the analysis will answer these research
questions:
1. How are the conceptual metaphors of love and desire for life expressed in
English and Vietnamese idioms?

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2. What are the similarities and differences of the conceptual metaphors of
love and desire for life between English and Vietnamese idioms?
1.4. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study mainly focuses on the conceptual metaphors of love and desire for
life in the English and Vietnamese idioms. Also, the study precisely analyses the
conceptual metaphors of love and desire for life, and this study just mentions on
idioms, not in any poems, short stories or pieces of literature. So the idioms will be
explored exactly to gain the deep knowledge in the future.
1.5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
People demonstrate their erudite learning about the topic, as well as their
attractive and impressed ways of talking, and therefore, they usually use a lot of
idioms, especially, relating to love and desire for life. It is undeniable that love and
desire for life is the eternal issues in the human life. However, applying their
incisive knowledge about English and Vietnamese idioms of love and desire for life
is very mechanical and unconscious, they do not really understand the nature of
them. Thus, this study is hopefully the practical work to comprehend the conceptual
metaphor in general, and the conceptual metaphors of love and desire for life in
specific. Then, the study identifies the conceptual metaphor of love and desire for
life in English and Vietnamese idioms.
1.6. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
This thesis is organized into five chapters as follow:
Chapter 1, INTRODUCTION, presents the rationale, the aims and objectives
of the study, the research questions, the scope, the significance and the organization
of the study.

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Chapter

2,

LITERATURE

REVIEW

AND

THEORETICAL

BACKGROUND, firstly presents briefly the previous studies of conceptual
metaphor. Secondly, the theoretical knowledge about conceptual metaphors relating
to love and desire for life includes the definitions of conceptual metaphors, their
classification, and conceptual metaphoric domains. Then it discusses English and
Vietnamese idioms relating to love and desire for life, and the similarities between
them. Finally, typical examples in each idiom will be mentioned.
Chapter 3, RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY, describes the
intended process of the study that is the design, methods, research procedures, data
collection and data analysis.
Chapter 4, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION, emphasizes on the metaphors
about love and desire for life in English and Vietnamese idioms and how they are
used. The problem of difference and similarities between them will be also
mentioned.
Chapter 5, CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS, summarizes all the

major points discussed in the study. Moreover, implications for the learning, using
of idioms of love and desire for life will be provided.

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CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW AND
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.1. LITERATURE REVIEW
For centuries, metaphor has always been considered a common form in
literary works and common daily saying. Metaphor has been studied for a long time
from different perspectives. While philosophers tend to consider language as literal,
thinking metaphor as aberrant only to be used by poets, cognitive linguists view
metaphor as important and not marginal at all, emphasizing the construal of
meanings and our embodied understanding of the situation.
The most elemental theory of metaphor originated from the Greek
philosopher Aristotle (383-322 B.C), who is credited with introducing the word
―metaphor‖ in two of his major treatises (Rhetoric and Poetics, 1997). In Greek,
―metaphor‖ means ―to carry beyond‖ or ―to deliver‖. This meaning refers to an
implied comparison or transference of meaning between two objects formulated as
―A is B‖ or ―A implies B‖. Aristotle declared that ―metaphor is the transference of a
word of another significance either from genus to species, or from species to genus,
or from species to species or by analogy or proportion‖ (1997, p. 150). According
to Aristotle, metaphor stands in contrast to ordinary language.
Ivor Armstrong Richards (1936) is one of the lecturers who doubted the
traditional viewpoint of metaphor. He introduced the technical terms ―vehicle‖ and
―tenor‖ for the metaphorical words. The first term represents the underlying idea
that is illustrated or illuminated by the other, which is applied to it. From a different

perspective, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (1980) published the book entitled
―Metaphors We Live By‖, which revolutionized the field of cognitive linguistics.
Lakoff and Johnson clearly stated their opinion about metaphor:

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Metaphor has been viewed for a long time as a characteristic of language
alone, a matter of words rather than thought or action. However, as we have
recognised, the new explorations of metaphor show that it is pervasive in
daily life, not just in language but in thought and action. Our ordinary
conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally
metaphorical in nature. (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980, p. 3)
Lakoff and Johnson's research has brought about a variety of studies within
this field of study, and many of the conceptual metaphors relating to ARGUMENT,
TIME, LIFE, and LOVE, for example, that they discovered are used by people
continually and are also extensively studied by linguists. The utilization of
conceptual metaphors in daily language may not always be evident since they are
used almost automatically (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980, p. 3). Zoltán Kövecses
(2002) gives us more insight into conceptual metaphors based on the cognitive point
of view, stating the important role of metaphor in our cognitive activities. In
addition, conceptual metaphors of LOVE have been focused on in detail in his
―Metaphors of Anger, Pride and Love: A Lexical Approach to the Structure of
Concepts‖ (1986).
In Vietnam, conceptual metaphors have been studied by many researchers
such as Ly Toan Thang, Nguyen Duc Ton (2007), Nguyen Lai (2009). It cannot be
uncounted to Phan The Hung (2007) with his article named ―Ån dụ ý niệm‖
(Conceptual Metaphors). A variety of publications exploring the different aspects
of conceptual metaphors have been made such as ―Suy nghĩ về ẩn dụ khái niệm

trong thế giới thi ca từ góc nhìn của ngơn ngữ học tri nhận” (Thinking about
conceptual metaphors in the poetic world from the perspective of cognitive
linguistics) by Nguyen Lai (2009) or ―An investigation into conceptual metaphors
for life, death and time in English and Vietnamese‖ by Phan Van Hoa and Nguyen
Thị Tu Trinh (2010). Phan Van Hoa and Ho Trinh Quynh Thu (2011) studied ―Ẩn
dụ ý niệm „Tình yêu là cuộc hành trình‟ trong tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt‖ (Conceptual
metaphor „Love is a journey‟ in English and Vietnamese) (Linguistics and Life,
Vol. 9 (191), p. 15). Moreover, Le Thi My Nhat (2002) investigated ―The

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Metaphoric Devices in English and Vietnamese Proverbs‖. Ho Vi Nu My Linh
(2011) researched ―Metaphor in Newspapers (English versus Vietnamese)‖. Lately,
Nguyen Thị Thanh Huyen (2009) has researched into ―Ẩn dụ trị nhân - Mơ hình ẩn
dụ cầu trúc trên cử liệu ca từ của Trịnh Công Sơn‖ (Perceptual metaphors - model
of structural metaphors on lyrics evidence from Trinh Cong Son) under the
supervision of Assoc. Prof. Tran Van Co.
Conceptual metaphors of idioms in Vietnamese and English have vividly
been discussed for their practical meaning in literature and in everyday language for
a long time. Idioms have a simple structure that combines with different types of
metaphors to make them profound and popular. Therefore, there have been many
authors interested in this topic and since then many research papers have been born.
In 2016, Tran The Phi carried out his research with the title ―Ẩn dụ ý niệm về cảm
xúc trong thành ngữ Tiếng Việt (so sánh với thành ngữ Tiếng Anh)‖. Besides, Tran
Thi Thu Ba (2011) conducted a research with the title ―An investigation into
English and Vietnamese idioms containing words denoting time‖.
Nguyen Tan Thanh (2017) conducts research entitled ―Conceptual
metaphors denoting love in The Tale of Kieu by Nguyen Du and its English versions

by Michael Counsel and Huynh Sanh Thong‖. His thesis mainly focuses on
analysing the conceptual metaphor of love which is the forever topic. He finds out
the metaphorical elements in the original work and compares them to the translation
between Michael Counsel and Huynh Sanh Thong. By his knowledge, he gives the
gaps between the translations. However, the other stylistic devices and other
conceptual metaphors were explored.
Nguyen Thi Mong Cam (2012) writes the thesis with the title ―An
investigation in English and Vietnamese idioms related to love and marriage‖. She
mainly investigates the syntactic, stylistic, and semantic features of love and
marriage idioms in English and Vietnamese and finds out the similarities and

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differences between English and Vietnamese love and marriage in the two aspects
mentioned. However, she does not examine metaphors in every idiom. She just
focuses on a small aspect of the thesis.
Nguyen Thi Khanh Ly (2015) conducts the thesis with the title ―A study on
conceptual metaphors of “rain”/ “mưa”, “sunshine”/ “nắng” in English and
Vietnamese 20th century songs‖. In her thesis, many metaphorical elements are
shown clearly, she collects qualified data related to ―rain‖ and ―sunshine‖ from
songs. By understanding the content of the songs, she analyses the conceptual
metaphors in every expression precisely.
2.2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.2.1. Conceptual Metaphor
2.2.1.1. Definition
To understand conceptual metaphor, we have to get its origin. What
conceptual metaphor means, why it is called conceptual metaphors, and what
conceptual metaphor is for. In cognitive linguistics, the term ―conceptual‖ is very

important because it is the basis of conceptual metaphor. As reported by Tran Van
Co (2007), the expression ―conceptual‖ is formed in people's consciousness.
Essentially, according to cognitive science, ordinary people mainly think with
concepts, which not only include notions but also images of it, or the culture
included in it. Therefore, it is more correct to say that the conceptual metaphor is a
human’s thinking and consciousness. The basis of the concept is the direct
emotional experience that people gain in the process of communicating with
society, with the outside world through their senses.
According to the above interpretation, conceptual metaphor is one of the
forms of conceptualization, a cognitive process which has the function of
expressing and forming new ideas, the new knowledge cannot be formed without it.

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In other words, conceptual metaphor is to show people's mind in the world, how
they see things, phenomena, concepts, and many other things. Conceptual metaphor
also shows a block of knowledge that people perceive in the course of life, it shows
the knowledge block of perception in terms of words. To be clear, conceptual
metaphor is to make some abstract concept understandable by associating it with a
simple, or palpable, thinking concept.
Conceptual metaphor is exploited in literary works, poems, idioms, and also
in everyday human language. Conceptual metaphor is seen as a key element in
cognitive linguistics. A metaphor is commonly understood as a special comparison
of two things in languages, usually taking a particular one to represent a certain
abstraction. According to Wikipedia, ―a metaphor is a figure of speech that, for
rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide
(or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two ideas. Metaphors
are often compared with other types of figurative languages, such as antithesis,

hyperbole, metonymy and simile.‖
The ―All the world's a stage‖ monologue from William Shakespeare’s ―As
You Like It‖ is one of the most commonly cited examples of a metaphor.
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances ...
(William Shakespeare, 1623)
This quote shows several metaphors such as “all the world‟s a stage”, which
means that the world in the eyes of a playwright is like a stage; then, the metaphor
“all the men and women merely players” means the people of society as characters
in that play. It can be seen that “world” and “stage” have similarities with each
other.

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Lakoff and Johnson (1980) argued that “the essence of metaphors is
understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another.” They said:
The most essential claim we have made up to now is that metaphor is not just
a matter of language, which means that the problem of mere words. We will
argue that, on the other hands, human thought processes are largely
metaphorical. This is what we mean when we say that the human conceptual
system is metaphorically structured and defined. Metaphors as linguistic
expressions are possible clearly because there are metaphors in a person's
conceptual system. (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980, p. 6).
Considering the basis of all metaphors the concept, Lakoff and Johnson
named their theory of metaphors the ―conceptual metaphor‖. It is also called
―cognitive metaphor‖ because this new concept of metaphor lies in the school of
cognitive linguistics.

In the cognitive linguistic view, metaphor is defined as understanding one
conceptual domain A in terms of another conceptual domain B (Kövecses, 2002, p.
4).
In fact, in conceptual metaphor there exist ―Source Domain‖ (A) and ―Target
Domain‖ (B), which (A) is understood through (B) (Kövecses, 2002, p.4). The
―Source Domain‖ is often abstract concepts such as life, love, arguments, ideas and
the other ―Target Domain‖ like fire, vegetation, journey, nutrient and others. The
relationship between two domains is called ―Mapping‖. Some conceptual metaphors
are drawn from ―Metaphors We Live By‖ by Lakoff and Johnson (1980). Let us take
the typical metaphor “Love is a patient‖ as an example. ―Love‖ is the target domain,
and ―Patient‖ is the source domain. This conceptual metaphor can result in the
following linguistic expressions.
This is a sick relationship.
They have a strong, healthy marriage.
The marriage is dead—it can’t be revived.
Their marriage is on the mend.
We’re getting back on our feet.

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Their relationship is in really good shape.
They’ve got a listless marriage.
Their marriage is on its last legs.
It’s a tired affair
(Lakoff and Johnson, 1980, p.106)
The above conceptual correspondence between two domains shows the same
properties. The source domain ―Patient‖ has some properties like ―sick‖, ―strong‖,
―healthy‖, ―dead‖, ―revived‖, ―on the mend‖, ―back on your feet‖, ―in really good

shape‖, listless, on its last legs, tired which are assigned to the target domain
―Love‖.
We can see that if ―Love‖ and ―Patient‖ stand separately from each other, it
seems that the two concepts have nothing to do with each other. However, when it
comes to each of these properties, they have many similarities. Let us compare.
Table 2.1. The metaphorical correspondences between
Source Domain and Target Domain.

SD: Love

TD: Patient

Lovers

Patients

The Lovers are sick in love

The patients are sick in health

strong, healthy marriage

strong, healthy health

The marriage is dead

the live is dead

The marriage can’t be revived

the health can‟t be revived

marriage is on the mend

the hurt is on the mend

The lovers are getting back on their feet

the patients are getting back on their fee

The relationship is in really good shape

the health is in really good shape

a listless marriage

a listless spirit

The marriage is on its last legs

the health is on its last legs

a tired affair

a tired life

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