Nghiên cứu về biện pháp ẩn dụ trong tiêu đề báo kinh tế bắng tiếng anh

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
University of Languages and International Studies
Faculty of English Teacher Education

GRADUATION PAPER

AN ANALYSIS OF METAPHOR IN ECONOMIC NEWS HEADLINES IN
ENGLISH
( Nghiên cứu về biện pháp ẩn dụ trong tiêu đề báo kinh tế bắng Tiếng Anh)

Name of student

: Pham Thu Hoai

Supervisor

: Nguyen Xuan Thom, Assoc.Prof.Phd

Year of enrolment

: QH2011.F1.E10

HANOI – May 2015


ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
Trường đại học Ngoại Ngữ
Khoa Sư Phạm Tiếng Anh

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP
Nghiên cứu về biện pháp ẩn dụ trong tiêu đề báo kinh tế bằng Tiếng Anh

Họ và tên

: Phạm Thu Hoài

Giáo viên hướng dẫn

: PGS. TS. Nguyễn Xn Thơm

Khóa

: QH2011.F1.E10

Hà Nơi, Tháng năm, 2015


DECLERATION
I hereby state that I: Pham Thu Hoai, QH2011.F1.E10, being as a candidate for the degree of
Bachelor of Arts(TEFL), accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and
use of Bachelor‘s Graduation Paper deposited in the library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be
accessible for the purpose of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions
established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper.
Signature of supervisor

Date


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
On completion of this thesis, I am gratefully indebted to my supervisor Dr. Nguyen Xuan

Thom for his enthusiasm, valuable suggestions, advice and correction during the course of my
writing.
I also take this opportunity to thank all of my colleagues at the class QH2011E10, Vietnam
National University - Hanoi, for their encouragement during the thesis preparation as well as their
interesting discussions relating to the field of research which are additional resources for this study.
Finally, I would like to show my deep gratitude to my family and my friends for their
support and encouragement without which my thesis would not have been accomplished.


ABSTRACT
Using the theoretical framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory as initiated by Lakoff and
Johnson (1980), this study carried out an investigation into the use of the conceptual metaphor
used for the headlines of economic news articles in the hope of helping ESP learners cope with
figurative expressions and also giving some hints for Vietnamese translators.
The thesis was particularly dealt with the perceptions of the economy as human beings, a
machine, a plant, and as a building. The data collection for the analysis has been drawn from the
specific field of the business sections of three newspapers: The Economist, Financial Times and
CNNMoney, the Business Week, whereas all examples originate from the period between 2007
and 2010. Compiling a small corpus of non- literal instantiations as different authors have done
will assist to identify whether the contextual meaning of a word or a multiword unit of headline
contrasts with its basic meaning and whether the contextual meaning can be understood by
comparison with that basic meaning, and then to categorize, the different linguistic realizations
of a headline in terms of their syntactic structure, metaphor foci and source domains.


ABBREVIATIONS
FT: Financial Times
CN: CNNMoney.com
ESP: English for Specific Purposes

TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.

INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale………………………………………………………………………………………….1
2. Aims and objectives of the study…………………………………………………………………2
3. Significance of the study………………………………………………………………………….3
II.

LITERATURE REVIEW

1. Definition of metaphor…………………………………………………………………………….3
2. The concept of metaphor………………………………………………………………………….4
3. Conceptual metaphor……………………………………………………………………………...5
4. Classification of conceptual metaphor
4.1.Structural metaphor…………………………………………………………………………..6
4.2.Orientational metaphor……………………………………………………………………….7
4.3.Ontological metaphor………………………………………………………………………...8
5. Previous studies of metaphor in economic………………………………………………………..9
III.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1. A descriptive approach…………………………………………………………………………..10
2. Data collection…………………………………………………………………………………...10
3. Data analysis……………………………………………………………………………………..11
IV.

FINDING AND DISCUSSION.

4.1. Economy is human beings
4.1.1. Stages of Economic System are Stages of Human Beings……………………………14
4.1.2. The Structure of Economic System is the Structure of Physical Body……………….14
4.1.3. The Behaviours of Economic System is the Behaviours of Humans Beings…………15
4.1.4. The Condition of Economy is the Condition of Humans Beings……………………..16


4.1.5. Solutions to economic problems are a medical treatment/cure……………………….17
4.2. Economy is a machine
4.2.1. The Functioning of Economic System is The Functioning of a Machine…………….18
4.2.2. The Simulation of Economic System is The Fuel of a Machine……………………...18
4.2.3. To Maintain Economic System is to Maintain a Machine……………………………19
4.3. Economy is a plant
4.3.1. Economic Development is the Plant‘s growth………………………………………..21
4.3.2. Parts of the Economic System are Parts of the Plant………………………………….22
4.3.3. The Best Stage of Economic Development is the Fruit of a Plant……………………23
4.4. Economy is a building
4.4.1. The structure of Economic System is the Structure of a Building……………………24
4.4.2. The Stability of the Economy is the Stability of a Building………………………….26
4.4.3. The Designer of Economic System is the Designer of a Building……………………27
4.5. Summary of finding and discussion………………………………………………………..28
V. CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………….30
Reference


CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale

Headlines are multifunctional. They try to attract the reader‘s attention to indicate the writer‘s
attitude to the story, to provide clues of what is going on or to highlight the focus of the article
(Morley, 1998). The density of that item of information in the press together with the limited space
available force headlines writers or sub-editors to use terms which may be taken as unusual or
sensational and which must necessarily be short. It is precisely in this part of the report where
greatest efforts are made to deploy the overt or covert ideology by giving prominence to one aspect
of the story rather than another (Bell, 1991) or by structuring news in such a way that allow for
reordering, prioritizing and highlighting the events reported. To reach these aims journalists
usually resort to the use of metaphors. Koller (2004) points out, by using particular metaphors in
the headlines of any front page, reporters may define a topic, favour a specific conceptualization
and persuade readers to share their metaphors. Although facts are facts in the business world it is
always the journalists‘ perspective that readers come across. Thus, it is advisable to bear in mind
Goatly‘s (1997: 155) point of view on metaphors: Metaphor […] is not a mere reflection of preexisting objective reality but a construction of reality, through a categorization entailing the
selection of some features as critical and others as non-critical, metaphors can consciously be used
to construct [...] reality.
The role metaphors play in transmitting the message is of such importance that it warrants an
approach from a cognitive perspective. Researchers (Hawkins, 2001; Sandikcioglu, 2001; White &
Herrera Soler, 2003; Herrera Soler, 2006a & 2006b) have highlighted the importance of metaphor

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in conveying ideology. Their efforts have been addressed to unveiling the use of metaphors in
establishing sometimes a marked, though most often a hidden ideology in the press, since even
what is taken as neutral style in presenting the news presupposes a co nsensus reflecting the
underlying belief and value system of particular groups (Fowler, 1991). The challenge, therefore,
of journalists is not only how to symbolize their ideas but also how to succeed in communicating
them. Their efforts will be addressed to finding a suitable structure, symbol, word or schema that
allows them to transmit the intended message in a manner that attracts the reader‘s attention.
2. Aims and objectives of the study

2.1

Aim of the study

This research mainly focuses on the metaphors used in business news headlines. The aim is to
identify and analyze both the conceptual metaphors and the creative metaphorical linguistic
expressions used in those headlines and the possible reasons why a certain source domain is
chosen for a certain target domain. In addition, this topic is carried to find out the effective use of
metaphor in news headlines in hope of giving some hints for Vietnamese translation these
headlines. More important, the study is hopefully aimed at facilitating foreign language learning
and especially helping ESP learners cope with figurative expressions.
2.2

Objectives of the study or the research questions.

With the hope of reaching the aims stated, the study tries to seek out the answers to two questions:
- How are the headlines constructed?
- How different between the meaning of metaphor itself and in context of economic headlines?
3. Significance of the research.
The values of the study lie in both theoretical and practical aspects. Theoretically, the study helps
to find out the structure of metaphors used in business news headlines. Practically, the purpose of

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this approach is to contribute better understanding of the business press and in the long term this
research carried in hope of helping ESP learners cope with figurative expressions.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERARURE REVIEW
1. Definition of metaphor.
An enormous effort has been made in the course of finding a way to define what
metaphor is by many scholars and researchers all around the world. Gibbs (1999:29) even
introduced an ironical statement by Wayne Booth that by the year 2039 ―there would be more
students of metaphor than people‖ (quoted in Michael White, Estudios Ingleses de la
Universidad Complutense, Vol.10 (2002) 309-315). Kovecses, one of the most significant
Hungarian researchers of metaphors gave out his definition as follows:
In the cognitive linguistic view, metaphor is defined as understanding one conceptual domain in
terms of another conceptual domain […]. The conceptual domain from which we draw
metaphorical expressions is to understand another conceptual domain called source domain,
while the conceptual domain that is understood this wa y is the target domain […].
Understanding one domain in terms of another involves a set of fixed correspondences
(technically called mappings) between a source and a target domain (2002: 4) (quoted in Agnes
(2009:20))
All definitions have in common that they speak of two terms related to each other thanks to the
similarities they have. But they also limit the function of metaphors to embellish or decorate
the language. In their work, Lakoff and Johnson (1980:3) said:
―Metaphor is for most people, a device of the poetic imagination and the rhetorical
flourish – a matter of extraordinary rather than ordinary language. Moreover, metaphor is
typically viewed as characteristic of language alone, a matter of words rather than
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thought or action. For this reason, most people think they can get along perfectly well
without metaphor. We have found, on the contrary, that metaphor is pervasive in
everyday 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.‖
By what they found, Lakoff and Johnson indicated that metaphors not only influence our
―linguistic behavior but also our thought processes and our system of value.‖(cited in Ágnes,
2009: 21)
2. The concept of metaphor
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
& Cruse 2004:2).
Before the publication of the great work, metaphor was viewed by most people as an 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 & Johnson 2003:4).
3. Conceptual metaphor.

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Lakoff and Johnson introduced the notion of conceptual metaphors in Metaphor we live by (1980)
with some famous metaphors like
LOVE IS A JOURNEY, ARGUMENT IS WAR, HAPPY IS UP.
Black also gave a metaphor MAN IS WOLF (Black, 1955:286) which as our first glance
resembles the structure of conceptualization given by Lakoff and Johnson. However, in his work,
Black did not give out two terms target and source domain, instead he called MAN and WOLF
two subjects: the principle subject (MAN) and the subsidiary subject (WOLF), then he tried to
suggest a set of standard believes about wolves that are the common possession of the members of

some speech community from which we note that wolves refer ―to something fierce, carnivorous,
treacherous‖, hence man ―preys upon other animals‖ and is ―fierce, hungry, engaged in
constant struggle, a scavenger‖ (Black, 1995:287). Black called the similarities between
MAN and WOLF ―the commonplaces‖ and the ―corresponding system‖ (1995:288). From
Black‘s analysis of his metaphor, we can see that the notion of conceptual metaphor had been
conceived long ago, before the introduction of Lakoff and Johnson.
To give some ideas of what it could mean for a concept to be metaphorical and for such a concept
to structure

an everyday activity,

Lakoff and

Johnson started

with the

concept

ARGUMENT and the conceptual metaphor ARGUMENT IS WAR which is reflected in
our daily language by a wide variety of expressions.
ARGUMENT IS WAR
Your claims are indefensible.
He attacked every weak point in my argument.
His criticisms were right on the target.
I demolished his argument.

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I‘ve never won an argument with him.
You disagree? Okay, shoot!
If you use that strategy, he‘ll wipe you out.
He shot down all of my arguments.
(Lakoff and Johnson, 2003:5)
4. Classification of conceptual metaphors.
Lakoff and Johnson (2003) classified conceptual metaphors into three different kinds,
namely structural metaphors, orientational metaphors and ontological metaphors. Kovecses
(2010), despite having three other criteria for categorizing conceptual metaphors, had the same
classification as Lakoff and Johnson, regarding cognitive function of metaphors.
4.1.

Structural metaphors

Structural metaphor is one kind of conceptual metaphors classified on the basis of conceptual
functions. Lakoff and Johnson (2003: 15) define it as one kind of metaphors that one concept is
structured in terms of another in the book Metaphors We Live By. Structural metaphors have
something to do with our experience and allow us to use ―one highly structured and
clearly delineated concept to structure another‖ (Lakoff & Johnson, 2003:62), just as
Lövecses asserts that in structural metaphors, the source domain provides relatively richer
knowledge structure to help people understand the concept of the target through mappings
(Kövecses, 2002: 33). For example, TIME IS MONEY metaphor is suitable for explaining
how the structure of money being mapped onto the notion of time. What follows are some
examples to reflect TIME IS MONEY (Lakoff & Johnson, 2003:9):
You‘re wasting my time.
This gadget will save your time.

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How do you spend your time these days?
I‘ve invested a lot of time in her.
You need to budget your time.
Money is commonly in our everyday experience and it can be saved, wasted, spent and
budgeted and so on. Therefore, when we conceive time as money, we can easily comprehend the
complex notion of time in terms of money as time has the similarity with money in
structure. In this way, structural metaphors help us better understand ing the notion of abstract
target domains through the structure of the source domains by mapping process. More or less,
journey metaphors being employed to economic field are similar to TIME IS MONEY
metaphor by reason that journey and economic have something common in structure.
4.2.

Orientational metaphors.

Most orientational metaphors are related to basic spatial orientations of human beings, such as updown, 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 examples, an upward orientation characterizes certain target concepts,
while their opposite concepts are characterized by a downward orientation (Kövecses 2002: 36).
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.

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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 2002:36).

4.3. Ontological metaphors
Ontological metaphors can also be understood as entity and substance metaphors (Lackoff &
Johnson 2003:26). 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 & Johnson
2003:26). Take the INFLATION IS AN ENTITY metaphor from Metaphors We Live By (Lakoff
& Johnson 2003:27) as an example. Inflation is understood as an entity and it enables us to refer to
and qualify it in the following sentences (Lakoff & Johnson 2003:27):
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 in to 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.
5. Previous studies of metaphor in economic.
Economy as an abstract field has drawn much attention to many economists and scholars, and so
far many studies of metaphors in economy from different angles have been done.
The American economist McCloskey is the pioneer who deep study on metaphors in
economic. In his article Towards a Rhetoric of Economics, he claims that metaphor is the

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most important example of economic rhetoric and it is essential to economic thinking even to the
most formal kind of economic thinking. McCloskey (1988:23) also says that economics is indeed
adrift in metaphors and they are empirical reality by improving and summarizing Kuttner
and Goodman‘s idea. Another economist Paul Krugman (1995:79) believes that metap hor as ―a
kind of heuristic modeling technique‖ plays an important role in conveying ones‘ economic
insights. Thus, based on their studies, we can see that metaphors do play an important role in

economic field, but their studies have mainly been done from the rhetorical perspective.
From the 1980s, the studies from cognitive perspective are increasing. For instance, from the
cognitive perspective, Gao (2008) makes a study of metaphors in financial reporting from The
Economist in 2007. She finds there are many metaphors in economic discourses and classifies
three different kinds of economic metaphors. By analyzing the working mechanism, she concludes
that the concrete terms from our experience in the physical world are used to comprehend
the abstract economic concepts and the study of conceptual metaphors can help people cultivate
their metaphorical thinking on economic discourses. In other words, we can use concrete and
physical terms metaphorically to help unprofessional readers understand the economic discourses.
In Vietnam, some notable researches on the metaphors used in economical prints include thesis
done by M.A Nguyễn Thụy Phương Lan ( 2009) on ‗ Khảo sát ẩn dụ trong các sách kinh tế tiếng
Anh and ‗Metaphor and metonymy in editorials headlines‘ (2013) written by Nguyen Thi Hong
Nhung, in which she carried out a investigation in the usage of both metaphor and metonymy in
headlines of newspapers.
All the researches have revealed typical and also interesting features of metaphor in genera l and
headlines newspapers in particular. Such studies of economic metaphors can provide us an
available way to understand the area of economy. However, few studies have been specialized

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in economic news headlines or only focused on one particular type of metaphor. Therefore, this
present study will primarily concern with the specific metaphor, with the data collected from the
economic news headlines.

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CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1. A descriptive approach
This study uses a combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods. The reasons for this
combination lie in the procedures of the study. First of all, the headlines are investigated so that
metaphor appearing in them are discovered and named. Next, to find out which kind of metaphors
is the most commonly- used in those headlines, the quantitative method is employed through
systemizing the frequency of the occurrence of each metaphor in different tables. Some
complementary methods used in this study include studying so me specialist knowledge in business
news, getting to know the economic, social and cultural factors that have influence on the issue
investigated as well as personal observation.
2. Data Collection
In order to get a sample of metaphors found in business headlines that are available to the general
population, this study examines all kinds of headlines from general business press. Specifically,
general business publications were selected because these popular magazines typically yield high
circulations of relatively wide audiences of men and women across various age and economic
backgrounds. All the samples are selected from very famous and common online sources such as
The Economist, Financial Times and CNNMoney, the Business Week.
To begin with, 60 headlines were collected from these sources and then a selection was carried out,
the one that did not contain metaphorical linguistic expressions were left out.
3. Data Analysis
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To achieve this end, these sources for the collecting of material were investigated in advance. After
that, the metaphorical use of words and expressions was identified and categorized into categories
according to both of their source domain and target domain. Then the theory of conceptual
metaphor has been applied in the analysis and discussion of those metaphorical expressions.

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CHAPTER 4
FINDING AND DISCUSSION
The corpus under investigation here consists of 60 headlines, taken from the business and finance
sections of The Economist, Financial Times, the Business Week and CNNMoney.
The researched headlines make use of rhetorical devices such as metaphors, metonymies,
punning, pseudo-direct quotes and cultural allusions. In my analysis, the occurrence of metaphors
in the headlines was first identified (the actual written expressions). A distinction has been made,
at the identification level, between metaphors, metonymies and idioms. However, the analysis of
metonymic and idiomatic expressions stopped at the identification stage as my interest was
specifically in metaphorical conceptualizations. The headlines were then analyzed manually,
which was feasible on account of the limited size of the corpus, and this enab led a detailed
analysis of the headlines, in order to distinguish between literal and metaphorical occurrences.
Focusing this research on the identification and analysis of metaphors, the next step was to
deduce the conceptual metaphors underlying the linguistic metaphorical expressions. This method
employs the notion of ‗conceptual metaphor‘ to refer to the underlying comparison in which two
different mental domains are joined together. The actual written expression or ‗linguistic
metaphor‘ represents an example of the more general conceptual metaphor. Some of the
metaphors were found to be ‗fuzzy‘ (Cameron/ Low 1999: 79), as they were complex constructs
presenting elements that could fit more than one conceptual category. In these cases a search for
the predominant features was carried out, which determined the ‗best fit‘ category for the
metaphors. However, certain metaphors were actually found to represent more than one
conceptual category, and were thus attributed to different conceptual structures.
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For the identification of the metaphorical conceptualizations, Steen‘s (1999a, 1999b, 2002)
metaphor identification procedures have also been used. The analysis of linguistic expressions
used non- literally has included the immediate linguistic environment in which the expressions
appear. In this case the conceptual metaphors were deduced by understanding and considering the

headline together with the accompanying co-text, putting the metaphorical expression into its
context. For the identification of metaphors, the immediate article context to which the headline
refers remains the main surface factor of interpretation.
Following Steen‘s (1999b) suggestions with metaphorical headlines, the identification was cotextual when it was possible to identify an explicit literal referent within the accompanying
article. If the literal referent could not be located within the text, the metaphorical headlines were
considered contextual. For the latter group of metaphors the identification relied more on the
contextual knowledge of the interpreter, his/her knowledge of conventional language and the
shared culture of the discourse community.
As regards the conventionality or novelty of the analysed metaphors, this research does not
attempt a detailed identification, but in some cases a differentiation has been made. In some
headlines conventional metaphors are visible, while others present examples of ‗strong
metaphors‘ (Cameron 1999), which are novel and present a higher incongruity and require a high
cognitive demand.
Certain terms were not considered metaphorical in nature: these include float, sink, boom, fall,
rise, flow and slump, for example, as they have become practically crystallized in the language of
economics. Similarly, also phrasal verbs such as give in, give out and give up were excluded, as
their metaphorical quality may have become opaque to users; in any case, they might deserve
separate and in-depth research.

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Forty seven economic metaphorical expressions and sentences from the Financial Times,
CNNMoney via Google, will be categorized and presented which draw from the following
source domains: human beings, a machine, a plant and a building. These examples are marked
numbers in round brackets at the beginning and marked references respectively the in square
brackets in the end. For example, if an example is from the Financial Times, it will be marked
[FT]. If an example is selected from CNNMoney.com, it will be marked [CN]. In addition, the
economic metaphorical expressions, source domains, and functions of these conceptual
metaphors will be analyzed and discussed intensively.

4.1 ECONOMY IS HUMAN BEINGS
The belief that man is the measure of all things which is claimed by Plato, an ancient Greek
philosopher comprehends abstract economic concepts and phenomena relying upon human
features. In this way, personification sheds light on the things described, thus making it
manageable by applying human characteristics to economic discourses.
Human beings rely upon their own experience and knowledge to reason about the abstract and
complicated economic concepts and phenomena.
4.1.1. Stages of Economic System are Stages of Human Beings
As people know, everyone is bound to experience the following phases in the life: birth, growth,
maturation and death. These phases of life are often mapped onto the economic domains and used
to talk about the different stages of economic organization and business.
(1) The European Central Bank is in its infancy.[FT]
(2) Mature market should not be mistaken for a stagnant market.[FT]
(3) The Korean economy is in great danger of becoming an aging economy. [FT]
In example (1), infancy, the first stage of human life, implies that the European

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Central Bank is at the beginning of the development and need to be taken care of and protected
like an infant. In example (2), mature, the developed stage of human life, implies that market has
grown and developed. In example (3), aging, the later period of human life, implies that economy
is becoming declining and turning down. On the mapping, economic organizations and markets
are regarded as a living being and experience the process of infancy, maturity and declination
which is grounded in the resemblance and affinity between the source domain and the target
domain.
4.1.2. The Structure of Economic System is the Structure of Physical Body
Some particular parts of human body which operate to contribute to the whole body are also
employed as the source domain so as to humanize such economic concepts as market and
business and make it easier to reason about them. It is shown in the following examples:

(4) That failed to calm the market nerve.[FT]
(5) The heart of global economy [CN]
(6) The back bone of the economy [FT]
These three words, nerve, heart, backbone are main parts of the physical body which are
metaphorically used to describe the different aspects of economy and business respectively. In
example (4), the expression, the market nerve, means the most sensitive place of the market
because nerve is very susceptible to the outside world. In example (5), the phrase means the
centre of the global economy which is derived from the basic knowledge that the heart is the most
important part of physical body. However, in example (6), it means the mainstay of the economy
which also originates from the life experience. The back bone supports and upholds the whole
body. Actually, a large portion of economic metaphorical meaning derives from people‘s
experience of the physical body. The embodiment of the meaning is perhaps the central idea of

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