언론담화 선거기사의 비유적 표현의 은유 이론적 분석

Abstract

Election is one of the most important formal decision-making processes by which a population chooses representatives in a democratic society. News articles on election often use figurative expressions in reporting election-related events. This research explores how election is viewed in media discourse and what metaphors are at work in the use of figurative expressions in terms of Metaphor Theory (MT). Examination of reports on election shows that election is viewed as waging wars, playing sports games in most cases, displaying metaphors such as ELECTION IS WAR/WAGING BATTLES and ELECTION IS PLAYING (SPORTS) GAMES, among others. This research also shows that some of the particular processes or aspects of election are mapped on prominent aspects of wars/battles, sports, games in denoting metaphorical meanings. This fact suggests that metaphors are at work for figurative meanings by matching the abstract notions in the target domains and concrete entities in the source domains. In sum, this research argues that MT is a useful tool for understanding and explaining metaphorically extended meanings of the terms of war, battles, sports, games, and so on in representing the competitive nature of election in written media discourse.