Metaphorical framing in public discourse in post-colonial Hong Kong

Abstract

Metaphor has been widely exploited by politicians to frame various issues in public discourse. This thesis undertakes a discourse-based analysis of metaphorical framing in a corpus of public speeches by Hong Kong political leaders in post-colonial Hong Kong (1997-2017). The thesis includes five studies which are divided into three major parts. The first part investigates the overall distribution patterns of metaphors across multiple linguistic and social factors (Study 1). The second part is concerned with the improvement of approaches to corpus-based metaphorical framing analysis (Studies 2 & 3). Study 2 examines the role of Mapping Principles between metaphor source-target domain pairings in corpus-based metaphorical framing analysis and Study 3 explores the potential of Time Series Analysis of discourse method to metaphor analysis in public discourse over time. The third part of the thesis draws upon the approaches proposed in the second part to examine the diachronic changes in metaphorical framing of specific societal issues in post-colonial Hong Kong (Studies 4 & 5). Study 4 focuses on changes in FREE ECONOMY metaphorical frames over time and Study 5 investigates changes in ELECTION metaphorical frames over time. These five studies contribute to the development of corpus-based metaphorical framing research from methodological, theoretical, and empirical perspectives. First, the establishment of an operational approach for analysing metaphorical framing based on source-target Mapping Principles provides a principled way to analyze the framing functions of metaphors in corpora. This approach links cognitive level (source-target mapping) and discourse-level (corpus evidence) analyses of metaphor with communication-level (framing function) aspects of metaphorical framing, contributing to the development of the three-dimensional model of metaphor (metaphor in thought, language, and communication) by presenting empirical support for metaphor analysis at the communicative dimension. Second, the presentation of two novel quantitative methods for metaphor analysis (a multifactorial analysis of metaphors in discourse and Time Series Analysis of metaphors aross time) emphasizes the significance of a mixed-method approach combining both quantitative and qualitative analyses to corpus-based metaphorical framing studies. Lastly, the diachronic analysis of the fundamental and incremental changes in metaphorical frames over time presents a comprehensive picture of the diachronic changes in metaphorical framing of specific societal issues in post-colonial Hong Kong (i.e., FREE ECONOMY and ELECTION) and its underlying ideological implications. Overall, this thesis enriches the current corpus-based metaphorical framing research. It shows the patterns of metaphorical frame use in a distinct context of Hong Kong public discourse and provides insight from an Outer Circle English context during the early post-colonial period in Hong Kong.