Luận án tiến sĩ Ngôn ngữ anh: The conceptual metaphor of the Vietnam war in American press = Ẩn dụ ý niệm về cuộc chiến tranh Việt Nam trong báo chí Mỹ (Phần 2)

Frame: A war as a process is elaborated by natural changes hiding the nature — making scene unclear to see, ending — dissolution, fighting — reactions, destructive consequences of natura

powerful, destructive, ruthless in the way that the government is ready to consume all dissented elements (“runs this country and simultaneously to crush then Buddhists’’) The war is also portrayed as a huge complicated machine in the sense that social

renovation requires countless jobs to complete (“a massive job of social engineering”) when being conceptualized as a grinding machine (“In the grinding struggle against

the Communist”), some other attributes of the war are stressed: tediousness, endlessness, exhaustion, erosion of strength, morale, support, belief, trust.

- Particular ideologies underlying metaphor choices at MS level (RQ3)

The metaphor THE VIETNAM WAR IS A MACHINE are more frequently used during the 1963-1967 period, when a series of horrifying events happened (presidential assassinations, self-immolations, bombing campaigns, search and

destroy operations) and the war was prolonged with no end in sight The metaphor is

the right choice to bring an image of a complicated, inhuman and endless war to the audience.

In the context of increasing manipulations, violent actions and American’s

direct involvement in the War marked with first deployment of ground troops in 1965,

via the source domain of a MACHINE, war correspondents are likely to warn that the war is becoming unstoppable Just like a machine which is very hard to control or stop once it is set into motion due to its momentum, a war tends to feed itself by

violence after violence, by power systems as well as human greed and fear benefiting

from its operation Justifiably, the war will be uncontrollable, expanding and dragging us all into its nonstop escalation just like a grinding machine breaking all materials in its rotation.

Compared with the previous metaphors (JOURNEY, BUSINESS), the concept of MACHINE is more blunt in the sense that it brings the ugly face of the war to the audience, arousing terrifying emotions and predicting traumatic results.

* Pattern 3: THE VIETNAM WARIS A HEAVY LOAD

- Construal of metaphor at four conceptual levels

Image schema: An entity is blockage

Domain: N.3 THE VIETNAM WAR IS A HEAVY LOAD

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N.3.1 Suffering from a tiring war is experiencing a heavy load

N.3.2 Prolonging the war is pulling something heavy

N.3.3 The war draining economics is a heavy load exhausting a person

N.3.4 Leaving strong impression is leaving a clear trace

Domain: The source domain of A HEAVY LOAD emphasizes the pressure, slow

pace, energy erosion, long-lasting impact and simultaneously conceals brutality,

quick changes, calculated strategies of a war.

Frame: Being experienced in terms of a heavy load, the war emerges as an obstacle which causes suppression, slowing down, exhaustion and obsession to all related

participants (suffering from war — experiencing heavy load, prolonging war — pulling

a heavy load, war draining economy — heavy load exhausting a human, leaving strong

impression — leaving a clear trace)

- Particular ideologies underlying metaphor choices at MS level (RQ3)

This metaphor appears scatteringly throughout the war With the concept of A

HEAVY LOAD, the journalists strengthen the idea that the war affects both sides

(Vietnamese farmers’ tiring life, American’s slow military progress, devastating economy in North Vietnam, lasting impact on Americans’ physical and mental health).

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We are both inescapable victims of the war, no real winners Just like the concept of

MACHINE, with A HEAVY LOAD, journalists are more direct to show their anti-war attitude in the sense that the war does not bring any good things to both sides.

4.2.1.4 THE VIETNAM WAR IS A NATURAL PHENOMENON

Based on the specific ideological messages, the specific-level metaphors in this

section are categorized into two groups: (1) THE VIETNAM WAR IS A NATURAL

PHENOMENON (which encompasses A NATURAL PROCESS, NATURAL

DISASTER, WEATHER PHENOMENON, HEATING PROCESS) and (2) THE VIETNAM WAR IS THE SHADOW OF AMERICAN PRESIDENTS.

* Pattern 1: THE VIETNAM WAR IS A NATURAL PHENOMENON

- Construal of metaphor at four conceptual levels

Image schema: An entity is a process

Domain: THE VIETNAM WAR IS A NATURAL PHENOMENON

P.1 THE VIETNAM WAR IS A NATURAL PROCESS

P.2 THE VIETNAM WAR IS A NATURAL DISASTER

P.3 THE VIETNAM WAR IS A WEATHER PHENOMENON

P.5 THE VIETNAM WAR IS A HEATING PROCESS

Frame:

P.1.1 Obscuring the progress is making scene unclear

P.1.2 A sad situation is a shadowy landscape

P.1.3 Hiding the nature is making scene unclear to see

P.1.4 Being eliminated is being sinking in

P.1.5 Ending an organization is dissolution

P.1.6 Being unable to function is being unable to move

P.1.7 Understanding the real situation is seeing scenes clearly

P.1.8 Fighting is natural reactions

P.2.1 Troops’ attacking is storm’s striking

P.2.2 An event is a typhoon

P.2.3 Small arms fire is a destructive kind of natural phenomenon

P.2.4 A person taking all the blame 1s a strip of metal taking all the electricity

P.2.5 Human separation is a cracked object

P.2.6 A large amount of destruction is a large mass of materials

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P.3.1 More difficult/ significant war is more diverse/ colder climate

P.3.2 Fear is coldness

P.3.3 Hopeless military situation is unpleasant weather

P.3.4 Changes in a war situation are different kinds of weather

P.3.5 Social transformation is complete climate change

P.5.1 The tense stage is the high temperature

Mental space:

P.1.1 Unnecessary secrecy leading to American public not knowing about the war is a thick

cloud making scene unclear to see

P.1.2 The Buddhist crisis leading to the sad situation in the Vietnam War is the dark cloud making the landscape more shadowy

P.1.3 Posing the dilemma as one between civilian and military rule leading to hide the basic aimlessness in the Vietnam War is a foggy day making scene unclear to see

P.1.4 The Diem government’s being eliminated is some liquid going down into another substance

P.1.5 The military leaders’ ending a provisional civilian legislature is someone making a solid becoming a liquid

P.1.6 Thieu government being unable to function normally because of numerous problems

is an object being unable to move because of its frozen state

P.1.7 Upsetting events related to the Vietnam War making Americans understand the real situation in the Vietnam War is light making dark scenes clear to see

P.1.8 The fight between opponent forces leading to the defeat of either side in the Vietnam

War is the chemical and physical reactions resulting in the destruction or changes in substances

P.2.1 The Diem government suddenly attacking Buddhist pagodas in the Vietnam War is a storm striking a place

P.2.2 The quiet on the Far Eastern front is the eye of a typhoon

P.2.3 Small arms fire in the Vietnam War is the rain of ice balls

P.2.4 McNamara taking all the blame in the Vietnam War is a strip of metal taking all the electricity to the ground in a storm

P.2.5 Americans being separated and shocked by the slaughter at Mylai in the Vietnam War

is an object being cracked and moved backwards and forwards quickly

P.2.6 A large amount of destruction on Hanoi and Haiphong happening at the same time in

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the Vietnam War is a large mass of materials in an avalanche

P.3.1 The more difficulty/ significance in the Vietnam War compared with other places during the Cold War is the more diverse/ colder climate compared with others of the same cold climate zone

P.3.2 The Americans’ fear when starting considering the change of the Diem government is the feeling of coldness when standing on the brink

P.3.3 Americans’ hopeless military situation is unpleasant weather

P.3.4 The changes in the situation of the Vietnam War are different kinds of weather

P.3.5 The situation of transformation in American society which is caused by the Vietnam war is the complete change under the impact of climate

P.5.1 The tense stage in the Vietnam War is the period of high temperature in a heating

process

* This metaphor implies some evaluations at four conceptual levels as follows.

Image schema: The natural phenomena are characterized with changes (from unclear

to clear scene, merging with other substance, changes in state, weather development and diversity, temperature increase This feature generates the mental pattern of

PROCESS which is a dynamic system and its operation is hard to be interfered by outside factors.

Domain: The metaphor portrays the war as a complex event with many factors, groups of participants, stages, influences, viewpoints of a war These numerous components, in order to co-exist in one system, need interact with each other according to its own principles It also obscures the active role of participants, the

win-lose nature and atrocity of a war.

Frame: A war as a process is elaborated by natural changes (hiding the nature —

making scene unclear to see, ending — dissolution, fighting — reactions), destructive consequences of natural disasters (attacking troops — striking storm, human separation — cracked object), development of weather patterns (difficult war — more

diverse climate, fear- coldness, hopeless situation — unpleasant weather, social

transformation — climate change, tense stage — high temperature)

- Particular ideologies underlying metaphor choices at MS level (RQ3)

The source concept of NATURAL PHENOMENON occurs in every year of

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the 1962 — 1973 war period Hence, it characterizes a stable nature of the war without

changes at different times.

Just like a natural phenomenon with a series of reactions one after another, the war seems to be a system operating on its own rules It must include different stages

—commence, escalation, fluctuation, aftermath and multiple interrelated factors With

this feature, journalists appear to persuade that the war is not easy to direct or control.

It may change the situation like a natural phenomenon, cause deadly consequences

like a typhoon, an earthquake, an avalanche, a fire, bring in unpredictable progression like weather changes Hence, it is imprudent to think that the victory is quick and

easy The Vietnam War is definitely a long and difficult struggle As well, it is pointless to become so worried about the outcome of each battle and anxious about

the final result because the war situation changes all the time The war may go in many unexpected directions, so all related people need to be alert, patient and well-

planned for next steps.

THE VIETNAM WAR IS A NATURAL PHENOMENON can be considered as

an objective evaluation of the war and it helps in building a calm view of the war for all

American participants and observers Nevertheless, it also conveys a reminder of the war’s destructive impacts in the similar way as natural disasters destroy human life.

* Pattern 2: THE VIETNAM WAR IS THE SHADOW OF AMERICAN PRESIDENTS

- Construal of metaphor at four conceptual levels

Image schema: An entity is superimposition

Domain: THE VIETNAM WAR IS THE SHADOW OF AMERICAN PRESIDENTS

Frame:

P.4.1 The associated influence is the sticking shadow

P.4.2 Reducing lively feelings is darkening body

P.4.3 The associated influence is the shadow behind

P.4.4 The affecting influence is the following shadow

Mental space:

P.4.1 The influence of the Vietnam War being associated with the American president is the

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shadow of American president sticking onto them

P.4.2 The thoughts on the Vietnam War reducing Nixon’s lively feelings in the vacation is

president’s shadow darkening himself

P.4.3 The influence of the Vietnam War being associated with the American presidents is the shadow of American presidents coming behind them

P.4.4 The influence of the Vietnam War constantly affecting President Nixon is his shadow following him

* This metaphor carries certain evaluations elaborated by the highlighting and hiding

at each conceptual level.

Image schema: A shadow sticking to a figure and darkening it generates the image schema of SUPERIMPOSITION This mental pattern characterizes the impossibility

of an entity to escaping from its own shadow or being confined within another entity Domain: The source concept emphasizes the obsessive impacts of the Vietnam War

on American presidents It hides other aspects like violence, complex nature, military strategies, etc.

Frame: Being framed as the shadow of American presidents, the Vietnam War elaborates its obsessive essence via shadow characteristics: associated influence — sticking shadow,

reducing lively feelings — darkening body, affecting influence — following shadow Presidents’ activities at work and in his private life were all horribly aftected by the war which filled up worries and drained the whole liveliness of life.

- Particular ideologies underlying metaphor choices at MS level (RQ3)

The prolonged Vietnam War was associated with four American presidents and became the most intense in the two presidential terms of Johnson and Nixon

before it ended in 1975 Despite changes in presidency and supreme power presidents

possess, the mental “torture” they have to suffer is more or less the same when the war “clings to” or “followed” the presidents, “clouded” their vacations The hidden

message seems to be clear: We are all the victims of war in some aspect And no one

is an exception to this rule, even when they try or pretend not to be affected because

obviously no one can escape from their own shadow (“the shadow of Vietnam pursued him even to the Catoctin Mountains”) This is a strong metaphor which

deeply impresses the audience with the long-lasting negative influence of the

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Vietnam War.

4.2.1.5 THE VIETNAM WAR IS TERRAIN

- Construal of metaphor at four conceptual levels

Image schema: An entity is up-down

Domain: THE VIETNAM WAR IS TERRAIN

T.1 THE VIETNAM WAR IS A WATER BODY

T.2 THE VIETNAM WAR IS A QUAGMIRE

T.3 THE VIETNAM WARIS A CLIFF

T.4 THE VIETNAM WAR IS A BOTTOMLESS PIT

T.5 THE VIETNAM WAR IS SPACE

T.6 THE VIETNAM WAR IS STEEP TERRAIN

T.7 THE VIETNAM WAR IS A BORDERLINE

Frame:

T.1.1 Hiding people is sheltering a vessel

T.1.2 Changing the approach is turning the tide

T.1.3 Breaking the enemy’s drive is changing the direction of the tide

T.1.4 The increase in protest is the rise in water

T.1.5 Changing the situation is reversing the direction of the tide

T.1.6 Being unable to control the situation is being incapable of stopping the tide

T.1.7 Being comforted by optimistic ideas is being saved from sinking

T.1.8 Secret moving of troops is leaking of liquid

T.1.9 A big change is a watershed

T.1.10 Differences are crosscurrents

T.1.11 The disappearance of illusion is the burst of bubbles

T.1.12 Changing to a bad situation is moving away from its direction

T.1.13 Improving for effectiveness is shaping for quicker movement

T.1.14 Movement of men and material is movement of currents

T.1.15 Proposing an idea without confirmation is making an object smoothly move without

purpose

T.2.1 Losing money in a war is downward movement to a soft substance

T.2.2 Becoming involved in a difficult situation is being made to sink in a wet ground

T.2.3 Being unable to move out of the bad situation is being unable to escape from the

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broken state

T.2.4 Having difficulties is struggling to move

T.2.5 Getting stuck is sinking

T.2.6 The difficult situation is the state of being trapped

T.3.1 Risk of a war is edge of a cliff

T.3.2 The starting point of the change is the edge of a cliff

T.3.3 Reducing the escalation is someone backing off from the edge

T.3.4 Much commitment is steepness

T.4.1 Becoming deeply involved is falling into a bottomless pit

T.5.1 An unstable political situation is an empty area

T.5.2 More to gain is many dimensions to meet

T.6.1 Dealing with difficulty is climbing to a higher place

T.7.1 Putting the limit is creating the boundary

Mental space:

T.1.1 Peasants hiding guerrillas in their houses is someone sheltering a vessel in a harbour T.1.2 A new generation of Americans trying to meet the enemy at the Vietnam war is people’s attempt to change the tide of a water body

T.1.3 The effort to break the Communist drive in the Vietnam War is the attempt to change the direction of the tide in a water body

T.1.4 The increase in Buddhist protest in the Vietnam War is the rise in a water body

T.1.5 Changing the situation of conflict between the Diem regime and its Buddhist foes in the Vietnam War is reversing the direction of the tide in the sea.

T.1.6 The South Vietnamese being unable to control the situation in the Vietnam War is someone being incapable of stopping the tide in a water body

T.1.7 Being comforted by optimistic ideas about the Vietnam war is being saved from sinking in a water body

T.1.8 Guerrillas’ secretly moving from the North to South Vietnam in the Vietnam War is liquid leaking from a crack of a container in a water body

T.1.9 The period of a big change to Vietnam after the attacks on pagodas is the watershed

of a water body.

T.1.10 Different beliefs between America and the Diem government in the Vietnam War are crosscurrenfs in a water body

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T.1.11 The disappearance of illusion in the Vietnam War is the burst of bubbles in a water body

T.1.12 The ‘continuity’ policy changing to a bad situation in the Vietnam War is a ship moving away from its direction in a water body

T.1.13 Improving the effectiveness of American administrative organization in the Vietnam

War is shaping something so that it can move quickly in a water body

T.1.14 The Communists’ continuous movement of men and material into the South Vietnam

is the movement of currents in a water body

T.1.15 Hanoi proposing the idea of three-cornered coalition without confirmation in the Vietnam War is someone making an object smoothly move without purpose in a body water

T.2.1 America’s money continuously spent on the Vietnam war unprofitably is something gradually made to go down to the bottom of a soft substance

T.2.2 America becoming involved in a difficult situation in the Vietnam war is someone being made to sink in a wet ground

T.2.3 American troops in the state of being unable to move out of the bad situation in the Vietnam War after failure is Humpty Dumpty being unable to escape from the broken state after a great fall off the wall

T.2.4 America having difficulties in applying the pacification programme in the Vietnam War is people struggling to move in water or mud

T.2.5 America getting stuck in a difficult situation is someone sinking in deep wet sticky earth

T.2.6 The difficult situation to pull out in the Vietnam War is the state of being trapped in a quagmire

T.3.1 America at risk of a war is a man standing on the edge of a cliff

T.3.2 The starting point of the change in the Vietnam War is the edge of a cliff

T.3.3 America reducing the escalation in the Vietnam War is someone backing off from the edge of a cliff

T.3.4 Ample American commitment to the Vietnam war is the steepness of a slope

T.4.1 America becoming deeply involved in the Vietnam War which has no finishing time

is someone falling suddenly into a bottomless pit

T.5.1 A lack of a stable political situation in the Vietnam War is an empty area in space

T.5.2 The situation in Vietnam War where more to gain is reached by compromising than

by fighting is a spot where many dimensions can meet

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T.6.1 Dealing with a difficult struggle is climbing to a higher place on a slope.

T.7.1 America attempting to put the limit on the development of the Communists in the Vietnam War is someone trying to create the boundary by drawing a line

* The evaluations associated with this metaphor can be found at four conceptual levels Image schema: The changes in the height of different areas (body water, quagmire, cliff, bottomless pit, space, borderline); the rise and fall of tide, liquid, crosscurrents; moving forward and backward, moving quick and slow, moving in and out, moving upward and downward, meeting and dispersion point, etc are related to the image schema of UP-DOWN This mental pattern links to shocking changes between opposite states beyond people’s expectation.

Domain: The metaphor THE VIETNAM WAR IS TERRAIN emphasizes the diversity and constant changes of a war Just like terrain with a wide range of natural features,

elevations, directions, speeds, states, movements, a war is characterized with ample

components (army forces, weapons, strategies, consequences, progression) and nonstop changes in fighting conditions, battle outcomes, casualties, mental impacts, viewpoints.

At the same time, it obscures such factors as massive destruction, win-lose nature, economic or ideological causes.

Frame: Being viewed via terrain, the diversifying and changing features of a war is specified (changing approach — turning the tide, increase in protest — rise in water,

differences — crosscurrents, getting stuck — sinking, risk of war — edge of cliff,

reducing escalation — backing off from edge, much commitment — steepness, unstable political situation — empty area, more to gain — many dimensions to meet, dealing with difficulty — climbing to a higher place)

- Particular ideologies underlying metaphor choices at MS level (RQ3)

With the source concept of TERRAIN which is diverse with pre-existed

features, the journalists seem to emphasize the necessity of adjustment and planning

for any possible conditions (moving in a quagmire, falling into a bottomless pit, being saved from sinking) which represents different/ changeable war situations Notably, all types of terrain used to conceptualize the Vietnam War pose threats: water body

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with tide/ sinking/ leakage/ watershed/ crosscurrents, a quagmire, a cliff, a bottomless

pit, space, borderline Apparently, the metaphor choice carries the message of caution and warning in every step, every strategy, troop mobilization which America implements in Vietnam because any careless movement may lead to impossible/ uncontrollable situations like reversing the tide/ drifting, life-threatening situation like being trapped a quagmire or falling into a bottomless pit, war escalation like moving toward a brink.

4.2.1.6 THE VIETNAM WAR IS COMPETITION

- Construal of metaphor at four conceptual levels

Image schema: An entity is counterforce

Domain: THE VIETNAM WAR IS COMPETITION

C.1 THE VIETNAM WAR IS A CONTEST

C.2 THE VIETNAM WAR IS A HORSE RACE

C.3 THE VIETNAM WAR IS A RUNNING RACE

Frame:

C.1.1 Gaining success in a war is becoming victorious in a contest

C.1.2 Unable to have some resource is incapable of getting the prize

C.1.3 Gaining independence is achieving a prize

C.1.4 Achieving success in a war is becoming victorious in a contest

C.1.5 Defeat is failure to get a prize

C.1.6 Benefits in the battle are awarded money

C.1.7 The risky future of a war is the stakes a person risks on a contest

C.2.1 The beginning phase of peace negotiation is the starting gate of a horse race

C.3.1 Lasting for a long time is running a long distance

C.1.3 South Vietnam gaining independence is a competitor achieving a prize in a contest

C.1.4 The National Liberation Front achieving success in a stage of the Vietnam War is a

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competitor becoming victorious in a round of a contest

C.1.5 America’s defeat in the Vietnam War is a competitor’s failure to get a prize in a contest

C.1.6 Great benefits in the battle against the Vietcong in the Vietnam War is money awarded

C.3.1 The peace talks lasting for a long time is a marathon running race of long distance

* The highlighting and hiding in this metaphor suggest the evaluations at each conceptual level.

Image schema: The winning and losing results among different sides and competitive games all generate the image schema of COUNTERFORCE This mental pattern is associated with opposition forces constantly eliminating each other.

Domain: The metaphor highlights the competitive nature and hides other aspects such

as uncontrollability, self-perpetuation, social and cultural background.

The win-lose essence is not restricted to fighting battles; instead, it extends to gaining advantages over the enemy in all fields: planning, strategies, tactics

campaigns, resources, influence, damage, negotiation, etc.

The metaphor emphasizes the sole ruthless goal of a war — winning at any

price Therefore, the war is all about inhuman destruction, merciless decisions, schemes and tricks, being the last not being the right one The source domain of

COMPETITION also characterizes the state of constant tense which drains all energy and resources of all participants until all except one collapse.

Frame: The source domain of COMPETITION is particularized via experiential

similarities: Gaining success — becoming victorious, Unable to have some resource — incapable of getting the prize, gaining independence — achieving a prize, defeat — failure to get a prize, benefits in the battle — awarded money, risky future — money

being risked on a contest, beginning phase of peace negotiation — starting gate of a

horse race, lasting for a long time — running a long distance.

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- Particular ideologies underlying metaphor choices at MS level (RQ3)

As a common metaphor for the whole wartime, specifically the first and the last metaphor found in the data, THE VIETNAM WAR IS COMPETITION features

a constant and widely-accepted nature of a war — competition As for the Vietnam War, competition is absolutely complex because different groups of participants (i.e.

North Vietnam and National Liberation Front with allies versus South Vietnam and America with allies) fight over various issues (1.e., loyalty of local population, support

of farmers, peace negotiation, suspicion of communism expansion), not just physical

struggles.

Being framed in COMPETITION, the whole Vietnam War is all about winning or losing at any cost Therefore, the journalists tend to warn of a long-lasting

war, competing for every advantage, paying at any price for the victory (including

trampling on moral values and righteous aspiration for peace), losing precious things (human, military and financial resources, reputation, support, solidarity) Possibly, America may lose even itself in the contest This inference is in line with the

conceptual metaphor of American giant who can’t realize himself because of the

Vietnam War (“the giant suddenly sat up, rubbed his eyes, took a good look at himself and said: “Hey, this is not me any longer”)

4.2.1.7 THE VIETNAM WAR IS ART

- Construal of metaphor at four conceptual levels

Image schema: An entity is part-whole

Domain: THE VIETNAM WARIS ART

A.1 THE VIETNAM WARIS A THEATRE

A.2 THE VIETNAM WAR IS PAINTING

A.3 THE VIETNAM WARIS A MOVIE

A.4 THE VIETNAM WAR IS A FAIRY TALE

A.5 THE VIETNAM WARIS A SONG

A.6 THE VIETNAM WAR IS A TRAGEDY

Frame:

A.1.1 Being controlled is being made to move

A.1.2 Expressing a different view is singing a different tune

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A.1.3 Sharing the same view is singing the same song

A.1.4 Sudden and unexpected activities are dramatic development of a play

A.1.5 Being controlled is being a puppet

A.1.6 Unhappy event is a tragedy

A.1.7 The war participant receiving public attention is an artist standing in the limelight (Primary metaphor: Attention is light)

A.1.8 Dealing with the problems by spontaneous reactions is performing with unplanned works

A.1.9 Events in a war are activities in a theatre

A.2.1 Unclear situation is a cloudy picture

A.2.2 The military situation is a picture

A.2.3 Falsely informing is changing color

A.2.4 The untrue conditions are falsely drawn details

A.2.5 Various characteristics are different details

A.2.6 Manipulating declarations is changing colors

A.2.7 A sad situation is a dark picture

A.2.8 Representing a feeling is producing a painting

A.3.1 A country is a giant

A.3.2 Illusive feeling is dreamy sense

A.4.1 Inappropriate conduct is unsuitable role

A.5.1 Repeated statement is a refrain

A.6.1 A sad event is a tragedy

A.1.4 Sudden and unexpected activities to gain power in Saigon during the Vietnam War

is dramatic development of a play in the theatre

A.1.5 Premier Ky being controlled is a model of a person made to move on the

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performance stage

A.1.6 The unhappy event in the Vietnam War is a play with a fatal ending on a theatre stage A.1.7 The National Liberation Front receiving public attention is an artist standing in the limelight

A.1.8 Nixon dealing with the problems in the Vietnam War by spontaneous reactions is an artist performing with unplanned works

A.1.9 The events happening in Cambodia as an expansion of the Vietnam War is activities

in a new theatre

A.2.1 The unclear situation in the Vietnam war is the cloudy picture

A.2.2 America’s military development in Vietnam is painting a picture

A.2.3 Falsely informing of the Diem government’s improvement in the Vietnam War is changing colors in a picture

A.2.4 The untrue conditions in South Vietnam in relation to the Vietnam War are

Washington’s falsely drawn details in a picture

A.2.5 Various characteristics of the Vietnam War are different details of a picture

A.2.6 America’s manipulating declarations about the Vietnam War is a painter changing

colors in his picture

A.2.7 Sad situation of the battlefield in the Vietnam War is the dark picture

A.2.8 Representing the White House’s concern over the North Vietnam’s offensive is

producing a painting of something

A.3.1 America in the Vietnam War is the giant in a fairly tale

A.3.2 The illusive feelings which the Americans have towards the Diem government is the

dreamy sense which is revealed in the story of Alice in Wonderland

A.4.1 The inappropriate conduct of the Diem Government and the Americans in the Vietnam War is unsuitable role a person plays in a movie.

A.5.1 Repeated statement of troop reductions sabotaging years of patience in Johnson’s

viewpoint during the Vietnam War is the refrain of a song

A.6.1 The sad Vietnam War is a play with a fatal ending

* Each level contains evaluations rooted in the highlighting and hiding aspects as follows.

Image schema: Att is characterized with a variety of forms (theatre, painting, movie,

fairy tale, song, strategy) Each kind of art features each aspect of the war, and all

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different types, together, create a multifaceted war The relationship between

component forms of art and the whole war generates the image schema of part-whole Domain: The source domain of ART highlights the artistic and thrilling view of the war It hides the destructive attribute with devastating consequences, psychological

trauma for humans It also obscures the uncontrollable characteristic of the war which

is different from the creativity each artist can do to their works.

Frame: Being framed as art, the war is distant from the reality and becomes a creative

product of artists (expressing a different view — singing a different tune, unhappy event — a tragedy, being controlled — being a puppet, receiving public attention —

standing in the limelight, a country — a giant).

- Particular ideologies underlying metaphor choices at MS level (RQ3)

The metaphorical concept of THE VIETNAM WAR IS ART can be found

throughout the wartime period, depicting how American journalists conceptualized

the war for a long time No matter what events happened, they had their own creative perspective looking at the war which greatly influenced the audience.

With the emphasis on dramatic features of the war: important people are

puppets (“Premier Ky an American puppet”), the war participant receiving public attention is an artist standing in the limelight (“the Front has moved into the limelight”), a sad event is tragedy (“tragedy of Vietnam has saved the world from a

global conflict’), illusive feeling is dreamy sense (“to complete the

Alice-in-Wonderland sense”), falsely informing is changing color (“the first news of the change in government will be colored by Vietcong-views”), journalists seem to convey a message that it is not easy to grasp the true face of the war as things can be

dramatized or turned “black into white into gray” When the situation in Vietnam is

a “cloudy picture”, portraying the war via different kinds of art is a cautious and creative choice because the journalists safely covered what they thought about sensitive events (relationship between South Vietnam and America, political coup, illusion, American mistakes in the war) in the form of something unreal or imaginary (theatre, fairy tale, movie, painting, tragedy, song) Furthermore, approaching the war from the perspective of art, the journalists can effectively direct the audience’s

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attention and interest to the issues they choose to write because art is an attraction by

itself With the source domain of ART, the journalists may convey a message to the readers that they (the readers) need to interpret the war in a deeper and critical way

by themselves because art has many layers of meaning, i.e., the war has many faces.

4.2.1.8 THE VIETNAM WAR IS MOVEMENT

Image schema: An entity is compulsion

Domain: THE VIETNAM WAR IS MOVEMENT

Frame:

M.1.1 Fighting against the enemy is forcing away something

M.1.2 Deploying troops is moving something with force

M.1.3 Criticizing someone is hitting something

M.1.4 Compelling someone is moving something

M.1.5 Being involved is being pushed against each other

M.1.6 Using power to affect someone is putting force on something

M.1.7 Dealing with an unsolvable problem is destroying the cycle of problems

M.1.8 Determinedly causing someone to act is pushing something firmly to move

M.1.9 Unstable military morale is the quick movement

M.1.10 Continuing in a determined way is pushing something firmly

M.1.11 The determined attempt to get improved is the force to move something

M.1.12 Being persuaded in a vigorous way is being moved by a force

M.1.13 Compelling an entity to change is putting force on the entity

M.1.14 Being compelled to do a task is being moved by force

M.1.15 Being prevented from being known is being forced to come to an end

M.1.16 Enhancing resistance is making something become uneasy to bend

M.2.1 Attacking in a violent way is destroying something by hard pressing

M.2.2 Defeating enemy is breaking something into small pieces

M.2.3 Sudden and strong attack is pushing someone violently

M.2.4 Being shocked is being moved backwards and forwards

M.2.5 Severely damaging is causing something to break suddenly into small pieces

M.3.1 Success or complete failure is swimming or sinking

M.3.2 Reduction is going down

M.4.1 The war progress is the movement speed

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M.4.2 Seriously influencing is being unable to separate

M.5.1 A quietly passing event and an offering without commitment are gentle moving and freely hanging of an object

M.6.1 Separation is moving out of position

M.6.2 Losing control is moving smoothly

M.7.1 Increasing is rising upward

M.7.2 Growing to a tense situation is rising on an escalator

M.8.1 Clever plans are careful moves

M.9.1 Making mistakes is not moving in a straight way

Mental space:

M.1.1 The South Vietnam fighting against Communist aggression in the Vietnam War is

someone forcing away something

M.1.2 Deploying American combat troops in the Vietnam war is propelling something with force through the air

M.1.3 Propaganda criticizing Diem government is someone hitting something with a lot of force M.1.4 The Communist document talks of compelling the Americans and Vietnamese to negotiate is using physical strength to move something into a particular position

M.1.5 Officials of the Saigon Government being made to actively engage in the Vietnam War is something being pushed against another

M.1.6 Ambassador Lodge using power to make president Diem to take away his brother’s

power is someone putting force on something via pressing

M.1.7 Dealing with an unsolvable problem in the Vietnam war is destroying the cycle of problems

M.1.8 US officials determinedly causing the military regime to act quickly is someone pushing something firmly to move

M.1.9 The South Vietnamese forces’ unstable military morale in the Vietnam War is the quick movement up and down

M.1.10 Continuing the Vietnam War in a determined way is pushing something firmly

M.1.11 The Communists’ determined attempt to get improve the position at negotiation

table is the force to move something via pressing vigorously

M.1.12 The South Vietnamese being persuaded in a vigorous way to talk with N.L.F is someone being moved bya force of pressing with hands.

M.1.13 Compelling Saigon regime to change is exerting force on something to make it move

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M.1.14 Hanoi being compelled to negotiate with the Americans is someone being moved

by physical strength

M.1.15 Facts being prevented from being known by the United States public in the Vietnam

War is something being forced to come to an end

M.1.16 The South Vietnamese enhancing their resistance is someone making something

become uneasy to bend

M.2.1 Attacking Buddhists in a violent way in the Vietnam War is destroying something by pressing very hard

M.2.2 Defeating dissidence in Danang and Hue is breaking something into small pieces with

a lot of force

M.2.3 Foreign aircraft and South Vietnamese ground raids’ sudden and strong attack into the demilitarized zone along the border between the two Vietnams is pushing someone violently in a particular direction

M.2.4 American Administration being shocked by the enemy attacks is an object being moved backwards and forwards quickly

M.2.5 The North Vietnam’s offensive severely damaging the South Vietnamese morale is something causing something to break suddenly into small pieces

M.3.1 America’s either success or complete failure in the Vietnam War with Diem government is the situation of sinking or swimming with someone in a water body

M.3.2 The reduction of the Communists’ morale in the Vietnam War is the going down of

an object to the bottom of a water body

M.4.1 American’s not controlling the progress of the Vietnam war is someone being

unable to regulate the speed of movement

M.4.2 Vietnam War seriously influencing American life is one thing being unable to leave another thing

M.5.1 The quiet passing of negotiation rumors and the offering of peace attempts without commitment during the Vietnam War are the gentle moving and freely hanging of an

object in the air

M.6.1 The Diem government and the people of Vietnam are quickly and quietly separate

in the Vietnam War is two things moving out of the matching position

M.6.2 The regions outside the provincial centers in South Vietnam coming under the

control of the Vietcong is something moving smoothly into someone’s hand

M.7.1 America’s aid becoming greater in the Vietnam War is someone rising on an escalator

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M.7.2 America waging the Vietnam War to a more tense situation is the process of rising

on an escalator

M.8.1 The clever plans made by organized factors in the Vietnam War are careful moves of

a human

M.9.1 America’s becoming involved in a difficult situation by mistake in the Vietnam War

is someone moving in an unsteady way

* Each layer of the multi-level structure of conceptual structure contains the

evaluations in the highlighting and hiding as follows

Image schema: All entities and events in the Vietnam War exerting or being influenced by some kind of force when happening For instance, fighting against the

enemy is forcing away something (“help a country that is trying to repel aggression’’), deploying troops is moving something with force (“combat troops are not likely to be thrown into Vietnam”), criticizing someone is hitting something (“hammers at Diem”), using power to affect someone is putting force on something (“pressed

President Diem”), attacking in a violent way is destroying something by hard pressing

(“crush the Buddhists”) Hence, compulsion tends to be the image schema associated with all the movements related to the Vietnam War.

Domain: The metaphorical concept of THE VIETNAM WAR IS MOVEMENT accentuates the the dynamic face of the war with plenty activities or movements The war not only occurred in the battlefield but it “moved” or actively changed every corner of Vietnam It emphasizes the quick changes brought in due to the war (“morale of the South Vietnamese forces, shaken by repeated shifts of their commanders’), the heavy intensity or intangible force that each entity in the war had

to suffer (“South Vietnamese who have found themselves pushed by Washington

into talks”) Also, the source domain of MOVEMENT focuses on the damage, division or breakage which anything or anyone might go through (“the offensive

shatter South Vietnamese morale”) The concept of movement shadows the strategies of a war, the terror a war may bring in.

Frame: Being framed in the concept of movement, the Vietnam war became a dynamic entity with plentiful pressure and changes Everything inside the war seemed

to be “pressed”, “pushed”, “shaken” or “crushed” to change The war is seen from a

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forceful “moving” perspective: Being involved is being pushed against each other

(“defeating enemy is breaking something into small pieces”), defeating enemy is breaking something into small pieces (“Premier Ky’s threat to smash dissidence”)

- Particular ideologies underlying metaphor choices at MS level (RQ3)

Just like most of the conceptual metaphors for the Vietnam War discussed

above, the source domain of MOVEMENT can be found at any time of the war, which indicates the dynamic nature with constant change and surprising developments of

war occurs according to its own rules beyond the human control For example, the

war goes with unexpected results “Americans do not have control over the pace”,

“The U.S.A “blundered” into Vietnam”, “Ngo Dinh Diem and the people of

Vietnam have slipped farther apart” Therefore, a potential of worse future for the

war is not something beyond prediction.

4.2.2 Discussion of the findings

4.2.2.1 Metaphorical construction in Multi-level View framework

* Revisiting the research question

Research question: How are dominant metaphors construed via multi-level view framework?

As reviewed in section 2.5, MLV framework (Kövecses, 2017) has not been

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widely used by cognitive linguists Among a few studies applying this framework,

some of them investigate the construal of metaphor at two or three instead of all four conceptual levels Some other researchers examine all four layers, but these layers are not hierarchically related They are studied separately in different extracts of the data, which fail to explain how particular metaphorical meanings arise from embodied cognition via multiple levels — the essence of MLV framework.

However, the findings in the present study clearly indicate the construal of each dominant metaphor via four interrelated levels, making it possible to elucidate the conceptual pathway starting from embodied cognition at image schema,

extending over more specific conceptual levels of domain and frame, then finally

leading to the metaphorical meaning in discourse at mental space.

* Reflecting on the findings in relation to the theoretical framework and analytical framework

In terms of theoretical framework, the findings support the integration of

multi-level view into cognitive dimension of metaphor In this framework the conceptual structure becomes identified, distinguishing confusing similar terms like domain, image schema, frame, scene, mental space, scenario, etc.

In terms of analytical framework, Kövecses (2017) contributes to distinguishing four levels of conceptualization in terms of schematicity However, the way to formulate each layer when analyzing metaphor is not discussed in detail, which makes it challenging for researchers to apply the framework In this setting, the proposed four steps to identify four conceptual levels in this study is a timely and practical tool (refer to 3.3.1 for more details) The guidance includes easy-to-follow

steps when it is based on not only the reviewed knowledge of the four conceptual levels but also the researcher’s hands-on experience gained during the process of data

analysis By means of this guidance, more studies of metaphor in the perspective of MLV will be possible, which contributes to the development of the newly-introduced MLV framework Besides, constructing conceptual metaphor at four levels, indirectly, makes the generation of source domain (a methodological challenge) become more trustworthy as domain level is differentiated from other confusing

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levels by means of schematicity.

Among four conceptual levels, IS typically functions below conscious awareness (Johnson, 2005); therefore it tends to be the most abstract and hard level to generate

accurately In this study the researcher made use of the list of image schemas (Evans &

Green, 2006) to enhance reliability However, this way leads to a limitation that the image schemas found in the data are restricted to pre-existing ones.

4.2.2.2 Underlying ideologies in metaphor choice for the Vietnam War

* Revisiting the research question

Research question: What ideologies motivate the dominant metaphors for the

Vietnam War?

The findings unravel ideologies which include “evaluations” revealed in metaphor’s highlighting and hiding and “particular ideologies” (Charteris-Black,

2004, p.28) in contexts associated with speaker intentions to explain for dominant

metaphor choices when portraying mental images of the Vietnam War In general, almost all ideologies underlying metaphors in the data are close to anti-war position

rather than pro-war stance American war correspondents implicitly presented their thoughts of war and then made recommendations to the readers The war was portrayed with some key features It is a long-term phenomenon which cannot end soon (JOURNEY) It is not something abstract or happening far away The war is so

real and close that it can be sensed in different ways and evaluated in detail (OBJECT) It is a difficult, dangerous, unpredictable war with multiple conspiracies

(JOURNEY) The war seems to be a system operating on its own rules, so it is not easy to direct and control (NATURAL PROCESS) It tends to become unstoppable like a machine once set in motion because it can feed itself by violence after violence,

by power systems as well as human greed and fear (MACHINE) Sooner or later the

war will be uncontrollable, expanding and dragging us all into its nonstop escalation

just like a grinding machine breaking all materials in its rotation (MACHINE) Overall, the Vietnam War is an exhausting business transaction (BUSINESS) when

it is all about winning or losing at any cost (COMPETITION) The war seriously affects both sides in the sense that they are both inescapable victims of the war and neither of them are real winners (A HEAVY LOAD, A SHADOW OF AMERICAN

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PRESIDENTS) Brutal outcomes of the war are entirely possible (BUSINESS) with

long-lasting negative influence (SHADOW OF AMERICAN PRESIDENTS) Focusing on such aspects of the Vietnam War, American correspondents imply relevant recommendations to the readers With the source domain of BUSINESS - a common life activity, journalists may intentionally make Americans get familiarized with a new kind of guerrilla warfare They also tend to remind the audience of staying calm at any changes in strategies or temporary damage of the war (JOURNEY), being open-minded to the war’s influences and unpredictable events (JOURNEY), being responsible to use the war as means to archive some goals (OBJECT), being cautious

in every step because careless movement may lead to uncontrollable situations (TERRAIN), being alert and well-planned since the war can go in any directions

(NATURAL PROCESS) Likewise, the metaphors appear to carry the message of

warnings In the long-lasting course of the war, each side competes for every advantage, paying any price for the victory, and thus, facing the risk of losing everything even its soul and identity (COMPETITION) The correspondents may convey the intention of relieving pain and pressure for the readers when undesirable ending happens by conceptualizing defeat in a war via failure in BUSINESS.

In comparison with the ideologies embedded in overlapping metaphors in the

previous metaphor studies, it is interesting to observe ideologies can be different depending on the researcher’s background knowledge, life experiences and

discourse context For example, the overlapping metaphor WAR IS BUSINESS highlights quantitative effects (i.e., number of enemy casualties) and hides quality

aspect of war (i.e., mental pain) in Lakoff’s (1992) research into the First Gulf War

or emphasizes the degradation of human life into quantity and it can be sold at a price

for political advantage in Fabiszak’s (2007) study of war discourse However, in the present study, the source domain BUSINESS suggests a familiar but concerning

activity, 1.e., exhausting and challenging business transaction, implying the message

of possible unexpected outcomes, relieving the audience in case failure happens, suggesting the government focus on loss and gains to reach beneficial decisions.

* Reflecting on the findings in relation to the theoretical framework

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In the previous studies which apply CMA (Charteris-Black, 2004), ideologies

generating metaphor choices are implicitly identified in two steps Firstly, evaluation

or social representation as part of ideology is clarified via metaphor highlighting and hiding Secondly, placing this coherent view of reality in the context to infer the speaker’s intentions or persuasion of particular ideology In the view of pragmatics which is integrated into the metaphor framework in CMA, when speaker intentions

are revealed, the reason for metaphor choice as a form of language is indicated because pragmatic role, by nature, is about linguistic choices to realize particular

rhetorical intentions within a particular context (Charteris-Black, 2004, p.8).

Surprisingly, the researcher realized that these two steps are related to not only

one conceptual level (domain) but also other more specific conceptual levels: frame and mental space To illustrate, in the conceptual metaphor at domain level:

POLITICS IS RELIGION (Charteris-Black, 2004, p 57), the author must interpret this metaphor at a more specific conceptual level (frame) when he states “the sorts of decisions that politicians take are framed as the sort of decisions one might take about spiritual matters” (ibid.) Furthermore, conceptual metaphor must even work on much more specific conceptual level (mental space) when it is filled with discourse values

(social agent associated with their social role) Hence the metaphorical mapping is

interpreted as: decisions taken by politicians in New Labor Party (which is the opposition party of Conversative party) are decisions taken about spiritual matters The interpretation is the hidden basis for such pragmatic inferences/ speaker intentions: “framing political decisions as ethical or moral implies high moral integrity of the party that is framing issue in such a way It also implies a lack of morality and honesty of the party that had been holding office.” (ibid.) This example

is only one of those investigated in Corpus approach to critical metaphor analysis

(Charteris-Black, 2004), which suggests that CMA implicitly analyzes metaphors at different conceptual levels This means that the integration of MLV into CMA makes

the process of interpreting ideologies underlying metaphor choices become explicit

and transparent.

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Furthermore, the integration deepens the relation between four conceptual

levels and ideologies Firstly, ideologies are embedded in all four conceptual layers, not just in only domain level Secondly, all four levels contribute to elaborating upon ideologies underlying metaphor choices systematically, from the most schematic

degree at IS to more specific degree at DM, FM and MS The following example can

illustrate the point.

- Text: “This has become a war in which the peasant is caught in a shuttle, the Vietcong

forces visiting him at night, the Government’s in the daytime” (NYT, May 5,1963.

Complexities Cloud Battle in Vietnam)

- Ideologies of the war becomes more and more specific via evaluations at four

MOVING WITHIN PLACES

Evaluation: The surveillance of controlled people deprived from freedom

FM: WARIS A PRISON IN WHICH PEASANTS CAUGHT IN DAY AND NIGHT CONTROL OF TWO FORCES

ARE OBJECTS CONSTANTLY MOVING BETWEEN TWO PLACES

Evaluation: The imprisonment of people being unable to move beyond the social boundary of powerful

agents gy

MS: THE VIETNAM WAR IS A PRISON IN WHICH THE PEASANTS CAUGHT IN THE SURVEILLANCE OF

THE VIETCONG AT NIGHT AND THE GOVERNMENT IN THE DAYTIME ARE OBJECTS CONSTANTLY

MOVING BETWEEN TWO FIXED PLACES

Evaluation: The stagnant life of the Vietnamese peasants under the inspection of opposing forces

This perspective features the unjust war torturing the normal life of innocent victims, which implies the

anti-war attitude

As indicated in Charteris-Black (2004, p.28), evaluations constitute “part of

ideology” Since evaluations are built in different conceptual layers, ideology is ingrained in levels of conceptual structure of metaphor, which operates below the conscious level (Lakoff, 1997, p.12) Hence, it can be deduced that together with experiential correlation, ideology generates metaphor construction; and in particular

situations, ideology, under the influence of context, is linked to “particular

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ideologies” (Charteris-Black, 2004, p28) which motivate specific metaphor choices.

Overall, it can be argued that the integration of MLV into CMA not only sheds light

on dynamic conceptual structure of metaphor but also suggests the impactful role of ideology which extends beyond the motivation for metaphor selection as confirmed

by Charteris-Black (2004) to the construction of metaphor This also means that

experiential correlation may not be the only basis of conceptual metaphor construction because ideology is embedded in that process.

Summary

The chapter has presented the findings of the thesis in relation to three research

questions Firstly, 105 conventional conceptual metaphors found in data were

categorized into 25 generic metaphors whose resonance indications became the base

to select the most dominant metaphors portraying the Vietnam War The use of

inductive approach, the principle of context-based domain formulation and the

principle of the closest background result in the great number of specific metaphors and ensure these metaphors are found in a consistent and reliable way Secondly, the

dominant metaphors were construed at four conceptual levels in multi-level view framework to demonstrate the conceptual pathway of constructing metaphor from

embodied experience at image schema to discourse meaning at mental space This process is clearly illustrated with steps to facilitate constructing four conceptual levels effectively Thirdly, the ideologies underlying these metaphors were revealed at different conceptual levels to explain the metaphor choices The integration of MLV into CMA makes the process of identifying ideologies become transparent and deepens the relationship between conceptual levels and ideologies.

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Chapter 5 CONCLUSION

The research journey is approaching its destination, giving me the chance to look back and focusing on the main points of the study In this chapter, a

recapitulation will summarize the major parts of the research, and highlight the key

findings and implications representing the values after a long but rewarding and fulfilling research journey Some limitations of the study will be given probably as

basis for recommendations for future research.

5.1 Summary of the study

Being triggered by the way American correspondents conceptualized the sorrowful Vietnam War when they experienced the real battle fields during the

wartime, the researcher explored their ideologies of this war hidden in the conceptual

metaphors present in the New York Times’ historical articles This study was set out with an overarching aim of “exploring the critical and dynamic metaphorical conceptualization of the Vietnam War’, which is translated into the following sub-

research questions: (1) What dominant metaphors conceptualize the Vietnam War in

the New York Times’ articles during the wartime? (2) How are they construed via Multi-level View framework? (3) What ideologies motivate the metaphors for the Vietnam War?

To address these research questions, the study is grounded in CMT (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) and CTM (Lakoff, 1993) and developed on a proposed integrated

framework of CMA-MLYV drawn on Critical Metaphor Analysis (Charteris-Black, 2004) and Multi-level View of conceptual metaphor (Kövecses, 2017) This conceptual framework is basically CMA with one adaption of integrating multi-level structure into the cognitive dimension of metaphor in CMA framework, replacing the

original structure of one level — domain with four hierarchical levels of different

schematicity (image schema —IS, frame — FM, domain — DM, mental space — MS) For the present study, the CMA part of this adapted framework effectively enables

me to identify the fundamental concepts associated with life experiences portraying

multiple aspects of the war (RQ1), inferring the ideologies underlying metaphor

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choices (RQ3) Meanwhile, the MLV component of the framework allows the

researcher to construct the conceptual pathway from embodied cognition at IS level

to metaphorical meaning in discourse at MS level (RQ2) In the broader context of metaphor study, the integrated model of CMA-MLV fills the gap of a lacked framework balancing pragmatic and cognitive dimension as well as elaborating the human conceptual process via different layers of schematicity.

In order to identify, interpret and explain the metaphorical conceptualization

of the Vietnam War which has constructivist and transformativist essence, a mixed methods approach with more focus on qualitative methods was primarily adopted Qualitative data collection and analysis resulted in the dataset of selected articles, metaphorical expressions, source domains, construction of multi-level conceptual

structure of metaphors and ideologies underlying them Meanwhile, quantitative

method helped in selecting the dominant metaphors based on resonance/ productivity indications of the source domains The dataset which the research design works on includes 64 selected articles satisfying three criteria of belonging to the data source, discussing the Vietnam War with a viewpoint and containing at least three semantic tensions in connected with the war These requirements were applied to ensure the

chosen articles carry messages of the Vietnam War ideologies embedded in

conceptual metaphors and limit the number of selected articles to the researcher’s capability of manual analysis When it came to specific steps to analyze the collected data, the study exploited the proposed analytical framework of CMT-MLYV In this framework, the criterion of “semantic tension” is combined with MIP (Pragglejaz Group, 2007) and MIPVU (Steen et al., 2010) to identify metaphor keywords before

constructing conceptual metaphor at four levels (IS, DM, FM, MS), interpreting social representation as part of ideology at three levels (IS, DM, FM) and finally

placing the found social representation in discourse context to infer particular ideology underlying metaphor choice Based on the general steps of the embedded framework, precise steps to achieve quantitative and qualitative results corresponding

to three research questions were illustrated with different examples Significant findings were found and discussed to confirm the study’s contributions to conceptual

metaphor study after the analytical framework is applied to the whole data.

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Overall, the findings indicate that the Vietnam War is conceptualized via diverse metaphorical concepts simultaneously operating at four conceptual levels of schematicity variance which are generated by experiential correlations and

particularly selected by ideologies associated with context This means that conceptual metaphor can open various insightful aspects to social phenomena These

angles reflect humans’ reasoning process via hierarchical conceptual levels More importantly, the findings imply that conceptual metaphor is a dialectical cognitive mechanism in which metaphorical reasoning constructs ideologies and vice versa,

ideologies motivate metaphor choices in everyday discourse.

The key findings are clearly presented in the following section.

5.2 Key findings

The concluding remarks are organized into two issues: dominant metaphors,

metaphorical construction and underlying ideologies.

5.2.1 Dominant conceptual metaphors for the Vietnam War

As regards the first issue, the data analysis suggests that there are 105 specific

metaphors portraying the Vietnam War which can be categorized into 25 generic

metaphors (A JOURNEY, BUSINESS, A NON-LIVING THING, A NATURAL

PHENOMENON, TERRAIN, COMPETITION, ART, MOVEMENT, FORCE, DESTRUCTION, A PLANT, A HUMAN, A GAME, A DANGER, A BELIEF, A DUTY,

A CONSTRUCTION, AN ANIMAL, HUNTING, CONTAINMENT, AN UNPLEASANT THING, A DOMESTIC AFFAIR, A DISEASE, A LIVING BEING, HEALTHCARE TREATMENT)

These specific metaphors are associated with 330 types of metaphorical expressions associated with 600 metaphorical uses in the data Based on resonance indications, the eight dominant metaphors at generic level respectively are: THE

VIETNAM WAR IS A JOURNEY/ BUSINESS/ A NON-LIVING THING/ NATURAL

PHENOMENON/ TERRAIN/COMPETITION/ ART/ MOVEMENT The frequency of

these metaphors can be closely related to American belief in Manifest Destiny,

American values of work orientation and materialism, individualism and change as well as inevitable cognitive outcomes of the common impressions of a war.

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Compared with the results in the previous studies, more than half of the 25

generic and 105 specific metaphors present in the data are not mentioned before The large number of metaphors for the Vietnam War constructed in the present study can

be explained by three factors Firstly, the study is conducted inductively, i.e.

metaphors are generated from each metaphor keyword in discourse instead of

pre-identified or assumed metaphors Secondly, the way of constructing source domain substantially affects the number of metaphors As the present study follows the

principle of the closest background, the selected source domains are more specific, and thus the overall number of source domains will be higher Thirdly, the war

correspondents’ ample experiences associated with unconventional guerrilla war, varied terrain, locals’ sufferings, long duration of war, war brutality, mental pains all

together account for a wide array of metaphors conceptualizing the war in their articles.

In relation to analytical framework, the findings support the potential of using three proposed principles to formulate source domain — one major challenge in the metaphor study The first principle is that the basic meaning of a metaphor keyword

is selected based on the principle of a balance between synchronic and diachronic

views The other two principles are the source domain is chosen based on the principle of context-based domain formulation and the principle of the closest background The application of the proposed analytical with three principles can

contribute to increasing the consistency and reliability of metaphor analysis.

However, some extent of difference in domain formulation is unavoidable because of individuals’ viewpoint of language use, language competence, life experiences as well as social and cultural knowledge.

5.2.2 Metaphorical construction in MLV framework and underlying ideologies

The six most dominant metaphors were selected to investigate into multi-level structure and particular ideologies generating the metaphor choices in specific

discourse context.

In terms of conceptual structure of metaphor, the findings can demonstrate the conceptual pathway beginning from embodied cognition (IS), extending over more specific levels (DM, FM) and leading to metaphorical meaning in discourse (MS).

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In reference to analytical framework, the findings indicate the possibility of

applying the suggested four steps to identify four conceptual levels in metaphor structure It starts with metaphor keywords in the discourse, constructing metaphorical mapping between the source and the target concept at MS level, then

DM, FM and IS The rich information in discourse context greatly facilitates the metaphorical mapping between the source and the target concept at MS based on experiential similarity Then the background knowledge to understand the contextual meaning and basic meaning of the metaphor keyword can help in generating the target

and the source domain respectively The specific aspect of the domain participating

in metaphorical conceptualization signifies the mapping at FM level Finally, the repeated mental pattern underlying the attributes in the source and target concept at

MS, FM and DM level suggests the mapping at IS level.

In terms of particular ideologies underlying metaphor choice, data analysis shows that almost all ideologies underlying metaphors are close to the anti-war

position The war is conceptualized as a dangerous, disastrous, uncontrollable event with long-lasting traumatic results Both sides are the victims, facing the possibility

of losing everything in a rigorous competition for the ultimate victory Besides the warning and criticizing attitudes towards the war, a reminder of being calm and opened-minded when the war is always changeable and the message of being

cautious, well-planned and responsible when participating in the war are implicitly

conveyed In comparison to prior research, the findings reveal one interesting point that ideologies under the same source domain can be different depending on the

researcher’s experiences and discourse contexts.

With regard to theoretical framework, data analysis demonstrates that adaption

of integrating the MLV into CMA makes the process of interpreting ideologies underlying metaphor choices become explicit and transparent More importantly, the integration deepens the relation between four conceptual levels and ideologies in two interactive ways Accordingly, ideologies are embedded in all four conceptual levels and systematically develop with increasing specificity from image schema to domain, frame and mental space.

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5.3 Implications

The study has a number of implications related to theory, methodology and practice 5.3.1 Theoretical implications

From traditional semantic view of metaphor as a rhetorical tool, metaphor

transformed into a conventional reasoning mechanism/ conceptual metaphor

manifested by linguistic expressions with the introduction of CMT (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) The cognitive dimension allows profound conceptualization of

different aspects of one thing via many other things Then conceptual metaphor was added the pragmatic dimension with CMA (Charteris-Black, 2004) to deepen the

speaker’s intentions/ particular ideologies which motivate metaphor choices in specific discourse contexts In CMA, the view of metaphor is multi-dimensional as a

combination of semantic, cognitive and pragmatic aspects However, the focus in CMA is placed on pragmatics Cognitive dimension is used as a tool, together with

contextual factors to identify particular ideologies to explain for metaphor choice.

The conceptual structure of metaphor is stable and decontextualized with one level — domain The integration of the conceptual structure with four levels (IS, DM, FM,

MS) into MLV (Kövecses, 2017) supplemented CMA in many ways Firstly, it indicates the dynamic construction of metaphorical conceptualization on the conceptual pathway, starting from embodied cognition at IS, elaborating at DM, FM

level and ending up in metaphorical meaning in discourse Secondly, it sheds light on

the relationship between conceptual levels and ideologies motivating metaphor construction Ideologies are deeply ingrained in conceptual levels and these

conceptual levels elaborate ideologies underlying metaphors in a systematic way with

variance of schematicity Thirdly, the proposed integrated conceptual framework of CMA- MLV fills the gap of lacking a framework with optimal balance of pragmatic (CMA) and cognitive (MLV) dimensions.

5.3.2 Methodological implications

Against the backdrop of a lack of analytical frameworks with specific and easy-to-follow steps, the proposed CMA-MLV analytical framework can justifiably satisfy that thirst A framework with three stages (Identification with 6

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steps, Interpretation with 3 steps, Explanation with 3 steps) (see section 3.3.2 for

reference) which are illustrated with clear examples, detailed explanations and careful notes on special cases will certainly a helpful tool for researchers to analyze

conceptual metaphors in different discourses in a consistent way.

In metaphor study, domain formulation has been a major challenge which has

not been effectively dealt with Source domains are normally identified in a totally intuitive way Recently, corpus approach, to some extent, addresses this problem by

establishing the link between concordance keywords and their related domain However, this is truly a time-consuming and labor-intensive method Justifiably, no

methods of domain formulation can completely eradicate intuition factor in this process because fundamentally, conceptual metaphor is built on individuals’

perception and experiences Nevertheless, with three proposed principles in this study, the process of formulating source domain has become more explicit, well-

founded and consistent They are the principle of: a balance of synchronic and diachronic views of metaphor to identify a metaphor keyword’s basic meaning which

is associated with possible source domains, context-based domain formulation and

the closest background knowledge to choose the most appropriate source domain (refer to section 3.3.1 for further details).

The theory of Multi-level View on conceptual metaphor (Kövecses, 2017), despite the author’s explanations of each level’s attributes and operation, has not discussed on how each layer is generated in detail, which results in confusion for researcher when applying this framework Hence, the proposed four steps to identify each level in this study can be seen as an initial effort to ease the feeling of uncertainty for researchers and make this framework more applicable (see section 4.2.2.1 for reference)

5.3.3 Practical implications

The study of conceptual metaphor of the Vietnam War is basically a linguistic

study of a social phenomenon Therefore, it has both practical implications for

linguistic and social field.

Firstly, in the context of studying and researching into conceptual metaphors

in particular and cognitive linguistics in general in Vietnam, the study is an in time

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resource for reference Although cognitive linguistics emerged in 1970s, it was not

officially introduced to the Vietnamese scholars until the publication of “Ngôn ngữ

học tri nhận: Từ ly thuyết đại cương đến thực tiễn Tiếng Việt” in 2005 (Cognitive linguistics: From general theory to the Vietnamese practice) by Lý Toàn Thang At

the present time, most of the research into conceptual metaphors in Vietnam is

conducted on the original framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) by Lakoff & Johnson (1980) which is frequently criticized for methodological issues

(see 2.4.1 for reference) The present study enables researchers, teachers and learners

to catch up with new developments of conceptual metaphor study In particular, the

conceptual framework applied in the study is the combination of two recent frameworks: Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) (Charteris-Black, 2004) and Multi-

level View (MLV) (Kövecses, 2017b) CMA which is based on CMT, its modified versions (Lakoff, 1993; Lakoff & Johnson, 1999; Lakoff & Turner, 1989) and

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is a widely-used approach to metaphor study

because of its great potential of deeper interpretation of metaphor in relation to the speaker’s ideologies MLV which is the major component of the Extended

Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Kövecses, 2020) brings in a fundamental change of multi-level conceptual metaphor structure compared with its original version of one level- domain These advances can solve almost all methodological issues related to

CMT and simultaneously provide insights into both cognitive and pragmatic

perspective of metaphor study Furthermore, the current study can also be used as a guide document to identify, interpret and explain metaphor using the integrated framework of CMA-MLV which is clearly presented with specific adapted steps in

each stage, well-illustrated examples and justifiable principles in the study.

Researchers begin with the MIP and MIPVU principles— the latest improvement in the procedure of finding linguistic metaphors, then applying adapted steps to

construct conceptual metaphor at four levels based on experiential correlation,

interpreting the embedded social representations before placing these evaluations in discourse context to infer particular ideologies motivating metaphor choices in

specific situations The proposed framework in the current study enhances the

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possibility of understanding deep perception operating under conscious level via studying conceptual metaphor It provides an empirical tool to confirm language is a reasoning mechanism which enables building up, sharing and normalizing ideologies This viewpoint is closely linked to fundamental impacts on researching and teaching

language not only as a means of communication but also as an entry to human

ideologies and cultural patterns.

Secondly, as an exploratory study of a social and historical phenomenon — the

Vietnam War, the study also exerts influence on the readers from both sides of the war In the perspective of conceptual metaphor, the study gives fascinating insights

into the war ideologies of American correspondents in the Vietnam Almost all ideologies constructed in the data are inclined toward the anti-war position and the

war is highlighted with destruction and long-lasting traumatic results This view of the sorrowful war can, to some extent, contribute to enhancing the mutual empathy

for people in both sides, especially for the Agent Orange victims or veterans suffering from the Vietnam syndrome In the contemporary setting of a sudden war may occur

at any place in the world, devastating all the basic rights of ordinary people, the study

can somehow raise the audience’s awareness of negative sides of war from anti-war perspective, reminding people that anti-war attitude has been the most significant driving force for anti-war movements to restore peace for victims of a war An anti-

war stance could change the Vietnam War and it always counts in the human fight

for peace.

5.4 Limitations and recommendations for future research

The findings of this study are limited to only the selected data which include

64 articles written by the New York Times war correspondents during the wartime,

reflecting American conceptualization of the war in a more liberal tradition associated with anti-war position Therefore, future studies with sizable volumes of data

collected from more conservative news outlets during or after the war will bring in

different conceptualizations Alternatively, interpreting the war conceptualization from the Vietnamese people or the third party also suggests interesting topics for other researchers Additionally, due to the relatively small number of articles in the

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dataset, some specific metaphors are manifested by very few linguistic expressions,

and some generic metaphors consist of only a few specific metaphors This problem can only be properly overcome with a larger dataset in future research.

Operationalizing the embedded framework of CMA-MLV is also associated

with some limitations Firstly, despite proposed steps and principles to gain reliable

results, some extent of subjectivity is present in its component stages, from selecting data and identifying metaphor keywords based on semantic tension, constructing

mappings at four conceptual levels to interpreting social representations in these levels Consequently, borderline cases which reflect different interpretations among

different crosscheck members in data analysis still constitute for 17.9 percent Secondly, my limited knowledge and experiences of the Vietnam War, American

culture and American political system also cause difficulties to the phase of

explanation in relation to ideologies underlying metaphor choices which are relatively unsystematic This fact necessitates wider application of the suggested analytical framework in future research for better supplements.

Other aspects related to the study of conceptual metaphors which have not

been investigated in this study should be considered by future research They are different kinds of one-shot metaphor (e.g., “The war in Vietnam is a costly burden for Hanoi”), direct metaphor (e.g., “the enemy lives and fight like a swamp rat”),

mixed metaphor (e.g., two metaphors THE VIETNAM WARIS A PRISON and THE

VIETNAM WARIS A JOURNEY co-exist in one sentence “This has become a war

in which the peasant is caught in a shuttle, the Vietcong forces visiting him at night, the Governments in the daytime.”), conceptual metaphor and blended space, etc.

In conclusion, this research makes an important contribution to our knowledge

of the way the Vietnam war is metaphorically represented and constructed in the

selected American news discourse, and how an integrated CMA-MLV framework can be employed to construct objects, events and situations cognitively and

pragmatically (in this case the Vietnam War), and underscore the role that an individual’s histories, ideologies, assumptions, and relations of power can play in this

social practice Our analysis based on the above mentioned framework reveals that

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the Vietnam War is diversely, but negatively constructed as a journey, a business, a

non-living thing, a natural phenomenon, a terrain, and a competition, etc This diverse conceptualization of the Vietnam War is not only as a cognitive practice but also a social practice, shaped by the correspondents’ histories and knowledge, governed by

the ideologies and assumptions, and subject to relations of power It is a collective

meaning-making act (Hart, 2011; Taylor, 2021; Kövecses, 2020), capable of highlighting certain aspects and marginalizing other aspects of the war (or other objects, events, and situations) (Hart, 2017) At the same time, it represents the

correspondents’ identities and showcases their agency in using conceptual metaphors

as an effective pragmatic resource that no doubt constitutes their positions in the social world This said, it is important, though, to underscore the fact that by extension

different representations of social phenomena can happen as a result of language

users’ framing in accordance with their ideology, cultural values and habitus (Bourdieu, 1977) Metaphorical conceptualization is not just cognitive but also

ideological and relative.

2 KK

This study is the journey to find the answer to the question simply stated as

“What did American correspondents really think about the Vietnam War when they were directly involved in the battle?” The findings of almost all ideologies being close

to anti-war stance and the impact of this conceptualization on the anti-war movement

actively contributing to the peace restoration in Vietnam remind me of a provoking Napoleon’s quote “This world suffers a lot Not because of the violence of bad people But because of the silence of the good people.”

thought-In the Vietnam War, good people did voice.

VOICE IS CHANGE

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LIST OF RESEARCHER’S ARTICLES RELATED TO THE THESIS

Conferences at international level

1 Nguyén Thi Ngoc Trang (2019) Discourse-based analytical framework to

conceptual metaphor with an application to metaphors for the Vietnam War 20/9 Proceedings of International Graduate Research Symposium, 859-876 Hanoi: Vietnam National University Press.

2 Nguyén Thi Ngoc Trang (2020) How potential is cognitive linguistic in

solving the relation between language and thought? Proceedings of 2020

International Graduate Research Symposium and 10" East Asia Chinese Teaching

Forum, 2, 36—46 Hanoi: Vietnam National University Press.

3 Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Trang (2021) Critical metaphor analysis from multi-level

view of conceptual metaphor, with an application to metaphors for the Vietnam War

in American press Proceedings of 2021 International Graduate Research Symposium, 490-503 Hanoi: Vietnam National University Press.

Conferences at national level

4 Nguyễn Thị Ngoc Trang (2022) Criticisms on conceptual metaphor theory and

current approaches to metaphor study — A literature review Proceedings of 2022 ULIS National Conference, 2, 690-704 Hanoi: Vietnam National University Press.

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