CONCEPTUALIZATION OF “DEATH IS GOING TO A FINAL DESTINATION” IN ENGLISH AND CHINESE LITERARY TEXTS

Abstract

In this paper we contrastively analyse the metaphor ―death is going to a final destination‖ in English and Chinese literary texts using the theoretical framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory as initiated by Lakoff and Johnson (1980,2003). Such a cognitive approach enables us to demonstrate ―the mitigating capacity‖ of metaphors used as a powerful source for euphemistic reference thanks to their ability to hide certain unwanted, negative and undesirable aspects of the target domain. We exemplify the metaphor extracted from English and Chinese literary texts in order to contrastively establish similarities and differences in the conceptualisation of ―death is going to a final destination ‖ in the two languages, as well as to demonstrate the ways metaphors are used as a euphemistic device for speaking about this ―fear-based taboo‖.