Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Allameh Tabataba'i University

Abstract

Metaphors have a very essential role and importance in the system of the human mind and cognition. From the very beginning of the outbreak of the Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) to the present day, metaphors have played a significant role in the conceptualization of this illness and related issues. The aim of the present research is to investigate the metaphorical conceptualizations of Corona in the news headlines of domestic Persian-language media. The research data include 220 metaphorical expressions in the headlines extracted from the websites of four news agencies including Fars, ISNA, Tasnim, and Mehr. The Data were analyzed within the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff, 1987, 1993; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, 1999) and the theory of image schemas (Johnson, 1987; Lakoff, 1987). The results show that the metaphors used to conceptualize the Corona can be divided into two main categories: Metaphors based on image schemas and metaphors separate from image schemas. In the formation of first metaphors, force schema plays a major role and can manifest as the schemas of war, natural forces, and football. In the formation of the second category of metaphors, the source domains of humans and animals as well as domains such as fire, shadow, and vehicle play a major role.

Keywords

Main Subjects