A Multi-modal Analysis of Metaphors and Metonymies in News Cartoons
School of Translation Studies, Qufu Normal University Rizhao, Rizhao 276800, China
| Abstract: | Multi-modal metaphors and metonymies possess powerful expressive capabilities. For instance, cartoons convey complex meanings through simple images and minimal text, enabled precisely by their underlying multi-modal metaphorical and metonymic constructions. As a carrier of such expressions, editorial cartoons are increasingly used in publications and news. Unlike pure text, they leverage text-image synergy to map from source to target domains, generating emotional and expressive effects unattainable through words alone. Analyzing metaphors and metonymies in cartoons thus offers an effective approach to understanding current events and social issues. Conceptual Blending Theory (CBT) provides a theoretical framework for interpreting these multi-modal mechanisms. CBT posits that meaning construction requires activating two inter-mappable input spaces. Their shared structures project into a generic space for integration, then selectively blend into a blended space, where content is combined, matched, or supplemented against existing knowledge. This study applies CBT to analyze COVID-19 editorial cartoons from China News Cartoon Network (post-lifting of restrictions). By decoding multi-modal metaphors and metonymies and their intentions, it aims to deepen public understanding of the pandemic. The analysis reveals that while China’s pandemic response achieved significant positive outcomes with an overall improving trajectory, the fight against COVID-19 entails ongoing complexities and challenges. |
| Keywords: | Theoretical Framework; Multi-modal Metaphors and Metonymies; Conceptual Blending Theory (CBT); News Cartoons; Epidemic Prevention |
| DOI: | 10.57237/j.cll.2026.01.001 |
View:
Downloads:
收稿日期: 2026-01-22
接受日期: 2026-03-03
在线出版日期: 2026-03-18
参考文献
| [1] | Barcelona, A. 2000. On the plausibility of claiming a metonymic motivation for conceptual metaphor. In Barcelona, A. (ed.). Metaphor and Metonymy at the Crossroad. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter. |
| [2] | Fauconnier, G. 1994. Mental Spaces: A Space of Meaning Construction in Natural Language. New York: Cambridge University Press. |
| [3] | Fauconnier, G. 1997. Mapping in Thought and Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. |
| [4] | Fauconnier, G. 1999. Methods and generalizations. In Janssen, T. & Redeker G. (eds). Cognitive Linguistics: Foundation, Scopes, and Methodology. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. |
| [5] | Fauconnier, G. & Sweetser, E. (eds). 1996. Space, Worlds and Grammar. Chicago/London: The University of Chicago Press. |
| [6] | Fauconnier, G. & Turner, M. 2002. The Way We Think: Conceptual Blending and the Mind’s Hidden Complexities. New York: A Member of the Perseus Books Group, Basic Books. |
| [7] | Forceville, C. 1996. Pictorial Metaphor in Advertising. London: Routledge. |
| [8] | Forceville, C. 2002. The identification of target and source in pictorial metaphors. Journal of Pragmatics. 34(1): 1-14. |
| [9] | Forceville, C. 2008. Metaphors in pictures and multimodal representations. In Raymond W. Gibbs, Jr. (Ed.). The Cambridge Handbook of Metaphor and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 462-482. |
| [10] | Forceville, C. &Urios-Aparisi, E. (Eds.). 2009. Multimodal Metaphor. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. |
| [11] | Frank, B. 2012. Linguistics and the study of comics. Omaha: The University of Nebraska Press. |
| [12] | Goossens, I. 1990. The interaction of metaphor and metonymy in expressions for linguistic action. Cognitive linguistics (1) 323-340. |
| [13] | Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. 1980. Metaphors We Live by. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. |
| [14] | Han Xintong, 2019, "A Study of Multimodal Metaphor in Political Cartoons: A Case Study of a Political Cartoon", Journal of Changzhi University, 36(3), 75-77. |
| [15] | Huang Hua, 2001, A Comparative Study of Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Conceptual Integration Theory, Foreign Language and Foreign Language Teaching (146): 20-34. |
| [16] | Hu Zhuanglin, 2007, Multimodality in Social Semiotic Research, Language Teaching and Research (1): 1-10. |
| [17] | Wang Linhai, Liu Xiuyun, 2013, Interpretation of Multimodal Metaphorical Discourse Based on Conceptual Integration Theory, Foreign Language Audio-Visual Education (154): 28-33. |
| [18] | Wu Anping, Zhong Shouman, 2014, A Multimodal Discourse Study of Visual Grammar and Metaphorical Mechanism, Foreign Languages and Foreign Language Teaching. 276(3): 23-28. |
| [19] | Yang Congcong, Li Xue, 2022, A Study on Stamp Narration Based on Multimodal Metaphor and Metonymy - Taking the Centenary Commemorative Stamps of the Founding of the Communist Party of China as an Example, Journal of North China University of Science and Technology 22(3): 129-135. |
| [20] | Zhang Delu, 2009, Exploring a Comprehensive Theoretical Framework for Multimodal Discourse Analysis, China Foreign Language 6(1): 24-30. |
| [21] | Zhang Qiaotong, 2021, Multimodal Metaphors and Cultural Connotations of Public Crisis Comics: A Case Study of Comics Illustrating Wuhan's Fight Against the Novel Coronavirus Epidemic, Journal of Hebei University, 46(2): 40-47. |
| [22] | Zhao Xiufeng, Feng Dezheng, 2017, "Multimodal Metonymy and the Construction of China's Image: A Case Study of the Political Cartoon Discourse Involving China in The Economist", Journal of Xi'an International Studies University, 25(2): 31-35. |
| [23] | Zhao Xiufeng, 2013, An Integrated Model of Multimodal Metaphor Construction: A Case Study of Political Cartoons, Foreign Language Studies (5): 1-8. |
| [24] | Zhou Dajun, 2009, Cognitive Processes in the Interpretation of Generalized Military Terminology, Foreign Language, 32(2): 16-20. |
