Metaphor and Metonymy in Editorials' Headlines

MISNISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY OF VIETNAM

ENGLISH FACULTY
NGUYEN THI HONG NHUNG
METAPHOR AND METONYMY

IN EDITORIALS HEADLINES
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS
Hanoi, May 2013
MISNISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY OF VIETNAM
ENGLISH FACULTY
NGUYEN THI HONG NHUNG
METAPHOR AND METONYMY

IN EDITORIALS HEADLINES
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS
SUPERVISOR: LE THANH MAI, Ph. D.
Hanoi, May 2013
APPROVED BY SUPERVISOR
LE THANH MAI, Ph.D.

Date: May 13, 2013
ACCEPTANCE PAGE
I hereby state that I: Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung, class TA36C, being a candidate for the
degree of Bachelor of Arts accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and
use of Bachelors Graduation Paper deposited in the library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library
should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal
conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper.
Signature
Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung

May 13, 2013
DISCLAIMER
I hereby declare that this dissertation is my own original work and has not been
submitted before to any institution for assessment purposes. Further, I have acknowledged all
sources used and have cited them in the bibliography section.
Signature:
Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung

May 13, 2013
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This graduation paper is finished thanks to the support and the help of many people who
gave me valuable and constructive suggestions during the planning and development of the
research. I would like to dedicate my acknowledgement of gratitude toward the following
significant advisors and contributors:
First and foremost, I wish to express the deepest gratitude to my research supervisor, Dr.
Le Thanh Mai, English for Specific Purposes Division, English Faculty, Diplomatic Academy of
Vietnam, for her valuable advices, enthusiastic encouragement and helpful guidance on this study.
Her willingness to give me her time so generously has been very much appreciated. Without her
persistent help, this graduation would not have been possible.
A special thank should be given to my brother for his endless patience to read my
graduation paper, correct mistakes and give suggestions. Even though he does not major in
Linguistics, he has helped me accomplish my work with his great English skill.
I would like to acknowledge the assistance provided by my friends, especially Ngo Xuan
Thuy and Le Phuong Linh, in encouraging me and keeping my progress on schedule.
Finally, I am indebted to my family and my friends for offering me great support and
encouragement throughout my study.
ABSTRACT
ii
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1
1.
Rationale of topic selection .......................................................................... 1
2.
Research questions........................................................................................ 2
3.
Aims and objectives of the study ................................................................. 3
4.
Significance of the study ............................................................................... 3
5.
Scope of the study ......................................................................................... 4
6.
Methodology and Data Collection ............................................................... 4
7.
Organization of the study ............................................................................. 5
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................... 6
1.
Metaphor ....................................................................................................... 6
1.1. Concepts of Metaphor .............................................................................. 6
1.2. The contemporary theory of metaphor by Lakoff ..................................... 7
1.3. Identification of Metaphor ........................................................................ 7
1.4. Classifications .......................................................................................... 9
2.
Metonymy .................................................................................................... 11
2.1.
Concepts of Metonymy and Metonym ..................................................... 11
2.2.
Identification of metonymy ...................................................................... 13
2.3.
Typology of Metonymy ............................................................................ 14
3.
Newspaper Editorials ................................................................................. 16
3.1. Definitions of newspaper editorials ....................................................... 16
3.2. Structure of newspaper editorials .......................................................... 16
3.3. Functions of newspaper editorials ......................................................... 18
4.
Headlines...................................................................................................... 20
4.1. Definitions and functions of Headlines ................................................ 20
4.2. Language in Headlines ......................................................................... 22
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODS............................................................ 23
1.
Research Methods ....................................................................................... 23
2.
Data Collection ............................................................................................ 26
3.
Research Procedure .................................................................................... 27
CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ................................................. 29
1.
Occurrence frequencies of metaphor and metonymy in the editorial
headlines. ............................................................................................................... 29
2.
Functions of metaphor and metonymy in the editorial headlines.......... 40
2.1. A cognitive tool ....................................................................................... 41
2.2. To arouse the readers curiosity and emotion ....................................... 44
2.3. To convey the writers emotion and assessments of the issues .............. 46
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS AND
SUGGESTIONS ...................................................................................................... 49
1.
Summary of major findings ....................................................................... 49
2.
Implications of the study ............................................................................ 50
3.
Limitations of the study.............................................................................. 51
iii
4.
Suggestions for further research ............................................................... 51
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................I
APPENDIX ............................................................................................................... V
iv
LIST OF TABLES
No table of figures entries found.
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1.
Rationale of topic selection

In the book Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech (1921),
Edward Sapir (18841939), an American anthropologist-linguist, said:

Language is the most massive and inclusive art we know, a mountainous and anonymous
work of unconscious generation.
Edward Sapir1 (1921: 235)

The author implied that using language requires the users to be skillful,
fluent and natural. Hence, along with the development of languages, many
figurative devices appeared so that people can utilize them to express their ideas
and emotion successfully and completely. Among the group of tropes, due to the
unique and distinctive characteristics, metaphor and metonymy are frequently used
in literature as well as communicative activities. For examples, the famous quote of
Shakespeare The world is a stage is a typical example of metaphor, and the
adage The pen is mightier than the sword by E. B. Lytton2 is a clear illustration
for metonymy. Like other linguistic devices, metaphorical and metonymic
expressions help conversations between speakers and hearers become more natural
and make simple sentences more ornate and figurative. However, due to the fact
that people apply metaphor and metonymy unconsciously, sometimes they do not
even know they are using these rhetorical tools to air their views, particularly in the
context of daily communication. Fortunately, many linguists and experts have
conducted studies on the utility of metaphor and metonymy in both daily and
academic circumstances. Thanks to their works, those who pay attention to these
two figures of speech can broaden their knowledge and make uses of metaphor and
metonymy efficiently and reasonably. The works of linguists also indicate that the
1
Edward Sapir (18841939) is widely considered to be one of the most important figures in
the early development of the discipline of linguistics

(Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Sapir)
2
Edward Bulwer Lytton (1803 1873) was an English playwright, poet, novelist and
politician as well. This saying is originally quoted from the play Richelieu that he wrote in
1839.
two tropes are widely used in many fields, not only in poem and literature, daily
communication but also journalism. Moreover, the combination of metaphor and
metonymy in a context help intensify the figurative sense of the sentence.
Even though there are many means of giving information nowadays,
newspapers still play a vital role in depicting social issues around the world every
second. Moreover, not only can readers update latest news from newspapers, but
they also can share their own opinions on issues that they are concerned about
through a form of journalism: editorials. The demand for giving and sharing
viewpoints of human being is endless, it is the answer for the question why
editorials attract a huge number of readers, especially those who are interested in
politics and other matters of our lives.
One of inevitable components in an article is headline. Headlines are the
first sentences that catch the readers eyes when they skim through a newspaper.
Therefore, the headlines have direct and immediate impacts on them. In order to
attract the readers to the news, the headline is normally needed to be brief and
condensed but still provides readers with an overall view of the event in the article.
Either it is a title of a short news story or a lengthy editorial, the importance of
headline is not diminished or increased. Owing to metaphor and metonymy,
headline writers can achieve those targets to make such an impressive headline that
readers cannot put the newspaper down.
For those reasons, the author finds it essential to conduct a study on
metaphor and metonymy, specially their effects on headlines of editorials.
Moreover, being a student majoring in English in Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam
(DAV), the author finds that the understanding of news titles is very crucial for
students during their studying on international and political issues. Thus, it is hoped
that the results of this study will contribute to teaching English for Special Purposes
(ESP) reading for DAV students.
2.
Research questions
With the aim for finding out the roles of metaphors and metonymies in
editorial headlines, the study is expected to provide the answers for these following
questions:
1 Are metaphor and metonymy prevalently used in headlines of
newspaper editorials? How are the occurrence frequencies of metaphor and
metonymy in the editorials headlines?
2 Which types of metaphor and metonymy are mostly used in headlines of
editorials regarding political issues and international affairs?
3 What are the functions of metaphor and metonymy in editorial
headlines?
3.
Aims and objectives of the study
This study is considered an approach to investigate the usage of metaphor

and metonymy and their impacts on the editorials headlines. The writer also hopes
that this research will be regarded as a reliable material for further researches on the
two tropes and their roles, not only in daily communication but also in linguistics.
In addition, another aim of the research is to help ESP learners improve their
comprehensive understanding of editorial headlines during their studying.
Therefore, the present research is expected to achieve the following objectives:
Firstly, providing a conceptual framework based on theories of metaphor

and metonymy. It is the background of the research.
Secondly, investigating and calculating the occurrence frequency of
metaphor and metonymy in editorials headlines.
Thirdly, explaining the reasons why they are used and what functions they
perform in headlines of editorials.
Finally, offering suggestions for learners to face difficulties while studying
editorials.
4.
Significance of the study
It cannot be denied that metaphor and metonymy are two stylistic devices
that attract the attentions of linguistic researchers and analysts most.
Therefore, this study is carried out to contribute its results to researches on
metaphoric and metonymic expressions, particularly in the circumstance of
journalism and politics. The author firmly believes that identifying and clarifying
the role of metaphor and metonymy in editorials headlines can help broaden our
understanding of those figurative tools in terms of their functions and implications.
Moreover, this study can be a useful material for those who are interested in
politics and international issues, who want to develop their comprehensive abilities
in reading newspapers and studying political editorials.
5.
Scope of the study
Due to the limitation of time and reference source, the author understands
that it is impossible to analyze all figurative devices used by journalists in
newspapers. Hence, this study focuses on metaphor and metonymy in headlines of
editorials only.
For that reason, concepts of metaphor and metonymy which have been
introduced by linguists and other notions of editorials, headlines and journalese are
discussed in this study.
6.
Methodology and Data Collection
Both qualitative and quantitative methods are applied in this study so as to

achieve the best results.
Before conducting the research, it is essential to create a corpus of

headlines, which is the database of the study. 100 editorials from the Guardian and
100 ones from the New York Times online newspapers are collected to be
analyzed. These articles were issued on the two newspapers websites within March
and April, 2013.
After the corpus of editorials headlines is formed, the author identifies
metaphor and metonymy in every headline and measures their occurrence
frequencies in the headlines. Then, the writer points out which genres of metaphor
and metonymy are mostly used in those editorials headlines relating to politics and
international affairs. Finally, their impacts on the readers and their functions in the
headlines are thoroughly analyzed and explained.
In addition, all the examples and quotes used in this study are originally
cited from reliable sources of books, theses, articles, news and Internet.
7.
Organization of the study
There are five chapters in this research:

Chapter 1: Introduction. The first part deals with the rationale, research
questions, aims and objectives, significance, research scope, methodology and data
collection of the study.
Chapter 2: Literature Review. The task of this chapter is to provide basic

knowledge related to metaphor and metonymy their concepts, features and
classifications, how to discriminate metaphor and metonymy, notions and
characteristics of editorials and headlines.
Chapter 3: Research methods. In this chapter, the author describes the

process of selecting and analyzing data for the study. This part also details the
methods which are employed to conduct the research.
Chapter 4: Findings and discussion. According to the results obtained after

researching, findings of the metaphor and metonymys occurrences and functions
in editorial headlines are reported. After that, the author interprets those results in
the discussion.
Chapter 5: Conclusion, implications, limitations and suggestions for further

studies. In the last chapter of the study, the author presents a summary of major
findings, discusses implications of the study, reviews some limitations and gives
suggestions for further research as well.
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

The present study pursues the goals of investigating metaphor and
metonymy in editorial headlines. For that reason, this section provides a general
theoretical framework of the two tropes, newspaper editorials and headlines.
1.
Metaphor
1.1.
Concepts of Metaphor
Metaphor is literally used as an indirect comparison between two subjects

that seemingly have nothing in common. In linguistics, metaphor is a figure of
speech in which a word or phrase is used for referring to another thing with the aim
of emphasizing the similarities between the two subjects. The American linguist
George Lakoff studied and developed his theory of metaphor, in which he states
that:
The word metaphor was defined as a novel or poetic linguistic expression
where one or more words for a concept are used outside of its normal
conventional meaning to express a similar concept.
(Lakoff, 1993: 202)
Alice Deignan offered another definition of metaphor, which is

clearer and easier-to-understand, in her book Metaphor and Corpus
Linguistics (2005):
A metaphor is a word or expression that is used to talk about an entity or quality
other than that referred to by its core, or most basic meaning. This non-core use expresses
a perceived relationship with the core meaning of the word, and in many cases between
two semantic fields.
(Deignan, 2005: 34)

It is obvious that linguists have adopted their own approaches to
metaphor, which results in different concepts. However, they have not
denied that the metaphor can be interpreted as an indirect comparison

between two subjects.
1.2.
The contemporary theory of metaphor by Lakoff
In 1980, Lakoff and Johnson published their research: The

contemporary of metaphor (cited in Metaphor and Thought, 1993) which
has been considered a breakthrough in the study of metaphor. The theory is
also called The Conceptual Metaphor.
The linguists presented their work on three aspects:

-
The nature of metaphor: The results showed that metaphor is

the main mechanism through which we comprehend abstract
concepts and perform abstract reasoning (Lakoff and Johnson,
1993: 244). It is proved that many subject matters can only be
understood via metaphor and an abstract can be comprehended in
terms of a more concrete one.
The structure of metaphor: Evidences revealed that metaphors

are asymmetric and partial mappings across conceptual domains.
There are source domain and target domain in a mapping. Both
conceptual mapping and image mapping follow the Invariance
Principle.
Some aspects of metaphor: Lakoff and Johnson (1993: 245)

affirmed that metaphor is mostly based on correspondences in
our experiences, rather than on similarity. They also pointed
out that metaphor system plays an important part in grammar and
lexicon.
1.3.
Identification of Metaphor
Many linguists have tried to introduce their own conceptions of

metaphor. However, it can be seen that they all agree that metaphor consists
of two parts named tenor and vehicle. The tenor is the principal term
denoting the compared subject, whereas, the vehicle the secondary term is
the object of the comparison. Therefore, the first sign to recognize metaphor
in a sentence or utterance is that those two parts can be identified.
In addition, the words like is are, or was are sometimes used
to signal that a metaphor is present. It should be noted that a metaphor never
uses the words like, as, resemble or than to make comparison. This
help metaphor be identified more easily. Even though both similes and
metaphors use comparison, it is clearly different. For example,
Shakespeares saying is regarded as the typical example of metaphor: All
the worlds a stage. In the speech, the world is the tenor and a stage is
the vehicle. The author made a comparison between the world and a
stage, with men and women are the players on that stage. He implied that a
man plays his role through ages of life, just like the scenes of a play.
Pragglejaz Group (2007: 3) introduced Metaphor Identification
Procedure to identify the source and target domains underlying
metaphorical words in context. This method has been applied by many
linguists and researchers during their works on metaphor in particular texts.
The MIP is as follows:

1. Read the entire textdiscourse to establish a general understanding of the
meaning.
2. Determine the lexical units in the textdiscourse
3. (a) For each lexical unit in the text, establish its meaning in context, that is,
how it applies to an entity, relation, or attribute in the situation evoked by the text
(contextual meaning). Take into account what comes before and after the lexical unit.
(b) For each lexical unit, determine if it has a more basic contemporary meaning
in other contexts than the one in the given context. For our purposes, basic meanings tend
to be
More concrete; what they evoke is easier to imagine, see, hear, feel, smell, and
taste.
Related to bodily action.
More precise (as opposed to vague)

Historically older.
Basic meanings are not necessarily the most frequent meanings of the lexical unit.
(c) If the lexical unit has a more basic currentcontemporary meaning in other
contexts than the given context, decide whether the contextual meaning contrasts with the
basic meaning but can be understood in comparison with it.
4. if yes, mark the lexical unit as metaphorical.
1.4.
Classifications
In their work, Lakoff and Johnson divided metaphor into three main
types, they are structural, orientational and ontological metaphors.
Structural metaphor presents when one concept is structured in
terms of another (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980:14). This phenomenon is
exemplified with the conceptual metaphor argument is war.
In the above example, the concept of argument is metaphorically
characterized in terms of the concept war. Lakoff and Johnson (1980:4)
added that in reality, we do not only talk about arguments in terms of war,
but the metaphor also partially structures the way we act when we argue.
We can win or lose an argument, just like we can win or lose in a battle.
The other person in the argument is considered as an opponent or an enemy.
For example, it is clear that the following headline using a structural
metaphor:
E.g. 1: Obama won third debate, poll says.3
(The Huffingtonpost, October 25, 2012)
Debate can be considered a discussion or an argument between
people over a particular subject. Debates between two presidential
candidates are required in the United States election procedure. In the
headline, the phrase won the debate was metaphorically used to indicate that
Mr. Barack Obama was the nominee who achieved the success in the end of
the debate. Two candidates did not use force and physical violence to defeat
3
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/obama-debate-poll_n_2019172.html
the other in the debate but they made every effort to air their views and
criticize the opponent. In other words, the debate is similar to a fight and the
nominees are solders. This example clarifies the notion of the structural
metaphor argument is war.
The second genre, orientational metaphor (Lakoff & Johnson
1980:15) was defined as a kind of metaphorical concept that organizes a
whole system of concepts with respect to one another. The researchers
explained that it is called orientational because this type includes
metaphorical expressions based on spatial orientation: up and down, in and
out, front and back, on and off, deep and shallow, central and peripheral,
etc. It is stated that such metaphorical orientations are not arbitrarily created
by users but depend on our physical and cultural experiences in reality.
Lakoff and Johnson made it clearer to understand what orientational
metaphor is by giving the example: Happy is up. They explained that this
concept results in expressions like Im feeling up today, which means that
the person is in a good mood today.
Orientational metaphor is mostly seen in economic news with the
aim of indicating the status of the economy. For example:
E.g. 2: CPI in March stays on downward trend.
(Vit Nam News, March 25, 2013, page 13)
The expression downward trend indicated that the CPI growth
rate in Vietnam did not change, it continued decreasing. By using the word
downward, the writer could send his message to readers that the CPI moved
to a lower level in comparison with the same period last year.
Conventionally, the word down or downward is normally used to show the
direction. However, it can imply the fact that something is decreasing in
level, quantity, quality or frequency In this case, it can be concluded that
orientational less is down was employed to show the decline of CPI growth
rate.
10
The last type of metaphor within the Conceptual Metaphor Theory is

ontological metaphor. The theorists gave it another clear name: Entity and
Substance Metaphors (Lakoff & Johnson, 2003: 26). It is said that our
experiences and understanding of objects and substances provide us a
background knowledge that is useful in identifying other abstracts. In order
to illustrate the point, Lakoff and Johnson introduced and analyzed several
typical ontological metaphors, such as: inflation is an entity, the mind is a
machine and the mind is a brittle object. Consider the example below to see
how ontological metaphor functions in newspaper headline:
E.g. 3: Mauritania: Shortages hit millions4
(Angene France-Presse, The New York Times, April 24, 2013)
The article reported the severe food shortages in the North African
Sahel region, which engulfed more than 4 million local residents. The verb
hit is frequently used with the meaning of an action of a person, which
causes pain for the other. However, it can be understood with different
nuance of meaning in other context. In the news, the food shortages were
considered a living entity, it could hurt people. This ontological metaphor
described the serious situation in the area where millions of people were
suffering from the starvation.
2.
Metonymy
2.1.
Concepts of Metonymy and Metonym
It is said that metonymy have not been clearly defined until recent
decades. Even Aristotle, who was honored as one of the greatest scholars in
ancient time, classified it under metaphor. Nevertheless, it is treated as a
linguistic phenomenon on a par with metaphor nowadays.
Metonymy can be considered the figurative device using a word or a
phrase to stand for a related concept which is not directly mentioned in the
4
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/world/africa/mauritania-shortages-hitmillions.html?_r=0
11
expression. As Lakoff and Johnson
discovered, metonymy
involves
"using one entity to refer to another that is related to it" (Lakoff and
Johnson, 1980: 35).
According to Panther and Thornburg (1999: 334), Radden and
Kovecses introduced a new view of metonymy which regards it as
[...] a cognitive process in which one conceptual entity, the vehicle, provides
mental access to another conceptual entity, the target, within the same idealized cognitive
model.
In addition, Truszczynska approved Setos concept of metonymy

(1999) and proposed another definition:
Metonymy is a referential transfer phenomenon based on the spatio-temporal
contiguity as conceived by the speaker between an entity and another in the (real) world.
(Truszczynska, 2002: 222)
In conclusion, even though theorists have developed their ideas in

their ways, they shared the view is that: metonymy is a figure of speech that
an entity (source domain) is used to refer to another (target domain) and
there is a stand for relationship between the source and the target domain.
The following example will clarify the above assessment:
E.g. 4: Beijing announces 'two flies' rule for public lavatories 5
(Telegraph, May 23, 2012).
Beijing is known as the capital of Republic of China. In this

headline, metonymy occurs when the word Beijing was used instead of
China. However, readers still can understand that it is China, or Chinese
government, that introduced new rule for its public lavatories, not the capital
Beijing. By way of explanation, here Beijing, which is the source domain
of the metonymy, was used to refer to China, the target domain.
Source :http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9285162/Beijin
g-announces-two-flies-rule-for-public-lavatories.html
12
A metonym is the word or phrase used to replace another to which it

is closely connected. It is possible to say that a metonym and a metonymic
expression are the same notions. Thus, the word Beijing in the above
headline is a metonym or a metonymic expression.
2.2.
Identification of metonymy
To some extents, metaphor and metonymy share several common

features. However, the difference is that metonymy uses one concept in one
domain to refer to or stand for another concept within the same domain.
In our daily lives, metonymies are widely used in contexts, from
communication to literature. The question is: How to identify metonym and
metonymic expression correctly?
Unlike metaphors, metonymies do not use the words are, is, were
in the expression as a sign indicating that a metonymy is being employed.
However, the notable characteristic of metonymy is that the metonyms are
noun phrases. If a noun phrase is abnormally used in a sentence, it might be
a metonym. For example, if the subject (a noun phrase) and the verb match
correctly in grammar but it sounds strange and unreasonable in terms of
semantics, it is possible that it is a metonymic expression. For example:
E.g. 5: Pentagon says Afgan forces still need assistance. 6
(Elisabeth Bumiller, The New York Times, December 10, 2012)
It is obvious that readers can understand this headline without any
troubles, however, the writer would like to analyze it to point out how to
identify a metonym. Pentagon is the name of the headquarters of the United
States Department of Defense. Because of its shape, it is called Pentagon
and the word becomes popular with the aim of referring to the US
Department of Defense. The Pentagon is a substance, it is not an entity
hence it cannot say anything. Nevertheless, readers can still grasp the
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/world/asia/afghan-army-weak-as-transition-nearspentagon-says.html
13
meaning of the headline because they know the relationship between the
Pentagon and the US Department of Defense. In conclusion, Pentagon is
the metonym in this case.
2.3.
Typology of Metonymy
In his book Metaphors We Live By, Lakoff (1980: 38) also

provided the result of his research on metonymy and metonymic
expressions. He divided metonymy into seven basic conventional types: The
part for the whole, producer for product, object used for user, controller for
controlled, institution for people responsible, the place for the institution
and the place for the event.
The part for the whole: Consider the following
example: E.g. 6: There are a lot of good heads in the university

(Lakoff & Johnson, 1980: 36). Head is a part of body and good
heads here is used to imply people who are intelligent.
Producer for product: The researchers demonstrated
this type of metonymy in the sentence E.g. 7 He bought a Ford

(Lakoff & Johnson, 1980: 38). In this example, when speaker said
that he had bought a Ford, hearers could refer that he had bought a
new car, because Ford is the brand name of the producer.
Object used for user: This adage is classified as an
object used for user metonymy: The pen is mightier than the
sword (Edward Bulwer Lytton, 1839). In real life, pen is used to
note down what a person is thinking, thus the pen here stands in
for written words. Likely, sword is a kind of weapons appearing
such a long time ago, so the sword is regarded as the symbol of
war and violence. Here Lytton highly valued the power of words,
confirmed that words and language have more influence on people
than weapon and military force.
Controller for controlled: This type of metonymy is
employed when users want to emphasize the person who is
14
responsible for an incident rather than the incident itself. E.g.

8: Press regulation: after Leveson, let's put hysteria and
mistrust behind us (guardian.co.uk, March 17, 2013).
Leveson is the Lord Justice who takes responsibilities to
make recommendations on the future of British press
regulation. The Leveson inquiry was set up by the Prime
Minister David Cameron with the aim of examining and
observing the press. Now Leveson is usually used to stand
for the Leveson inquiry.
Institution for people responsible: This genre is
prevalently seen in politics to point out the institution where officials

work for. E.g. 9: White House to provide Senate with drone memos
ahead of Brennan vote (guardian.co.uk, March 5, 2013). Senate
refers to senators, who work as members of the Senate.
The place for the institution: Several headquarters of
authorities in countries have special names, thus their names can be

used to refer to the institution working in those official buildings.
E.g. 10: White House beats back pay-for-play allegations as
Republicans step up attacks (nydailynews.com, March 2013). The
White House is the official home of the president of United States.
However, this phrase is normally used to stand for the president and
the US officials.
The place for the event: Some particular events leave
deep impression on people by the location where they take place.

For example, in the E.g. 11: In South Korea Scandal, Echoes of
Watergate (nytimes.com, April 9, 2012), Watergate is the place for
the event metonymy. It is a political scandal happening at the
Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate
office complex, Washington D.C in the 1970s. Since then, the word
Watergate has been used to indicate the scandal which resulted in
the resignation of the United State President Nixon.
15
3.
Newspaper Editorials
3.1.
Definitions of newspaper editorials
Every newspaper has a respective column for editorials, which is

usually named Editorials or Opinion, or sometimes under a typical
header. This section consists of pieces presenting the authors viewpoints on
particular issues. In the Longman Dictionary, editorial is defined as a
piece of writing in a newspaper that gives the editors opinion about
something rather than reporting facts. (Longman Dictionary of
Contemporary English, 2009: 540). The definition also indicates that
editorials focus on sharing opinions instead of reporting news.
Cruz (1997: 88) cited the definition of editorial by M. Lyle Spencer

as:
It is a presentation of facts and opinion in a concise, logical manner, or of
interesting significant news in such a way that its importance to the average reader will be
clear.
The writer of an editorial may be the editor or the publisher of the

newspaper, sometimes he or she is a reader who wants to express his or her
statement of opinion on an issue. 7
For example, the editorial (E.g. 12) North Korea: time for a
rethink8 was posted by The Guardians editorial board on March 31, 2013.
This article expressed the authors opinion on the occasion of North Korea
announcing to be in a state of war with the South. The writer suggested that
the world and particularly the US should reconsider their policies on the
Korean peninsula issue in order to avoid unexpected consequences.
3.2.
7
8
Structure of newspaper editorials
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editorial
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/31/north-korea-conflict-rethink
16
According to van Dijk, the structure of press editorials is not similar

to which of news reports (van Dijk, 1993: 244)9. The editorial texts are
restricted in length, minimum is 200 words and maximum is 500 words.
With the aim of appealing to readers, the editorial needs to be logically and
wisely organized, which is called schematic structure by van Dijk (1993:
244). Therefore, most of editorials consist of three parts: Definition
(answers the questions what the news is and what has happened), evaluation
(provides assessments on the issues) and conclusion (express the writers
opinions and gives suggestions).
The structure of editorials is clearly analyzed below: Because the

editorial is not aimed at reporting the latest news, there is usually a
summary of the event or situation in the first part. The writer has to provide
readers with an overview of the news, helps them find the answer for the
question What has happened? first. The body of the article carries out the
authors assessment of the situation. The writer expresses his or her views
after analyzing the event as well as related actions and actors. The author
may agree or disagree, support or criticize what happened or who acted, and
pinpoint the causes of the incident. Finally, the editorial ends with a
conclusion which features the authors warning, recommendation, advices
and expectations.
In the above example of editorial: North Korea: time for a
rethink, the writer follows the structure of van Dijk. First, he provided
readers with an overview of the North Koreas recent actions against the
South Korea and the United States. In next three paragraphs, the author
added more information related to the issues and illustrated his concerns on
the policies of the US and South Korea by facts and figures. He came to
conclusion that it was high time for the US reconsider its strategy and the
van Dijk, T. (1992). Racism and argumentation: Race riot rhetoric in tabloid editorials. In
F. H.van Eemeren (Ed.), illuminated(pp. 242-259). Dordrecht Argumentation: Foris
17
goal of forcing the North to disarm. He added that it was necessary for the
White House to change its minds as well as its actions.
3.3.
Functions of newspaper editorials
The most basic difference between editorials and news reports is that
editorials do not aim to re-tell the latest stories as news articles do.
Van Dijk pointed out that editorial serves as the expression and
persuasive communication of opinions (van Dijk, 1996: 13)10. For that
reason, it is proved that editorial plays important roles in many aspects (van
Dijk, 1992: 244-245).
In the context of communicative interaction, editorials display their
argumentative and persuasive features. With clear and convincing evidences
as well as strong arguments, the editor succeeds in conveying his or her
messages to readers. At the same time, the cognition of the reader falls
under the influence of those reasonable explanations. It means that through
editorials, the author can affect the readers thought. Moreover, due to the
fact that editorial is a representative product of a group of people with
specific purposes, their attitudes and ideologies are widely spread to the
public through editorials.
In addition, the object that editorials direct is not only common
readers but also other elites, especially who have power in society.
According to van Dijk, actually the readers serve as observers of the
invisible fights amongst influences. Therefore, it can be said that editorials
fulfill political function. Finally, editorial occupies the socio-cultural role
when normative and ideological characteristics of editorial reflect social and
cultural features, which is described by van Dijk as the persuasive
formulation and reproduction of acceptable norms and values by which
news events may be evaluated. (van Dijk, 1992: 244).
10
van Dijk, T. (1996). Opinions and ideologies in editorials. International Symposium of

Critical Discourse Analysis, Language, Social Life and Critical Thought, Athens.
18
3.4.
Classification of newspaper editorials
The editorials published in most newspapers usually convey an issue

that interests the public or has an effect on the majority of people. Alireza
and Samuel used the classification proposed by Hall in their study: the
proposed classification, it consists of Criticism, Attack, Defense,
Endorsement, Praise, Appeal and Entertainment. (Alireza & Samuel, 2012:
1-2).
In the book Campus journalism and School Paper Advising (1997:
89 - 91), the author presented 8 kinds of newspaper editorials in detail:
Editorial of information: Editorials of this kind provide or add

readers with unknown facts or information of the news.
Editorial of interpretation: It focuses on highlighting the

meaning of an event, situation and so on. The writer analyzes
the issue carefully and thoroughly but does not give any
evaluation. The judgment is left to the readers.
Editorial of criticism: Because it aims to influence the readers,

the editorial needs to give readers a clear analysis on the issue
and solutions at the end.
Editorial of commendation, appreciation or tribute: This

editorial is written to express the writers gratitude, praises or
tributes to an individual or organization for their useful and
worthwhile works.
Editorial of argumentation or persuasion: It means that this

kind is aimed at convincing readers to agree with the writers
viewpoints on the issue.
Editorial of entertainment: This type of editorials is usually

short articles which draws readers to a smile or a chuckle while
telling the truth indirectly.
Mood editorial: Its topics are mostly about nature or emotion

with hope to convey a message of philosophy of life to readers.
19
Special occasion: The editorial emphasizes on the importance of

an event.
4.
Headlines
4.1.
Definitions and functions of Headlines
Never forget that if you don't hit a newspaper reader between the eyes with your
first sentence, there is no need of writing a second one.
Arthur Brisbane, (1900 - ?)
The saying proves that headlines play an important role in attracting

the readers attention.
One of the most important and indispensable parts in an article is
headlines. A newspaper headline is usually a group of words set at the head
of the article, printed in a larger size and different type so as to attract the
readers attention. For instance, this is the news reporting the death of
Osama bin Laden on The Washington Post (May 2, 2011).
E.g. 13: Justice has been done U.S. forces kill Osama bin
Laden.11 (The Washington Post, May 2, 2011)
11
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/bin-laden-dead-front-pages-ofnewspapers-declare-victory/2011/05/02/AFQOlAYF_blog.html
20
The crucial role of headlines was demonstrated by Bernstein and

Garst (1982), quoted in Dor (2003: 697), they said:
... the headline contains the main highlight of the story. Since it is the most
conspicuous part and the part that is read first, the copy editor must present the
essence of the news before he goes further.
Ludwid and Gilmore (2005: 107) also stated that:

The best headlines both tell and sell, that is, they tell the reader quickly
what the news is and persuade the reader that the story is worth reading.
(Cited by Praskova, 2009: 2)
This means those authors agreed that newspaper headline has two
main functions. First, the headline serves as a brief summary of the news
articles; second, its appearance must be eye-catching and its content must be
adequately and accurately conveyed through its words.
Analyzing the
above example, it cannot be denied that the headline leaves a strong

impression on readers immediately. The words were printed in bold and a
large size, the gist of the article, which is Osama bin Laden the most
dangerous terrorist at that time were killed by the US force, can easily
caught by the readers from the headline. The editor also cited the
declaration of the United State President Barrack Obama to underline the
significance of the news. As a result, the readers have to continue reading
the whole passage to find more detailed information of the incident.
Morley (1998: 31) supposed that there are five main functions of
newspaper headlines:
1. They attract the reader's attention,
2. They give a summary of the content of the article,
3. The writer's attitude to the story is expressed via the headlines,
4. The headlines also indicate the register of the article. It means
that they show what style of the article is.
5. And finally, they point out the focus of the article, which event is
the most important in the news story.
21
4.2.
Language in Headlines
In the previous part, it is clearly proved that the headlines need to be

short, condensed but still able to communicate the main idea of the article.
In other words, the writer has to use as few words as possible in a headline
due to the limited space in the newspapers format. Nevertheless, the
meaning of the headline is fully and correctly understood by readers despite
looking at it for few seconds.
In the booklet Learning English The language of the media, news
reports, sports commentaries, arts reviews, and more published by the
BBC World Service (2003:1), the author summarized features of language
used in the headlines.
In terms of grammar, the headlines should follow these rules:
-
Parts of speech: In order to catch the readers attention, news headlines

should be short and brief. It results to the fact that any unnecessary words
are often omitted. They include articles, auxiliary verbs and possessive
adjectives.
Verb form: Present simple, past participles and infinitives are used in the
headlines so as to emphasize the time of the stories. The present simple
tense is used to tell the story which is or was happening. The past participle
form which appears in the headlines is the short form of the passive voice.
Verbs in the infinitive form are used to tell the story of the event which is
planned to occur.
It is clear that language in the newspaper headlines is typical and
distinctive. Due to those particular characteristics, some linguists summed
up and proved that block language is used in newspaper headline. This
concept was coined by Quirk et al in 1972. According to the group of
authors, Block language displays
a whole realm of usage where, because of its rudimentary communicative role,
language is structured in terms of single words and phrases, rather than in terms of the
more highly organized unit of the clause.
22
(Quirk et al, 1972: 414)

The authors found out that block language is made up of lexical
items which are lower than sentences (a clause or a noun phrase). Article
and auxiliary verbs can be omitted. In other words, the block language
occurs when a few important words are used to convey a message.
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODS

If novelists wield the power of words to absorb readers completely in their
fictional stories, journalists need to efficiently utilize their language skills in reporting
news and giving assessments on an incident. Hence it can be said that journalism, like
literature, is seen as the art of using words flexibly and masterfully. This similarity leads
to the fact that all the tropes that are frequently used in literary works can be used in
news articles without changing their functions. For that reason, the writer believes that
metaphor and metonymy contribute to the success of a newspaper editorial as well. In
the present study, the author makes an effort to conduct an analysis, based on the
theoretical framework presented above, with the aim of investigating the occurrence of
metaphor and metonymy as well as their effectiveness in editorial headlines.
This chapter focuses on research method, analysis procedure and the cause of
selecting data for the study.
1.
Research Methods
The author understands that the results of the study can only be generated
through combining quantitative and qualitative methods.
1.1. Quantitative method:

One of this studys aims is to measure the frequencies of metaphor
and metonymy in editorial headlines. Thus, quantitative method is employed
to achieve it. Specifically, the study is aimed at addressing 2 points: First,
the occurrence frequency of metaphor and metonymy, respectively, in
editorial headlines of The New York Times and The Guardian, and second,
23
the occurrence frequency of each type of metaphor and metonymy in the

headlines of the articles concerning political and international issue.
1.1.1. Calculating the occurrence frequency of metaphor and metonymy in
The New York Times and The Guardians editorial headlines:
After observing and indentifying metaphorical and metonymic
expressions in 200 headlines of The New York Times and The
Guardian, the author counts the number of occurrence of metaphor
and metonymy. Then, the frequency of each type is illustrated by the
percentages. For example, the percentage of metaphors occurrence
frequency in The New York Times is calculated by the number of
time metaphors happen in 100 headlines. Following is the formula:
A=
(1)
A is the percentage of metaphors occurrence frequency in The

New York Times editorial headlines. (%)
a is the number of metaphors occurrence in the headlines.
b is the number of headlines which are examined. Here b = 100.
Similarly, the formula (1) is applied to measure percentages of

metaphors in The Guardian and metonymy in both newspapers.
To reach conclusion of the regular occurrences of metaphor and

metonymy in editorial headlines in general, it is important to follow
another formula. This time, the percentages of the two tropes
prevalence are calculated by their proportions of the headlines in the
corpus. The formula below is to find out how often metaphor happen
in both newspapers:
S=
(2)
S: The percentage of metaphors occurrence frequency in

editorial headlines. (%).
24
n: The sum of metaphors in The New York Times and The

Guardian.
m: The total number of headlines which are examined. Here m =
200.
The prevalence of metonymy in editorial headlines is also

figured out by the formula (2).
The results are showed in table 1: Percentage of metaphor and

metonymys prevalence in the editorial headlines.
1.1.2.
The occurrence frequency of each type of metaphor and metonymy

in the headlines of the articles concerning political and international
issue:
In order to quantify the frequency of metaphor and metonymy in
the headlines of the editorials which are about politics and
international affairs, the first thing to do is selecting the articles
dealing with the above issues. Then, based on the results of the
previous part, the number of metaphor and metonymys occurrences
are counted. The percentages showing the prevalence of each type of
metaphor or metonymy are calculated by the formula below:
T=
(3)
T: The percentage of one type of metaphor or metonymy

occurring in the headlines With regard to political and international
issues. (%)
x: The number of occurrence of the type in the headlines.
y: The number of the headlines focusing on political and
international issues.
25
Applying the formula (3) provides the percentages of each type

of metaphor and metonymy in the headlines. The results for
metaphors and metonymies are seen in table 2 and 3, respectively.
1.2. Qualitative method:
Qualitative method is used in this study to analyze the statistics
achieved by the quantitative method.
Table 1 shows the percentages of metaphor and metonymys
prevalence in editorial headlines. Thanks to the results, the author comes to
conclusion that the two figurative speeches are widely used in editorial
headlines or not.
In table 2 and 3, the statistics indicate which kinds of metaphor and
metonymy are mostly utilized and which kinds are rarely utilized in the
headlines of the articles concerning political issues and global problems.
The researcher tries to investigate what function of those types
perform in the headlines, why they are used and what the writers mean
when using them.
As a result, by combining both quantitative and qualitative method,
the answers for the research questions as well as the findings of the research
are found out.
2. Data Collection
With the aim of finding out the main functions of metaphors and
metonymies which are used in headlines of newspapers as well as contributing to
the teaching and learning ESP (English for Special Purpose) in Diplomatic
Academy of Vietnam (DAV), the writer decides to choose editorials as the subject
for the research. Why are editorials, not short news or other journalistic forms? As
a student majoring in English, particularly English used in international affairs and
politics, the author has chances to approach the news media so as to update latest
information and broaden their knowledge on international issues. In terms of
newspapers, it can be said that editorial are one of the most attractive columns. In
DAV, students are required to exercise comprehensive reading skill so that they can
26
grasp not only news articles but also editorials what is normally higher estimated
at difficulty than other journalistic forms.
In order to obtain the reliable results, editorials which are selected to be

analyzed in this research are extracted from the online editions of the New York
Times and The Guardian. The website of The New York Times is the most popular
newspaper site in the United States while The Guardian online edition is the second
British newspaper website that attracts readers the most. Moreover, both have the
column of editorials which is made up of articles written by their editors or
contributors on international and social issues. These editorials are highly
appreciated by readers worldwide due to their acuity and attraction.
Thus, the data collection of this study consists of:
100 headlines extracted from the column named Opinion of The

New
York
Times
online
newspaper:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/editorials/index.ht
ml
100 headlines extracted from the editorial column of The Guardian

online newspaper: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tone/editorials
Those articles were published on the website of The New York Times in the
space of a month, from March 18th to April 12th, 2013, on the website of The
Guardian from March 6th to April 12th, 2013. There is a small difference between
the two periods because more editorials are posted on the site of The New York
Times in a day than on The Guardians. In order to form a corpus of headlines for
the purpose of researching, the author decides to collect 100 headlines from each
website.
3.
Research Procedure
The researcher follows five steps below to conduct the analysis:
27
Firstly, a corpus of editorial headlines from The New York Times and The
Guardian online newspapers is built, which is the data for the research.
Secondly, relying on the concepts as well as methods mentioned in the

theoretical framework, the author indentifies metaphors and metonymies in the
headlines.
Thirdly, after identifying the metaphors and metonymies, the author

calculates their occurrence frequencies in total number of headlines. The result is
shown in a table indicating the percentage of metaphors and metonymies which are
used in the headlines of each online newspaper.
Fourthly, after selecting only articles which concern political issues and
international affairs, the study continues to discern each type of metaphors and
metonymies in the headlines, fitting into their categories, based on the theoretical
framework. After that, another table of percentage is formed in order to indicate
which genre of metaphor and metonymy is mostly used in the editorial headlines
with regard to politics and international issues.
Finally, the author tries to explain the reasons why metaphor and metonymy
are used in those headline, what implications of the writers are and whether they
attain their goals when doing so or not. Every function of metaphor and metonymy
in the headlines is clearly illustrated by typical examples as well.
28
CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

1.
Occurrence frequencies of metaphor and metonymy in the
editorial headlines.
1.1.
Metaphor and metonymys prevalence in the editorial
headlines
Following the steps to point out the existence of metaphor and
metonymy in the headlines of The New York Times and The Guardian
websites, the writer observes and calculates their prevalence, then collects
the statistics and puts them into the tables below:
Table 1: Percentages of metaphor and metonymys prevalence in the
editorial headlines
The Guardian
The New York
Total
(per 100
Times (per 100
(per 200
headlines)
headlines)
headlines)
Metaphor
28%
15%
21.5%
Metonymy
11%
13%
12 %
The figures show that both metaphor and metonymy are frequently
used in the headlines of the two newspapers editorials. In 100 headlines of
The Guardian, there are 28 ones using metaphor and 11 ones using
metonymy. In 100 headlines of the New York Times, there are 15
29
metaphorical expressions, 13 metonymic phrases. In total, 43 over 200

headlines use metaphor (21.5%) and 25 over 200 headlines use metonymy
(12%).
It should be noticed that there are many figurative speeches which
can be utilized in editorial headlines. Hence, the percentages of metaphor
and metonymy found in the present study are notable and they indicate that
these two tropes are used more prevalently than others.
The lists of metaphors and metonymies found in total 200 headlines
of editorial articles from The New York Times and The Guardian are given
in the appendix #1and appendix #2.
-
Concluding remarks:
Thanks to the above statistics, it can be concluded that the answer

for the first research question about the occurrence frequencies of metaphor
and metonymy in editorial headlines is found. The study shows that
metaphor and metonymy are the two tropes which are prevalently chosen by
writers to be put in headlines of their editorials.
1.2.
Prevalence of each type of metaphor and
metonymy in the headlines relating to political and international

issues
1.2.1.
Metaphor
Basing on the content of the headline, the researcher decides

whether its topic is about politics, international affairs or not. Finally, the
result of the study shows that 19 articles of The Guardian dealing with
political and international issues. Ontological metaphor is the genre which
outnumbers by 18 times occurring in the headlines (78.3%), while structural
metaphor accounts for 21.7% with 5 headlines, and orientational metaphor
shows its rare occurrence with only 1 headline using it. For The New York
Times, there are 12 editorials concerning politics and global problems, 9 of
30
which have the headlines using ontological metaphor and each structural
and orientational metaphor occurs in 1 headline. (Lists of the headlines are
given in appendix #3)
Table 2: Percentages of metaphor occurrences in The Guardians
editorial headlines
Type of metaphor
Occurrence frequency
Percentage
Ontological metaphor
14
73.7%
Structural metaphor
26.3%
Orientational metaphor
5.2%
Table 3: Percentages of metaphor occurrences in The New York

Times editorial headlines
Type of metaphor
Percentage
Ontological metaphor
69.2%
Structural metaphor
15.4%
Orientational metaphor
7.2%
(Note that it is possible to use more than one kind of

metaphor in a headline. That is the reason why the total number of 3 types
of metaphors used in the selected headlines is more than the sum of
headlines containing metaphorical expressions. For example, the author
finds out that both ontological and orientational metaphor is utilized in at
least one headline of The Guardian.)
1.2.1.1.
Ontological metaphors
Firstly, it is important to remember that the ontological

metaphors function is to give an abstract concept a new status with physical
features. For instance, concrete words indicating things such as objects,
31
substances, persons and containers are used to substitute for abstractions

like activities, emotion and ideas. Using ontological metaphors helps
delineate the objects sharply so that readers can grasp the headlines
immediately. By way of illustration, consider the example:
E.g.: The Rugged Road for Gun Control 12
(The New York Times Editorial Board (online), April 11, 2013)
This article is extracted from the column Editorial of The

New York Times on April 11, 2013. At that time, the US president Barack
Obama was trying to regulate the gun control law in the country, after the
Newtown massacre. However, his proposal faced strong opposition from
Democrats and anti-gun control groups. It seemed very difficult for the bill
to be passed as the president expected.
In the headline of the article, the writer used ontological

metaphor. It is easy for readers to realize the source domain in the title is
the rugged road and the target domain is the process of approving the
gun control proposal which did not go smoothly. Cognitively, readers can
find that the road and the process share some similarities. First, both are
normally long and take time to finish. Second, their targets are to achieve
results after accomplishing. Besides, there are obstacles and potholes that
make the road rugged (rough and uneven), there are hurdles and
impediments that cause difficulties for the process as well. Therefore, it can
be said that the usage of the metaphorical expression the rugged road
gains the efficiency when it makes the abstract concept process become
easier to understand. Moreover, it conveys the writers viewpoint is that the
presidents suggestion for amendment to the gun law is not unanimously
approved and it is very hard for the bill to be signed.
12
Source : http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/12/opinion/the-rugged-road-for-gun-control.html?_r=0
32
1.2.2.2.
Structural metaphors
The second kind of metaphor that is popularly chosen by the editors

in their headlines is structural metaphor. In this kind of metaphor, an
abstract concept is explained by a concrete concept so that readers can
understand it in terms of the others structural characteristics.
Examining the following example, how structural metaphor is used
in the headlines will be clarified.
E.g.: Lending: billions down the drain 13
(The Guardian online, March 12, 2013)
This editorial conveys the writers standpoint on the United
Kingdoms lending policy. Since 2008, the Britain economy has not been
recovered yet, it has even got worse recently. Despite of the fact that the
euro crisis and the increase in commodity price are two more factors that
cause the stagnation, the government should be blamed for its wrong
policies. The writer pointed out some mistakes that the chancellors and the
policymakers have made, such as depressing the demand which was in
deficit by running the biggest program of spending cuts ever seen, relying
on the quantity of sold credit instead of offering it as much as possible. The
writer supposed that the Britain had wasted a lot of money on the solutions
to save its economy but progress had not been seen yet.
It is clear that the writer compares the governments spending with
water. Structurally, the motion of water (pouring water into somewhere) is
like the action of spending money on something. Thus, the fact that Britain
leaders had squandered billions on inefficient solutions is similar to the
uselessness of pouring the water into the drain the pipe carrying waste
liquid way. The metaphorical expression billions down the drain also
indicates that the Britain governments policies even darkened the economic
13
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/12/lending-billions-down-thedrain?INTCMP=SRCH
33
outlook. In conclusion, the structural metaphor presented in this headline

aroused the readers curiosity about how the Britain government wasted
money and what was wrong with its monetary policies.
1.2.2.3.
Orientational metaphors
It is said that orientational metaphors base on spatial relations. It

means that the target domain is expressed by the words involving
oppositions. The upward orientation is usually used to convey a positive
evaluation on an object. Conversely, if writers or speakers use the
downward orientation, it indicates that they are performing a negative
assessment of the object. The following example serves as a clear
illustration of an orientational metaphor.
E.g.: Germany and Europe: on top, but not in charge14
It should be noted that the headline is expected to convey two main

points: In the relationship with Europe, Germany is on top but not in
charge. However, only the phrase performing ontological metaphor is
analyzed. It is the expression on top.
The main content of the editorial is about the role of Germany in

Europe. In the article, the writer also indicated that there were many
convincing evidences showing the strength of Germany, which is known as
the strongest nation among European Union members. Particularly, while
most countries in the region had been too weak to confront the global
economic crisis and subsequently the euro zone crisis, Germany was still
able to stand firm on its feet. As a result, its influence over other nations had
been increasing and German leaders always tried to strengthen its leading
role in the European Union.
14
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/26/germany-and-europe-on-top-butnot-in-charge
34
For that reason, the editor used the phrase on top to describe the
position and level of Germany in the European Union. The word top
indicates the highest position, if one thing is on top, it means that there is
nothing is higher than it. In the figurative sense, top also implies the best
quality or the highest level of a substance. In this headline, the metaphorical
phrase is an upward orientation. With the usage of this orientational
metaphor, the writer wanted to emphasize that Germany was not only the
strongest economy but also the leader of the European Union in the present
time. It can be clearly seen that the writers implication is conveyed by only
few words but the readers can realize it fully.
1.2.2.
Metonymy
In the literature review, the author cites 7 conventional types of

metonymy according to Lakoffs theory. However, he noted that those types
are the most popular metonymies which can be seen in daily context, many
other ones were not mentioned in his book. After analyzing and examining
the metonymic phrases in the headlines, the writer finds that the theory is
true in practice. For that reason, the writer only publishes the statistics of
types occurring in the selected headlines: Controller for controlled,
institution for people responsible, place for the institution, the part for the
whole and place for the event, which occur most frequently both in The
New York Times and The Guardians editorial headlines.
Lists of the headlines of the editorials concerning political and
international issues are showed in appendix #4.
Table 4: Percentages of metonymy occurrences in The Guardians
editorial headlines
Type of metonymy
35
Percentage
Controller for controlled
40%
30%
Place for the institution
20%
Place for the event
10%
Institution
for
people
responsible
Table 5: Percentages of metonymy occurrences in The New York

Times editorial headlines
Type of metonymy
Percentage
30%
Place for the institution
20%
Place for the event
10%
The part for the whole
20%
10%
Institution
for
people
responsible
This study focuses on editorials of which main content concerns politics:

internal policies and international issues. Therefore, 24 editorial headlines which
satisfied the condition were selected to continue analyzing. It is showed that there
are 7 in 21 headlines using the metonymy institution for people responsible, which
accounts for 33.3% in The Guardian. For The New York Times, the number is even
much higher when the percentage of the types prevalence reaches 78.3%. Hence it
can be concluded that institution for people responsible is the most popular
metonymies in editorial headlines.
1.2.2.1.
Controller for controlled metonymy
This type of metonymy occurs when the author does not directly write the
names of those who have responsibilities for doing something, only a word or a
phrase can be used instead. Consider the example below:
E.g.: Britain's banks: time for a Leveson
36
(The Guardian (online) April 12, 2013)

In the article, the writer pointed out the watchdogs mistakes for over five
years, which made the economy could not recover since the banking crisis.
Therefore, he suggested that the British banking should have an inquiry like the
Leveson.
For readers who do not know what a Leveson is, it seems hard to understand
this headline. Leveson is originally the name of the Lord Justice Brian Leveson,
who was appointed as Chairman of the Inquiry in July 2011. His responsibility is to
hold and chair public hearings on the culture, practice and ethics of the British
press. Moreover, he and his partners have to make a report after the hearings and
give recommendations for the new law on this issue. The inquiry was named after
its chairman: Leveson Inquiry or Leveson for short. A Leveson is a metonym which
indicates the inquiry via its controllers name.
1.2.2.2.
Institution for people responsible metonymy
E.g.: One Industrys Hold on the Senate 15

(The New York Times Editorial Board (online), April 1, 2013).
The writer praised the medical device industry for its success in lobbying
the Senators so that the tax on medical devices, which was included in the
presidents health care reform law in 2009, would be repealed by 2014. Even
though the aim of raising the tax is to provide uninsured health coverage and it is
proved that the small tax increase did not hurt demand for products of the medical
device industry, the device makers had still spent millions on Senators to abolish
the tax. As a result, most members of the Senate agreed on delaying it.
In the headline, the Senate is a metonym. The Senate of the United States
is a legislative chamber, which is one of the two parts making up the United States
Congress. This institution consists of Senators, who are selected to be the
15
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/opinion/one-industrys-hold-on-the-senate.html
37
representatives of each state. It should be senators instead of the Senate because it

is the senators that are in charge of making decisions on the United States policies.
However, the use of the Senate is still accepted by readers due to the fact that
they can refer it to the senators.
Another example is the Lords in the headline Secret courts: the Lords must
prevent this perversion of true justice 16published on The Guardian on March 10,
2013. It is obvious that the Lords here stands for members of the House of Lords,
the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its responsibility is to
make laws and inspect actions of the government17. The Observer, who wrote the
editorial, implied that the Lords members must prevent the justice and security bill
in the UK. This bill, which would allow secret courts, was strongly criticized
because the ministers and intelligence services could take advantage of it to hide
their serious illegal action. As the members of the Lords have to deal with the issue,
that the writer used the Lords to refer to its members is acceptable.
1.2.2.3.
Place for the institution metonymy
The second most popular type of metonymy in the editorial headlines of

The New York Times and the Guardian is place for the institution. It means that the
name of the place where the institution is located will be used instead of the
institution.
In the article The White House joins the cash grab18, posted on The New
York Times on March 12, 2013, the author used The White House to substitute for
the United States government or the executive branch of the United States
government. It might be argued that the White House can stand for spokesperson
for the executive branch or for the president, however, in this case it is substituted
for the government. He indicated that in order to attain their goal, the president and
16
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/10/prevent-justice-and-securitybill?INTCMP=SRCH
17
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Lords
18
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/opinion/sunday/the-white-house-joins-the-cashgrab.html
38
his coworkers were making every effort to pressure Republican lawmakers to

approve the gun control proposal. The White House is the residential as well as
workplace of the US president, therefore, this word is usually used to stand for the
government the powerful institution of the United States.
1.2.2.4.
Place for the event metonymy
Place for the event metonymy is frequently utilized when there is an

accident happening in a place, then the name of the place will be used to refer to the
event.
E.g.: Progress on Okinawa 19
(The New York Times Editorial Board (online), April 3, 2013)

At the time this editorial was written, the issue of the American military
presence on Okinawa Island was raised. The leaders of the two nations had come to
an agreement on a timetable which aimed to reduce the American forces size in the
island and the US would return some land used as a military base to Japan.
However, the problem was that Japanese local residents concerns about their lives
among American bases had not been noticed. That is the reason why tensions in the
island have not been resolved for many years. The author of the editorial suggested
that even though the leaders of the two governments reached a consensus, they
must respond quickly and positively to the Okinawans worries.
It is noticeable that readers who pay attention to this issue can instantly
understand what the writer meant when they see the word Okinawa in the headline.
What has been happening and the unresolved problem in the island make the word
Okinawa is now not only a name of an island of Japan but also an incident related
to politics. Understanding the word in which way depends on the context where the
word is put. In this case, it must be understood to be the incident happening in the
island.
19
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/06/opinion/progress-on-okinawa.html
39
- Concluding remarks:
The analysis provides the answer for the first and the second research
question.
The findings in this section show that metaphor and metonymy are the two
tropes that are frequently used in editorial headlines. It should be noted that apart
from metaphor and metonymy, there are many tropes can be employed in the
headline so that the title will be concise and interesting. Therefore, the percentages
of their occurrence prevalence are notable though they are not high and
considerable.
In regard to politics and international affairs, the ontological metaphor is
the type which is mostly applied in editorial headlines. The reason is because there
are many hard-to-understand matters, terms and concepts related to political and
international issues. Meanwhile, feature of ontological metaphor is based on the
conception of human beings to simplify and concretize abstract concepts.
Therefore, it is used in the headline to help the readers grasp an abstract concept
more quickly easily via a substance or an entity which is familiar with them.
In terms of metonymy, the type institution for people responsible and
controller for controlled are mostly used in the headlines. It can be easily
understood because the topic is about politics and international affairs, hence the
editorials mention the role of leaders, who take responsibilities to address and settle
the issues. Besides, every issue belongs to a filed which is on an administrative
scale of an institution. Thanks to using this type, the headlines can be reduced in
length, avoid wordiness. More importantly, the type also helps indicate what
institution or who is involved in the matter right in the headline. In conclusion, the
common usage of institution for people responsible and controller for controlled
metonymy are appropriate to the requirements of a headline.
2.
Functions of metaphor and metonymy in the editorial headlines
40
Every metaphorical and metonymic phrase which is used in the editorial

headlines performs well its functions as a cognitive tool, a device to appeal readers
emotion and means of expressing the writers attitude and assessments. In each
section below, the examples which are chosen to illustrate metaphor and
metonymys functions are most typical and noticeable.
2.1.
A cognitive tool
Cognitive theorists have pointed out that metaphor is a mapping of structure

based on the similarities of our experience in the two domains (the source domain
and the target domain). Meanwhile, metonymy is considered a mapping within the
same conceptual domain (Radden, 1962, cited by Barcelona, 2000:93). In other
words, metonymy is a mapping based on the correlation or contiguity between the
two domains. Therefore, the utilities of metaphor and metonymy enable people to
comprehend complicated phenomena, unfamiliar aspects in reality through clearer
and more concrete and familiar ones. This explains why it can be said that the two
forms of figurative language serve as cognitive tools in editorial headlines. It means
that their performances in the headlines help the readers grasp the issue, even it is
complicated or strange when they read the headline. These examples below
demonstrate clearly how metaphor and metonymy perform as a cognitive tool in the
editorial headlines of The New York Times and The Guardian.
E.g.: North Korea: Russian roulette with China 20
(The Guardian online, April 9, 2013)
This article expresses the writers stance on the relation between the North
Korea (The Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and its alliance China (The
Peoples Republic of China). It is clear that the author used Russian roulette with
the purpose of alluding to the characteristic of the two nations ties. Russian
roulette is widely known as a perilous game in which the player risks his life by
20
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/09/north-korea-russian-roulettechina
41
shooting himself at his head. The particular thing is that the gun has 6 spaces for
bullets but there is only one bullet in one unforeseeable space. As a result, the
player may kill himself if the shot is fired. It means that the player who takes part in
the game understand the rule clearly accepts that he may lose his life by one shot.
In other words, the player knows what the consequence can be but still joins the
game.
Hence, it is much easier for readers to grasp this headline quickly if they
know what Russian roulette is. The writer of this editorial wanted to gives his
assessment of the North Korea China relations. Here the source domain of the
metaphor is the Russian roulette game, which is a substance, and the target domain
is the relations between North Korea and China, which is an abstract. It can be
referred from the headline that North Korea was hazarding its life when it had
increasingly been dependent on China. Particularly, it seems that Kim Jong Il and
his fellow-workers knew what they were doing, they still accepted to join this
adventurous game. The writer employed a metaphor in the headline: The game was
used as a substance to clarify the feature of North Korea - China ties, which is a
complex and abstract concept. Thanks to the metaphorical expression, the readers
can realize that the North Korea was taking risks in relying too much on its alliance
China.
Despite the fact that the main feature of metonymy is the substitution of an
entity for another one that is directly linked to it, metonymic phrases serve a useful
purpose of cognition. Particularly in the case of editorial headlines, the usage of
metonymy makes it possible for the readers to think of the institutions, leaders or
events that are mentioned in the articles. For the readers normally have general
knowledge as well as background information of events and incidents happening in
real life, metonymic expressions enable them both to develop their awareness and
broaden their minds, as evidenced in the following headline:
42
E.g.: Councils under pressure: cut, cut and cut again21

(The Guardian online, March 27, 2013).
The article concerned the responsibility of the local authorities for dealing
with the consequences of the governments cut policy. In the headline, the word
Councils was used to indicate that the members of the British Councils were put
under pressure from the government to continue cutting spending. For either some
people who did know Councils was the legislative authority being in charge of
making laws and decisions. However, for those who did not have a clear
understanding of this constitution, they could understand what the writer implied:
The councilors were pressurized into introducing more decisions on cutting the
nations spending. In addition, the metonymic phrase highlighted that it is the
Councils or the councilors that were made to find every possible way to reduce the
government expenditure.
Another example with the combination of both metaphor and metonymy in
a headline which contributes to asserting firmly the function of the two tropes as a
cognitive tool is given below:
E.g.: Hope Leaves the Shadows at the Capitol 22
(Downes L. - The New York Times (online), April 10, 2013)
This editorial reflected what were going on during the time the US
government officers gathered to discuss the new law of immigration. It is estimated
that about 11 million people living and working in the United States are
unauthorized. This is one of the most burning domestic issues requiring careful
consideration of the government. At the time the article was written, the
unauthorized immigrants were hopefully waiting outside the Capitol where inside
Senate staff members were thoroughly discussing a new immigration bill.
21
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/27/councils-under-pressurecuts?INTCMP=SRCH
22
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/opinion/hope-for-illegal-immigrants-leaves-theshadows.html?_r=0
43
It can be seen that hope leaves the shadows is a metaphorical expression,

and the Capitol is a metonymic one. The hope of millions people for the bill
which has a significant influence on their future placed a strain on the senators. The
writer used the image leave the shadows to symbolize the intense and growing
pressure that was brought to bear on the authorities. For the metonym the Capitol, it
is categorized as a place for an institution metonymic expression. The Capitol is the
building of the US Congress located in Washington D.C, where the government
staff come together to discuss new laws and make decisions.
In terms of cognitive function, it is clear that both metaphorical and
metonymic expression in this headline performed well. The former enabled the
readers to perceive distinctly the tense atmosphere around the Capitol building,
where millions of unauthorized immigrants were waiting outside for a bill to be
passed. The latter provided the readers with the fact that it was the Senate and the
government officers that took responsibilities to tackle the issue. All the above
information and messages were put in a few words with the help of metaphor and
metonymy.
2.2.
To arouse the readers curiosity and emotion
The headline needs to be interesting and eye-catching enough to make the

readers pay their attention to the article. Metaphor and metonymy used in editorial
headlines contribute to evoke the readers feeling about the event. These following
headlines show the effective utilities of the two tropes.
E.g.: Cyprus: deserted island 23
Recently, the European crisis has spread over the small country members of
the European Union.
Cyprus is the third largest island country in the
Mediterranean Sea and became an EU member state since 2004 then took part in
23
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/22/cyprus-deserted-islandeditorial?INTCMP=SRCH
44
the Eurozone in 2008. It has been considered to have a prosperous economy in

recent years. However, the Eurozone financial and banking crisis broke it down in
2012. Since then, the Cypriot government has had to face many obstacles and
difficulties.
From the writers viewpoint, that Cyprus was sunk into the crisis was due
partly to the EU institutions. The EU did not take the Cypruss problems into
consideration and now its bumbling responses to crisis in this island country cannot
help Cyprus improve the situation. The phrase deserted island should not be
interpreted as this is a quiet and uncrowded island. In fact, the writer used it
figuratively to indicate that Cyprus has been neglected or left by the EU. The usage
of deserted in that nuance is normally used with wife, child, etc which makes the
hearers feel sympathetic and piteous. Therefore, the metaphorical expression
deserted island will arouse the readers curiosity and emotion for Cyprus and its
serious present situation.
E.g.: Food Security: enough on our plates?24
(The Guardian online, April 7, 2013)
This headline applied both metonymy and rhetorical question. The article
dealt with the food security a concern of international community. In the
beginning, the writer provided statistics showing how much food is wasted every
year in the United States and the United Kingdom, meanwhile, there are many
people living in poverty in the two countries and the story is much the same for the
globe. The figure is introduced to demonstrate that the food supply seems to be
superfluous and excessive. However, the fact is a surprise. Despite the advanced
technologies in farming and agriculture, increasingly, the supply of food will not
able to meet the demand of the growing population in the future.
24
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/07/food-security-enough-on-ourplates?INTCMP=SRCH
45
The whole story was told in the article, but the headline created a strong
impression on the readers. A plate is the object that is used to put or serve food.
Conventionally, the image of plates or dishes and are associated with food. Hence,
plates or dishes are metonymically used to substitute for food. In the headline, the
expression enough on our plates implied that the writer raised a question:
whether it will be enough food to serve all people in the future or not. In
conclusion, that the writer chose plates to indirectly aim at food helps increase the
attraction of the headline.
2.3.
To convey the writers emotion and assessments of
the issues
Consider these headlines below, the function of metaphor and metonymy in
expressing the writers emotion and assessment will be convincingly demonstrated.
E.g.: The Immigration Spring25
(The New York Times Editorial Board, March 31, 2013).
The editorial concerned the immigration reform in the United States. This
issue attracted the publics attention because the number of immigrants in the
country is very large. Most of these people coming to this new world hold the hope
of changing their lives, with the expectation that they can live and work in the
country as long as possible. It is clear that the immigration policy has a direct
influence on them. For the United States, the number of immigrants contributes to
meeting the huge demand of lower-skilled labors in industries like hotels,
restaurants and constructions. Therefore, any bills and reforms which are adopted
should consider the benefits for the both sides.
The headline is very brief but meaningful. Spring is the first season of the
year when plants and flowers come into bud and blossom. Due to that typical
feature, spring is usually referred to the ideas of rebirth and renewal. The
immigration reform is also a change which can be regarded as a spring, because the
25
Source : http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/opinion/the-immigration-spring.html?_r=0
46
new bill can bring a new bright future to unauthorized people in the United States.
More importantly, the word spring showed the positive attitude of the writer. He
called the reform immigration spring with the aim of expressing his approval
and confidence in the new bill, which would be a promising start for good things to
come. It can be assumed that he believed the reform would help resolve all the
problems, satisfy the immigrants desires and expectations as well as maintain the
governments benefits.
E.g.: David Miliband: Labour's lost big beast26
David Miliband is currently working as a shadow secretary for Foreign and
Commonwealth Affair of the United Kingdom. He is highly appreciated by
politicians, who believe that he is the prospective candidate for the next prime
minister, after David Cameron. Nevertheless, his political career in Britain will end
this year when he leaves for the United States to start a new job as head of the
emergency disaster relief agency. The writer stated that his departure would cause
the loss to his party the Labour, to the British parliament and politics.
In the headline David Miliband: Labour's lost big beast, it can be said
that the author indirectly compared the potential politician to a big beast. Beast is a
very large and dangerous animal that scares man. However, it is obvious that the
author did not mean that Mr. Miliband was as strong, big and harmful as the beast.
Actually, it was his ability and his sphere of influence that was symbolized by the
physical strength of a beast.
Through the indirect comparison, the author
articulated his admiration and appreciation to the talented politician. Moreover, the
readers could feel that the writer affirmed the loss of the Labour caused by
Milibands departure. The metaphorical image helped convey the writers thoughts
to the readers fully and comprehensively.
26
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/27/david-miliband-labour-lost-bigbeast?INTCMP=SRCH
47
Concluding remarks:
The analysis reveals that metaphor and metonymy are effectively employed
in the headlines of editorials. Firstly, as a cognitive tool, the two tropes play an
important part in helping the readers gain a better understanding of reality and
increase their background knowledge about politics and international affairs. Based
on conventional notions and thinking, the readers can get the ideas of the writer,
comprehend abstract and complex substances and events through metaphorical
expressions. Thanks to metonymy, the readers can improve their awareness of
objects and substances in political and international aspects. In other words, both
metaphor and metonymy help simplify the complex political issue and make it
familiar to the readers.
Secondly, both metaphor and metonymy in the editorial headlines can
arouse the readers curiosity and appeal their emotion. It is clear that metaphor is
able to perform this function well by itself, because it suggests resembles between
two unlike things. It is the implicit comparison that makes readers curious and
attracts their attention to the headline. Metonymy should be combined with another
figure of speech to contribute to evoking the readers strong feeling on the incident
or the story mentioned in the headlines.
The third function of metaphor and metonymy in editorial headlines is that
the writers attitude and judgment about the political event can be conveyed
through the headlines with the help of metaphor and metonymy. It should be noted
that one of the different characteristics of editorial among other journalistic forms is
its aim: to share the writers viewpoint on the issue. For that reason, the utility of
metaphor and metonymy can support the writers to express what they thought, how
they felt just in few words in the headlines.
Finally, the study shows that metaphor and metonymy can simultaneously
perform three above functions in an editorial headline, one intertwines with the
other. This fact explains why they are widely employed in newspapers in general
and in editorial headlines in particular.
48
In conclusion, the analysis procedure helps find out the answer for the third
research question: Metaphor and metonymy serve as a cognitive tool to help
readers comprehend the editorial headlines, they are used with the aim of arousing
the readers curiosity and emotion and they are employed as means of expressing
the writers opinions and attitude.
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS AND
SUGGESTIONS
In the previous chapter, the data and the results of metaphor and metonymy in the
editorial headlines were thoroughly analyzed. In this section, the writer would like to
conclude the study by giving a summary of the findings, discussing the implications of the
study, pointing out the limitations and putting forward some suggestions for further
studies.
1. Summary of major findings
The present study investigates the usage of metaphor and metonymy in editorial
headlines with the focus on their occurrence frequencies and functions.
Through
quantitative and qualitative methods, the writer collects statistics and results then analyzes
the data in order to find out the answer for the three research questions of the study.
Following is the summary of the major findings recorded:
Firstly, the statistics reveal that the two tropes are prevalently employed in editorial
headlines. Examining articles concerning political and international issues, the writer finds
that ontological metaphor, controller for controlled and institution for people responsible
metonymy are the most popular expressions in their headlines. Politics itself and its related
matters are abstract, involved and hard to understand, thus the usage of ontological
metaphor helps simplify the complex issues and make it easier for readers to grasp the
headline of an editorial. In the case of controller for controlled and institution for people
responsible metonymy, it can be said that their frequent occurrence is caused by the fact
that there are institutions being in charge of each aspect and persons taking responsibilities
49
of tackling incidents, therefore, these kinds of metonymy can help point out who or which
authorities related to the issue.
The second significant finding is about metaphor and metonymys functions in
editorial headlines. The analysis shows that the two tropes perform as a cognitive tool
when they are employed in those headlines. Moreover, metaphorical and metonymic
expressions symbolize abstract notions, enable the readers to comprehend complex
phenomena or events through a few words in the headline. It is also proved that metaphor
and metonymy are effective means of arousing the readers curiosity and emotion and
expressing the writers attitude and assessment as well.
2. Implications of the study
The study provides a theoretical framework of metaphor and metonymy, editorials
and headlines, which is useful for people who are interested in linguistics, particularly
language in politics and journalism.
In the curriculum of Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV), specialized English
reading is compulsory to all students regardless their major. The students are required to
learn and practice reading skills so that they can comprehend a piece of news, an article or
other political documents. Editorial is one of journalistic forms that are included in the
specialized English course books of DAV. For that reason, the writer believes that this
research can be a reference material for teachers and learners during their studying.
Through this analysis, it can be said that it is not easy to understand an editorial
headline fully and correctly. In fact, sometimes students have to read the whole article to
understand its content then come back to analyze the headline. It is proved that metaphor,
metonymy and other linguistic tools are employed in the headlines with the purpose of
helping readers grasp them quickly and accurately, however, it causes difficulties for
English learners whose English vocabulary and knowledge are not enough to understand
all the figurative expressions.
Therefore, learners should keep in their minds that the more they improve their
vocabulary, the better they comprehend the English headlines. It is also crucial for learners
50
to have adequate political background knowledge to understand newspaper editorials

correctly and fully.
3. Limitations of the study
Due to time constraint, insufficient knowledge and limited experience of the author,
this graduation paper can hardly avoid mistakes and shortcomings. Some limitations are
specified as follow:
The writer understands that with this kind of the study, it is better to investigate and
analyze as many editorial headlines as possible. If the study is expanded in its scope, the
result will be more reliable.
Even linguists cannot distinguish metaphor and metonymy, metaphor and
personification in many cases. Hence there might be some mistakes during the identifying
and analyzing process in the study. It may affect on the statistics collected on the
prevalence of metaphor and metonymy in editorial headlines.
4. Suggestions for further research

In spite of the limitations mentioned above, hopefully, this paper will serve as a
helpful source of reference for those who pay attention to metaphor, metonymy and their
functions on editorial headlines and other related matters. Below are suggestions for
further study.
It is hoped that further studies will make more theoretical and practical
contributions to establish the more detailed and comprehensive framework of metaphor
and metonymy in newspaper headlines and articles. For that reason, helpful and
constructive comments and suggestions are highly appreciated.
Future studies will focus on other rhetorical figures used in journalese, particularly
relating to diplomatic and political issues.
Another source of data for research should also be investigated such as mass media
publications.
51
52
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Dijk, T. (1996). Opinions and ideologies in editorials. International

Symposium of Critical Discourse Analysis, Language, Social Life and
Critical Thought, Athens.
9. Ferraro, F. (2011). Toward Improving the Automated classification of

metonymy in text corpora. Department of Computer Science, University of
Rochester.
10. Janda, L. (2011). Metonymy in word-formation. Cognitive Linguistics 222(2011), 359-392.
11. Lakoff, G. & Johnson M. (1980). Conceptual Metaphor in Everyday
Language. The Journal of Philosophy, Volume 77, Issue 8 (Aug., 1980),
453-486.
12. Mio, J. (1997). Metaphor and Politics. Metaphor and Symbol, I2(2), 113133. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, inc.
13. Murphy, G. (1996). On metaphoric representation. Cognition 60 (1996)
173-204.
14. Praskova, E. (2009). Grammar in Newspaper Headlines. Department of
English and American Study, Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, University of
Pardubice.
15. Schultz, M. (2012). Metaphor and metonymy: A study of figurative
language in newspapers. School of Language and Literature. Linnaeus
University.
16. Shutova, E. & Teufel S. (2008). Logical Metonymy: Discovering Classes of
Meanings. Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge.
17. Shutova, E., Sun, L & Korhonen, A. Metaphor Indentification using verb
and noun clustering. Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge.
18. Slaski, N. (2009). Topic-strigged metaphors in newspaper headlines.
Profesional Communication and translation studies, 2 (1-2)/2009, 59-66.
19. Soler, H. (2008). A metaphor corpus in business press headlines. Iberica 15
51-70. Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain).
20. Stallard, D. (?). Two kinds of metonymy. Cambridge. USA.
21. Truszcynska, A. (2002). Conceptual metonymy The problem of
boundaries in the light of ICMs. Poznan Studies in Contemporary
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Linguistics 38, 2002/2003, 221-237. School of English, Adam Mickiewicz

University, Poznan, Poland.
22. Velasco, O. (2001). Metaphor, metonymy and image-schemas: An analysis
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Internet sources:
1. Editorials: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editorial. Retrieved on May 10th,
2013.
2. Mauritania: Shortages hit millions. The New York Times, April 24, 2013.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/world/africa/mauritania-shortages-hitmillions.html?_r=0. Retrieved on May 1, 2013.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/obama-debatepoll_n_2019172.html. Retrieved on May 1, 2013.
IV
APPENDIX
Appendix 1
Lists of the headlines using metaphor
-
In the headlines of The Guardian online newspaper

Date of publication
Headlines
1.
Unthinkable? A silent spring
04/12/2013
2.
Margaret Thatcher: setting it in stone
04/12/2013
3.
Margaret Thatcher: Corporation blues
04/11/2013
4.
Israel-Palestine: a mountain to climb
04/11/2013
5.
North Korea: Russian roulette with China
04/09/2013
6.
Margaret Thatcher: a ceremony on the sly
04/09/2013
7.
Pakistan: chequered progress
04/07/2013
8.
European Union: time to get aboard
04/02/2013
9.
Energy mis-selling: hot and very bothered
04/03/2013
10.
The Rite of Spring: sounds of the century
04/05/2013
11.
Unthinkable? Ban disgraced drivers
04/06/2013
12.
George Osborne: paying the price of failure
04/02/2013
13.
Political rhetoric ignores immigration facts
03/30/2013
14.
Planning: our rural romance mustnt stop us

building homes
03/31/2013
15.
David Miliband: Labours lost big beast
03/27/2013
16.
Germany and Europe: on top, but not in

charge
03/26/2013
17.
Cyprus and the euro: crisis island
03/24/2013
18.
Budget: cutting the poor adrift makes no

economic sense
03/24/2013
19.
The arts world must make room for more

women at the top
03/24/2013
20.
Press regulation: instead of sensible reform,

we now have a sloppy mess
03/23/2013
21.
Cyprus: deserted island
03/22/2013
22.
Obama in Israel: waiting for Godot
03/17/2013
23.
The budget: giving, taking - but not growing
03/20/2013
24.
Red Nose Day and aid: funny money
03/15/2013
25.
Cameron and alcohol: losing his bottle
03/13/2013
26.
Lending: billions down the drain
03/12/2013
27.
North Korea: tighten your seatbelt
03/12/2013
28.
Press regulation: after Leveson, let's put

hysteria and mistrust behind us
03/17/2013
In The New York Times online newspaper:

Date of publication
Headlines
1.
A Big Budget With Lots of Holes
04/02/2013
2.
Betting on the Buzzer Beaters
04/08/2013
3.
Census budget cuts show willful ignorance
03/24/2013
4.
Down to the wire
03/27/2013
VI
5.
Eating With Our Eyes Closed
04/10/2013
6.
Good Sense on the Morning-After Pill
04/06/2013
7.
Hope Leaves the Shadows at the Capitol
04/11/2013
8.
Obama Makes a Giant Leap for Brain

Research
04/02/2013
9.
Platitudes Loom After the Newtown School

Carnage
03/30/2013
10.
The Immigration Spring
04/01/2013
11.
The Rugged Road for Gun Control
04/12/2013
12.
The Sequester Hits the Reservation
03/21/2013
13.
Trading in the Dark
04/07/2013
14.
When ICE Ran Amok
04/09/2013
15.
Who Can Bring the E.U. To Its Senses?
03/31/2013
VII
Appendix 2
Lists of the headlines using metonymy
-
In The Guardian online newspaper:
Date of publication
Headlines
1.
Britain's banks: time for a Leveson
04/02/2013
2.
Councils under pressure: cut, cut and cut again
03/27/2013
3.
David Miliband: Labour's lost big beast
03/27/2013
4.
Food Security: enough on our plates?
04/07/2013
5.
Leveson vote: no cause for hyperventilating
03/17/2013
6.
03/17/2013
7.
Press regulation: after Leveson, let's put hysteria

and mistrust behind us
03/17/2013
8.
Secret courts: the Lords must prevent this

perversion of true justice
03/09/2013
9.
Trident renewal: nations with nuclear options
04/04/2013
10.
Unthinkable? No Falklands war
03/22/2013
11.
Yield swerve: Tokyo's answer to the inflation crisis
04/04/2013
In The New York Times online newspaper:

Date of publication
Headlines
1.
After the London Whale
03/21/2013
2.
The White House joins the cash grab
03/12/2013
VIII
3.
04/11/2013
4.
Hunger Strike at Guantnamo
04/06/2013
5.
Indias Novartis Decision
04/05/2013
6.
Keep Guns Out of Criminal Hands
03/23/2013
7.
Malicious Obstruction in the Senate
03/29/2013
8.
One Industrys Hold on the Senate
04/02/2013
9.
Progress on Okinawa
04/06/2013
10.
Report Card on Health Care Reform
03/24/2013
11.
03/21/2013
12.
Upon Further Review at Rutgers
04/04/2013
13.
Walking While Black in New York
03/21/2013
IX
Appendix 3
Lists of the headlines using metaphor regarding politic issues and international
affairs and their types
-
In The Guardian:
Headlines
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
Israel-Palestine: a mountain to climb

North Korea: Russian roulette with China
Pakistan: chequered progress
Energy mis-selling: hot and very bothered
Cyprus and the euro: crisis island
Budget: cutting the poor adrift makes no economic sense
Press regulation: instead of sensible reform, we now have a sloppy
mess
Cyprus: deserted island
The budget: giving, taking - but not growing
Press regulation: after Leveson, let's put hysteria and mistrust
behind us
North Korea: tighten your seatbelt
Political rhetoric ignores immigration facts
Germany and Europe: on top, but not in charge
David Miliband: Labour's lost big beast
European Union: time to get aboard
George Osborne: paying the price of failure
Lending: billions down the drain
Cameron and alcohol: losing his bottle
Types
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Orientational
Structural
Structural
Structural
Structural
Structural
In The New York Times:

Headlines
1
2
3
4
The Rugged Road for Gun Control

When ICE Ran Amok
A Big Budget With Lots of Holes
Type
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Who Can Bring the E.U. To Its Senses?

Platitudes Loom After the Newtown School Carnage
Census budget cuts show willful ignorance
Arizonas Barrier to the Right to Vote
Trading in the Dark
The Immigration Spring
Down to the wire
XI
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Ontological
Structural
Structural
Orientational
Appendix 4
Lists of the headlines using metonymy regarding political issues and international
affairs and their types
-
In The Guardian
Headline
1. Britain's banks: time for a Leveson
2. Food Security: enough on our plates?
3. Trident renewal: nations with nuclear options
Yield swerve: Tokyo's answer to the inflation
4. crisis
5. Councils under pressure: cut, cut and cut again
6. David Miliband: Labour's lost big beast
7. Unthinkable? No Falklands war
8. Leveson vote: no cause for hyperventilating
Press regulation: after Leveson, let's put hysteria
9. and mistrust behind us
Secret courts: the Lords must prevent this
10. perversion of true justice
-
Type
The place for the institution
Institution for people responsible
Place for the event
In The New York Times

Headline
Type
1.
Place for institution
2.
3.
The White House joins the cash grab

Progress on Okinawa
4.
One Industrys Hold on the Senate
5.
Malicious Obstruction in the Senate
6.
7.
Report Card on Health Care Reform

Keep Guns Out of Criminal Hands
8.
Place for institution

Place for the event
Institution for people
responsible
responsible
Used for user
responsible
9. After the London Whale

10. Walking While Black in New York
XII

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MISNISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY OF VIETNAM

NGUYEN THI HONG NHUNG

METAPHOR AND METONYMY

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

Hanoi, May 2013

MISNISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

NGUYEN THI HONG NHUNG

METAPHOR AND METONYMY

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

SUPERVISOR: LE THANH MAI, Ph. D.

Hanoi, May 2013

LE THANH MAI, Ph.D.

Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung

Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung

No table of figures entries found.

Rationale of topic selection

Edward Sapir (18841939), an American anthropologist-linguist, said:

Edward Sapir1 (1921: 235)

the early development of the discipline of linguistics

Aims and objectives of the study

This study is considered an approach to investigate the usage of metaphor

Firstly, providing a conceptual framework based on theories of metaphor

Significance of the study

Scope of the study

Methodology and Data Collection

Both qualitative and quantitative methods are applied in this study so as to

Before conducting the research, it is essential to create a corpus of

Organization of the study

There are five chapters in this research:

Chapter 2: Literature Review. The task of this chapter is to provide basic

Chapter 3: Research methods. In this chapter, the author describes the

Chapter 4: Findings and discussion. According to the results obtained after

Chapter 5: Conclusion, implications, limitations and suggestions for further

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

Metaphor is literally used as an indirect comparison between two subjects

(Lakoff, 1993: 202)

Alice Deignan offered another definition of metaphor, which is

(Deignan, 2005: 34)

denied that the metaphor can be interpreted as an indirect comparison

The contemporary theory of metaphor by Lakoff

In 1980, Lakoff and Johnson published their research: The

The linguists presented their work on three aspects:

The nature of metaphor: The results showed that metaphor is

The structure of metaphor: Evidences revealed that metaphors

Some aspects of metaphor: Lakoff and Johnson (1993: 245)

Many linguists have tried to introduce their own conceptions of

The MIP is as follows:

More precise (as opposed to vague)

The last type of metaphor within the Conceptual Metaphor Theory is

Concepts of Metonymy and Metonym

expression. As Lakoff and Johnson

In addition, Truszczynska approved Setos concept of metonymy

In conclusion, even though theorists have developed their ideas in

Beijing is known as the capital of Republic of China. In this

A metonym is the word or phrase used to replace another to which it

To some extents, metaphor and metonymy share several common

In his book Metaphors We Live By, Lakoff (1980: 38) also

The part for the whole: Consider the following

example: E.g. 6: There are a lot of good heads in the university

Producer for product: The researchers demonstrated

this type of metonymy in the sentence E.g. 7 He bought a Ford