Abstract：Metaphor is a kind of psychological behavior, language behavior and cultural behavior which can help people to perceive, experience, imagine, understand and discuss one thing under the indication of another thing. Although the study of metaphor springs up in recent years, the research on metaphor can be traced back to the age of Aristotle. Metaphor, as a kind of rhetorical device, has been widely used in poetry, novel and drama to which many scholars have devoted their attention. However, many scholars are ignorant of the research and study on the application of metaphor in English news, especially in English news headlines.

 News media has become one of the most common media for information exchange among people in daily life. And since the propose of the concept of “Global Village”, more and more people focus their attention on news media. Thus, it requires people to have the basic knowledge to understand the true meaning of news report. Metaphor, as one of the most common rhetorical devices, has a great impact on the understanding of the real meaning of the news report headlines which will highly affect the spread of the news. This thesis aims at helping people comprehend the application of metaphor in English news headlines from aspects of functions, principles, types and translations of metaphor for the purpose of improving people’s ability of comprehension and thus highlighting the importance of the application of metaphor in English news headlines.

Key words: metaphor, English news headlines, application, translation

CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

中文摘要

Chapter One INTRODUCTION-1

Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW-3

 2.1 Definitions of Metaphor.3

 2.2 Classifications of Metaphor3

 2.3 Brief Study of English News Headlines4

Chapter Three Metaphor in English News Headlines-5

3.1 Functions of Metaphor in English News Headlines  -5

3.1.1 Communication Function-5

3.1.2 Cognitive Function-8 

3.2 Principles of Metaphor in English News Headlines-9

3.2.1 Effect Principle-9

3.2.2 Innovation Principle-10

Chapter Four Types of Metaphor in English News Headlines-10

 4.1 Structural Metaphor in English News Headlines.11

 4.1.1 Health Metaphor11

 4.1.2 War Metaphor. 12

 4.1.3 Living Creatures Metaphor13

 4.2 Orientational Metaphor in English News Headlines13 

 4.3 Ontological Metaphor in English News Headlines. 14

Chapter Five Conclusion-15 

REFERENCES- 17