The Chien-Ming Wang Phenomenon:A Critical Metaphor Model Analysis of newspaper discourse in Taiwan
Date Issued
2009
Date
2009
Author(s)
Lin, Ying-Yu
Abstract
Chien-Ming Wang (Wang), being the third Major League Baseball player from Taiwan, has been the pitcher for the New York Yankees since 2006. Due to his identification with Taiwan and his outstanding performance, Wang has been viewed as the super star and national hero in Taiwan, creating the “Chien-Ming Wang phenomenon”. By using the Critical Metaphor Model (CMM), the approach incorporates Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Critical Discourse Analysis, this study examines how the “Chien-Ming Wang Phenomenon” in Taiwan is represented through metaphors in newspaper discourse. Our analysis focuses on the entailments and implications of the metaphors concerning Wang in different newspapers in Taiwan. Moreover, I explore the ideology reflected through the use of metaphors concerning Wang and analyze the factors account for the representations of the “Chien-Ming Wang Phenomenon” in different newspapers in Taiwan. The data is collected from three major Mandarin-language newspapers with distinct political stances in Taiwan, which are the Liberty Times (LT), the United Daily News (UDN), and the Apple Daily (AD). This study hypothesizes that “the Chien-Ming Wang phenomenon” will be represented through metaphors not only differently but also similarly in different newspapers depending on different aspects of ideologies. The results show that there are four kinds of representations of metaphors concerning Wang, which include (1) similar metaphors with similar implication, (2) different metaphors with similar implication, (3) similar metaphors with different implications, and (4) different metaphors with different implications. Based on the four categories, this study demonstrates that the “Chien-Ming Wang phenomenon” is represented through metaphors with both “similar” and “different” implications in newspaper discourse in Taiwan. his study suggests that different aspects of ideologies held by the newspapers are considered one of the most important factors contributed to the similar or different implications. When the focus is on the national identity or political agendas from the perspective within Taiwan itself, metaphors concerning Wang are represented with different implications to implicitly strengthen the political ideologies held by the newspapers; while the focus is on Wang’s condition or how Wang attracts the international attention viewing from the perspective beyond Taiwan, the implications of the metaphors are much more similar in different newspapers. This study proposes that ideologies and the characteristics of the newspapers, the influential power of baseball domain, and the bi-directional relationship between political and sports in Taiwan, all account for the representations of the “Chien-Ming Wang phenomenon” in newspaper discourse in Taiwan.
Subjects
Chien-Ming Wang
Taiwan
baseball
Critical Metaphor Model (CMM)
newspaper discourse
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