THE USAGE OF METAPHOR IN BUSINESS DISCOURSE

Abstract

Metaphor is an important tool for developing business theories and
communicating ideas in a business context. Linguistic research investigates the
metaphors used in business English from various perspectives. This paper
problematizes previous studies in terms of their applications of metaphor theories, the
data and the methodological issues associated with metaphor identification and
retrieval. These issues have profound influence on the findings and our knowledge of
metaphors. It is argued that some of the studies employ a superficial view of metaphor
and a more critical analysis and dynamic theories of metaphor is required. Furthermore,
metaphor in multimodal communication needs more investigation. In addition, data are
mainly written texts and thus spoken data require more attention in metaphor in
business English research. What is more, clear criteria essential for identifying
metaphorical expressions and methods for retrieving metaphors from large data sets
are discussed. Only with more sophisticated use of metaphor theories, a wider range of
data under investigation and suitable use of metaphor retrieval methods can we grasp
a more thorough understanding of metaphor in business English. This knowledge can
then be applied to language teaching, language description and critical studies of
language and ideology.