A Cross-Cultural Analysis on Conceptual Metaphors Used in the Written Reports of Disease Outbreak by Mainstream Media

This article compares conceptual metaphors related to COVID-19 as manifested in the written reports of mainstream media in China and the United States. According to the three steps of critical metaphor analysis proposed by Charteris-Black (2004), 12 conceptual metaphors in People’s Daily and 13 conceptual metaphors in The New York Times were identified separately by making use of two self-built corpora. The reasons for employing similar and different conceptual metaphors in the coverage of two media have been discussed with the help of the corpus analysis tool. Finally, this study finds that conceptual metaphors concerning COVID-19 have the function of transmitting information about COVID-19, producing a persuasive function, and conveying certain attitudes and ideologies. The findings facilitate cross-cultural communication on COVID-19 and confirm the universality and variations of conceptual metaphors influencing language use.