Metaphor Studies from the Perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis: A Case Study of Business Acquisition

Although Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) has been developing rapidly, it faces strong criticism from scholars due to its lack of attention to the cognitive aspects of discourse. As a fundamental cognitive tool to conceptualize the world, metaphor plays a vital role in constructing social reality. Providing a particular perspective of viewing the reality, metaphor forms an important part of ideology. Therefore, we should not only focus on its cognitive function, but also its pragmatic and ideological function. The paper argues that metaphor research can be integrated into CDA and enrich the latter’s theoretical framework and analytic tools.