Conceptual Metaphors in English Economic Discourses

As a cognitive model, metaphors are pervasive in our daily life. In order to make abstract economic activities and phenomena accessible to common people, various economic metaphors are widely applied in English discourses. The goal of this paper is to study the common conceptual metaphors behind the countless metaphorical expressions by integrating the contemporary Conceptual Metaphor proposed by Lakoff and Johnson. These conceptual metaphors are classified into orientational, structural and ontological metaphors according to the cognitive functions of the metaphor. Some metaphors also shed light on the current economic crisis.