Abstract：At present, there are all kinds of natural disasters and social problems. But governments have no ability to solve these problems all by themselves. They also need the participation of the public. As a result, Public Service Advertisements (PSAs) are becoming important in our daily life. Based on this situation, this paper tries to apply metaphor into analysis of Chinese and English PSAs. Firstly, the author staples and points out the metaphors in Chinese and English PSAs separately, and then carries out a comparative analysis between them. Finally, the author discusses the socio-cultural reasons behind the different usages of metaphors in English and Chinese PSAs.

Through this study, the author finds that: (1) Metaphors are pervasive in English and Chinese PSAs and there is one even two or three metaphors in a sentence. (2) War metaphors, journey metaphors, family metaphors and building metaphors are widely used in both kinds of data. (3) There are both similarities and differences of the socio-cultural reasons that concealed behind the metaphors. For example, war metaphors mean that both China and English countries experience the changes of dynasties, but westerners hold the idea that “man can conquer nature”. In family metaphors, we can find Chinese people stress the importance of family, while the westerners emphasize individualism. So, through this paper, people can have a better understanding of PSAs and the socio-cultural reasons behind them. Thus, it can influence people’s attitudes and behaviors and promote the sustainable development of harmonious society. Meanwhile, the research about culture is beneficial to the cross-cultural communication.

Keywords: Public Service Advertisements  metaphor  comparative study  socio-culture

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Purpose of the Present Study-1

1.2 Overall Structure of the Thesis-1

Chapter Two Literature Review-2

2.1 Public Service Advertisements-2

2.1.1 Definition of PSA-2

2.1.2 Functions of PSA-2

2.1.3 The Development of PSA at Home and Aboard-3

2.2 Metaphor-4

2.3 Previous Researches on Metaphor in Advertisements-4

Chapter Three Data Analysis-5

3.1 Examples of Metaphors in Chinese PSAs-5

3.1.1 War Metaphors-5

3.1.2 Journey Metaphors-5

3.1.3 Family Metaphors-6

3.1.4 Building Metaphors-6

3.2 Examples of Metaphors in English PSAs-7

3.2.1 War Metaphors-7

3.2.2 Journey Metaphors-7

3.2.3 Family Metaphors-7

3.2.4 Building Metaphors-8

3.3 Comparison of Metaphors between Chinese and English PSAs-8

3.3.1 Comparison of War Metaphors-8

3.3.2 Comparison of Journey Metaphors-9

3.3.3 Comparison of Family Metaphors-9

3.3.4 Comparison of Building Metaphors-10

Chapter Four Conclusion-11

4.1 Findings of the Study-11

4.2 Limitations of the Study-11

References-12