The Use of Metaphors in Kenyan Business Media Discourse: a Cmt Analysis

Abstract

This research project discusses and describes conceptual metaphors found in Kenyan business media discourse. The theory that has guided this study is the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) that argues that people think in terms of metaphors, and that metaphors are so pervasive in the human conceptual system that people would hardly be able to communicate if they did not have recourse to metaphors. Metaphorical concepts and expressions found in business media discourse were analyzed, taking the CMT point of departure, which talks of one thing being understood in terms of another. Thus, an encyclopedic entry of a source domain is mapped onto the target domain and the result is that the target domain is understood in terms of the source domain. The data used was collected from the Daily Nation, the Saturday Nation and the Sunday Nation spanning a period of five months (November 2020 – March 2021). This research found that there is a variety of conceptual metaphors used in Kenyan business media discourse. Apart from encountering some like TIME IS MONEY, GOOD IS UP and BAD IS DOWN that are universally used conceptual metaphors, this research found that there are a number of typically Kenyan conceptual metaphors. The conceptual metaphor BUSINESS IS CONSTRUCTION is rooted in the fact that Kenya is a developing country that is experiencing a lot of growth in infrastructure. Most Kenyans find it hard to make ends meet and therefore CHEAPER IS BETTER and EXPENSIVE IS BAD is an attribute of the way of acting and thinking of a majority of Kenyans who are always seeking cheaper options, because they have to be careful with how much they spend. BUSINESS IS NATURE/FARMING is another conceptual metaphor that was abundantly used, probably because Kenya is largely an agricultural country, along with the fact that most of the Kenyan population is rural and thus lives very close to nature. FIGHT METAPHORS featured prominently. This was found to be because Kenyans have an intense spirit of competition in all spheres, and this has greatly influenced the way they perceive seeking success in any aspect of life. All the typically Kenyan conceptual metaphors have been used because they are particularly relevant to the Kenyan context and would therefore be easily accessible to any Kenyan sharing the same cultural encyclopedic entries. Another reason for their use is that some of the conceptual metaphors found are universally accepted and Kenyans are quite familiar with them and will find it easy to derive the intended meanings without much effort.