A Comparative Study on Commencement Speeches by Chinese and American University Presidents from the Perspective of Critical Metaphor Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.57125/FS.2025.06.20.07Keywords:
critical metaphor analysis, commencement speech, educational philosophy, comparative analysisAbstract
With the advancement of cognitive linguistics, Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) has been widely applied to political, economic, and news discourses to reveal speakers’ hidden ideologies. However, cross-cultural comparative research on conceptual metaphors in educational discourse remains limited. Based on the metaphor identification procedure (MIP) and metaphor identification of CMA, this study screens out candidate metaphors and metaphorical keywords. It conducts a comparative analysis of conceptual metaphors and educational philosophies by examining 20 commencement speeches delivered by Chinese and American university presidents between 2022 and 2023. The findings reveal that presidents from both countries frequently utilize war, journey, nature, building, and business metaphors. Human, light, and game metaphors appear exclusively in Chinese speeches, while orientational and religious metaphors are unique to American speeches. The analysis reveals that nature metaphors predominate in Chinese speeches (42.6%), whereas war metaphors are most prevalent in American speeches (28.2%). The study highlights that while both groups emphasize graduates’ lifelong development and social responsibilities, American presidents place greater emphasis on independent thinking, competition, and self-fulfillment. In contrast, Chinese presidents underscore the relationship between individuals and the nation, promoting collectivism and cooperation. This research is among the first to systematically compare metaphorical frameworks in Chinese and American commencement speeches, highlighting culturally distinct conceptualizations of education and success. The findings can enhance cross-cultural understanding and inform the development of globally competitive educational models. This study offers original comparative insights into the use of educational metaphors, expanding CMA to encompass cross-cultural educational discourse. Future research should expand the corpus to include more diverse institutions and employ interdisciplinary approaches, such as cognitive psychology and cultural anthropology, to explore the motivations behind metaphor further.
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