Conceptual Metaphors in Narrative Advertisements for Places: A Comparative Study Between English and Lithuanian

Abstract

The paper examines 15 conceptual metaphors in advertisements for hotels based in Lithuania, focusing on the similarities and differences between English and Lithuanian versions of these advertisements. 21 English and Lithuanian hotel websites were analysed, resulting in 104 metaphorical expressions in English and 39 metaphorical expressions in Lithuanian. The focus was on categorizing the findings based on whether the compared texts: 1) maintained consistent metaphorical meanings in both languages; 2) featured distinct metaphorical expressions in one language; 3) lacked metaphors in one language; 4) had instances of missing metaphorical sentences. The research employed a descriptive-analytic approach to examine the source and target domains of conceptual metaphors in hotel advertisements in both English and Lithuanian. A contrastive method was utilized to compare conceptual metaphors and metaphorical expressions across the two languages. The Conceptual Metaphor Analysis method was then employed to discern the connection between identified metaphorical expressions and conceptual metaphors. Lastly, quantitative analysis was conducted to assess the frequency of conceptual metaphors present in the advertisements. This study is unique as no previous comparative research has been conducted on conceptual metaphors and their variations in English and Lithuanian hotel advertisements. The findings contribute to understanding linguistic changes in metaphorical expressions between the two languages. The analysis reveals that metaphorical expressions are more prevalent in English hotel advertisements compared to the Lithuanian ones. Furthermore, the majority of conceptual metaphors identified are related to the very hotels, objects, atmosphere, rooms, and available services, portraying them as personified entities capable of interacting with guests in an appealing and courteous manner. The most commonly observed conceptual metaphor in both languages is PLACE IS A PERSON / VIETA YRA ASMUO.