A corpus-based study of how conceptual metaphor demystifies national identity in Hong Kong

Abstract

National identity is characterized as a group-concept of national pride and positive emotion while embodying social psychology in identity construction. It is often constructed through the use of conceptual metaphor. Conceptual metaphor, based on shared experience and similarity at both material and mental levels, carries specific cognition-loaded information through oral and written symbols. As a unique language mechanism, metaphor is widely used in political discourse and other discourses. And abstract concepts like national identity in the political field can often be reproduced through metaphors. Therefore, exploring conceptual metaphor can reveal what forms of national identity that is to be shaped and how it is achieved. This study extracts conceptual metaphors from Address by the Governor in HK before 1997 and Policy Address after 1997 to explore the different metaphors of national identity built by colonial Hong Kong Government and Hong Kong Special Region Government respectively. The collected data of metaphors are then examined under the Appraisal Theory framework. It is found that two kinds of addresses embrace different metaphors with varied proportions, which help to construct three distinct forms of national identity. Moreover, the polls and other related materials are introduced to test whether the analytical data draw from these official documents conform to the minds of the public or not. This validity test reflects effect and force exerted by the two separate governments when they commit themselves to directing people towards national identity they would like to shape. The government can make progress when inflecting on disparity between its directed national identity and the one from data in real life. The Hong Kong official is expected to examine and even revise published content for orienting the national identity development to the optimal direction. In addition, the projected national identity that the HK government inclines to construct can be predicted based on previous statistics. Finally, given that the construction of national identity lays a solid foundation for the long-term prosperity of “One Country, Two Systems”, the current government is supposed to facilitate harmony and acceptance among people to foster diverse national identities for sustainable development in Hong Kong.