| Author: | Zeng, Huiheng Winnie |
| Title: | Metaphor and metonymy in film titles |
| Degree: | M.A. |
| Year: | 2014 |
| Subject: | Metaphor Motion pictures -- Semiotics. Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | Department of English |
| Pages: | 93 pages |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | This dissertation argues that metaphor and metonymy in film titles are powerful naming strategies for film branding. By investigating a corpus of 501 film titles of Oscar Best Picture Nominations within a cognitive semantic-pragmatic framework, it fills the gap of current studies on the semantics of film titles. The findings reveal that film titles are rich in metaphor and metonymy and throw light on the way how film titles are conceptualized. Ample evidence supports the claim that relevant cognitive operations, such as correlation, comparison and domain expansion can account for the drawing of inferences on the basis of the cues provided by metaphor and metonymy structured film titles. Film makers often unconsciously and randomly apply these conceptual tools in the process of creating film titles. The systematic use of metaphor and metonymy vehicles activate cognitive operations, thus result in: (1) enhance the degree of semantic richness and suggestiveness of the film titles, (2) limit the risk of negative inferences generations (3) make film titles economic for both filmmakers and audiences. In this way, cognitive operations in metaphor and metonym are taken as powerful tools for creating safe and successful film branding. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b27758989.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 1.35 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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