Abstract

Rhetorical criticism is a type of criticism with rhetorical phenomena as its object. In the context of western rhetoric, rhetorical criticism is usually viewed as a method to describe, explain and evaluate certain rhetorical phenomena or act. Metonymy, as a kind of rhetorical device in traditional rhetoric and a cognitive tool in cognitive linguistics, can be regarded as an object for criticism. Accordingly, an analysis of metonymy from the perspective of rhetorical criticism can disclose text builders’ rhetorical motive behind the linguistic use of metonymy. Moreover, it can reveal the ideological meaning of the text (a weak version of ideology) by analyzing and evaluating the terministic screen constructed by the metonymy, to achieve the purpose of rhetorical persuasion and build an “identification” between the addresser and addressee.

Highlights

  • Since the publication of Metaphors We Live by (1980), metonymy research has gained more attention from scholars at home and abroad than before

  • The study is carried out on the basis of the following three points: 1) metonymy is prevailing in Chinese as well as in English; 2) metonymy, as a rhetorical phenomenon, can be viewed as an analytical object for rhetorical criticism; 3) the three steps of rhetorical criticism: description, explanation and evaluation will be employed to the analysis of metonymy

  • The first step is to describe the object of criticism, the second is to explain the social and cultural background of the rhetorical act and to disclose the rhetorical motive and ideology behind it, and the third is to evaluate the result of criticism on the basis of some relevant standards

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Summary

Introduction

Since the publication of Metaphors We Live by (1980), metonymy research has gained more attention from scholars at home and abroad than before. Studies in this field can be subdivided into three parts: 1) the basic mechanism of metonymy, including such parameters as ideational cognitive model (ICM), contiguity, script, schema, cognitive domain, conceptualization, logic, etc.; 2) the analyses of words, suntax, semantic meaning, pragmatic meaning, text from the perspective of metonymy; 3) the interpretation of metonymy from multi-perspectives, including critical discourse analysis (CDA) (Hart, 2011), relevance theory (Jiang, 2011), philosophy We are to introduce a new perspective to analyze metonymy, namely, rhetorical criticism, together with such subsidiary theories as terministic screen, rhetorical situation, rhetorical motive, ideology, identification. The study is carried out on the basis of the following three points: 1) metonymy is prevailing in Chinese as well as in English; 2) metonymy, as a rhetorical phenomenon, can be viewed as an analytical object for rhetorical criticism; 3) the three steps of rhetorical criticism: description, explanation and evaluation will be employed to the analysis of metonymy

Theoretical Foundation
The Development of Criticism
Theoretical Support
The Criticism of Metonymy in Chinese Media Texts
Description of Metonymy
Identification of Metonymy
Explanation of Metonymy
Rhetorical Situation and Explanation of Metonymy
Rhetorical Motive and Explanation of Metonymy
Ideology and Explanation of Metonymy
Evaluation of Metonymy
Standards of Evaluation
Target of the Evaluation of Metonymy
Rhetorical Criticism of Metonymy Model
Conclusion
Full Text
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