Conceptual Metaphor in English Commercial Idioms

Abstract

This paper investigates the conceptual metaphors of commerce in a corpus of 50 representative English idioms, from the perspective of Cognitive Linguistics. Building on Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), the study analyzes how abstract commerce concepts are structured and understood through more concrete source domains. The research methodology involves identifying and classifying the metaphors using the MIP (Metaphor Identification Procedure) and quantitative analysis. The findings show a balanced use of structural and ontological metaphors, with prominent source domains including Journey, the Animal World, and Architecture. These metaphors reveal that the English language and culture conceptualize commerce as an active, goal-oriented, and competitive activity. The paper concludes that conceptual metaphors are a core cognitive mechanism that reflects and shapes the cultural values of English-speaking societies.