CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS IN ONLINE FOOTBALL JOURNALISM: A MIPVU-BASED ANALYSIS OF LIONEL MESSI’S CAREER NARRATIVE / CÁC ẨN DỤ Ý NIỆM TRONG BÁO CHÍ BÓNG ĐÁ TRỰC TUYẾN: PHÂN TÍCH VỀ SỰ NGHIỆP CỦA LIONEL MESSI DỰA TRÊN PHƯƠNG PHÁP MIPVU

K. O. Nguyen

Abstract


This study explores conceptual metaphors in online football journalism, focusing on how Lionel Messi’s career is constructed in media discourse. Grounded in Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980), the research analyzes a corpus of ten online news articles (approximately 10,500 words). Metaphorical expressions were identified using the Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit (MIPVU). The analysis reveals that journalists frequently rely on metaphorical language to structure and interpret Messi’s career development. Two prominent conceptual metaphors emerge from the data: A Football Career Is a Journey and a Football Match Is a Theatrical Performance, which both organize the narrative of Messi’s career into stages of growth, challenge, and accomplishment, as well as portraying football matches as dramatic performances that highlight skills, spectacle, and public attention. In the end, the findings demonstrate the important role of metaphor in shaping how sports media narrate athletic success and construct the image of football legends.

Nghiên cứu này tìm hiểu các ẩn dụ ý niệm trong bình luận báo chí bóng đá trực tuyến, tập trung vào cách sự nghiệp của Lionel Messi được xây dựng trong diễn ngôn truyền thông. Dựa trên lý thuyết Ẩn dụ Quan niệm (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980), nghiên cứu phân tích một kho ngữ liệu gồm mười bài báo trực tuyến (khoảng 10.500 từ). Các biểu đạt ẩn dụ được nhận diện bằng Phương pháp Nhận diện Ẩn dụ MIPVU. Kết quả phân tích cho thấy các phóng viên thường xuyên dựa vào ngôn ngữ ẩn dụ để cấu trúc và diễn giải sự phát triển sự nghiệp của Messi. Hai ẩn dụ quan niệm nổi bật xuất hiện từ dữ liệu bao gồm: Sự nghiệp Bóng đá là một Hành trình và Trận đấu Bóng đá là một Buổi biểu diễn Sân khấu. Cả hai ẩn dụ này vừa giúp tổ chức cốt truyện về sự nghiệp của Messi thành các giai đoạn: trưởng thành, thử thách và thành tựu, vừa khắc họa các trận đấu như những màn trình diễn đầy kịch tính, làm nổi bật kỹ năng, tính giải trí và sự chú ý của công chúng. Sau cùng, các phát hiện cho thấy vai trò quan trọng của ẩn dụ trong việc định hình cách truyền thông thể thao thuật lại sự thành công của vận động viên và xây dựng hình tượng của những huyền thoại bóng đá.


Keywords


conceptual metaphor, football journalism, media discourse / ẩn dụ ý niệm, báo chí bóng đá, diễn ngôn truyền thông

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejals.v9i1.707

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