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The thesis aims to explore metaphors used in the popular songs in Taiwan. Metaphor is a cognitive process involving mapping between source domain and target domain. On the belief that it is based on human experience (Lakoff and Johnson 1980), such a process is assumed to be universal and systematic cross-linguistically. Due to the fact that metaphors in modern popular songs in Taiwan that previous studies focus on are gleaned from songs composed by different lyricists, it is sometimes hard to decide whether the different uses of metaphors are a result of different preferences by different lyricists or a result of lyricists’ reflection of different stages of life. This thesis fills the gap by focusing specifically on the songs of Mayday, a very popular band in Taiwan. All the songs are composed by the vocalist Ashin. According to the major events of the band, their songs are divided into three stages. We would like to explore whether Ashin will choose to use different metaphors at different stages of life and whether there is any difference in his use of metaphors in his Mandarin songs and Taiwanese Southern Min songs. Our research shows that, the most frequently used target domain in Mayday’s songs is ‘life’, followed by ‘love’. In each stage, ‘Life is a journey’, ‘Life is a war’ and ‘Life is a container’ are the top three metaphors. Overall, these songs are clear reflections of their philosophy and life experiences. Dissatisfaction with life is a major feature of the first stage. Description of people and events becomes the main theme in the second stage. Their comprehension of life meanings can be clearly seen in the third stage. As for language differences, both ‘love’ and ‘life’ are equally and frequently used in Mandarin songs, while much more emphasis is put on life experiences in Taiwanese Southern Min songs. To summarize, the characteristics of Mayday’s songs are as follows. First, the major themes are love and life, with the latter being more prevalent. Second, ‘journey’ and ‘container’ are the main source domains. Third, through the variation of themes and metaphors, we can get a clear picture of their life experiences, seeing them turn from big boys into mature men. Fourth, compared with Taiwanese Southern Min songs, which focus more specifically on life experiences, more different themes are covered in Mandarin songs. Fifth, ideas of the young and current cultures are well expressed in their songs, explaining why their songs are deeply rooted in the hearts of people.
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