Spatial Metaphors of Time in English and Chinese from the Perspective of Cognitive Linguistics

Abstract

Metaphor is a type of speech in linguistics and also a way of thinking. The entire system of concepts for people is based on metaphor. Based on the analysis and comparison above, we can find some similarities and differences in how the metaphor of time is expressed in English and Chinese. The commonality stems from the similar cognitive ability and the sharing of the same "time as space" metaphor, and the differences are due to various socio-cultural backgrounds.