STUDY OF METAPHOR TYPES IN SELECTED NIGERIANS’ COVID-19 INTERNET MEMES

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STUDY OF METAPHOR TYPES IN SELECTED NIGERIANS’ COVID-19 INTERNET MEMES

IDOWU, OLUBUNMI
Department of Languages and Literary Studies,
Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State.
idowuo@babcock.edu.ng

and

MOHAMMED, ELIZABETH TOBILOBA
Department of Languages and Literary Studies,
Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State.
mohammed0356@babcock.edu.ng

Abstract

A global health catastrophe brought on by COVID-19 profoundly altered how people view the world in their day-to-day existence. This led to the development of the internet meme, an evolving trend that is now utilised for humorous graphics and the multimodal expression of ideas. Social network users have created their own distinctive communicational methods that may be difficult for persons beyond a particular age to understand; this enabled social network users to communicate freely their ideas, thoughts, jokes and critiques of their societies and political leaders in a much more creative way. However literature is fraught with studies on complex semiotic constituents of memes in political, medical, and socio-economic discourses. Hence, not much linguistic studies have investigated COVID-19 memes through Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT). Thus, the study examined the types of conceptual metaphors in the selected Nigerians' COVID-19 internet memes using the CMT approach. Qualitative method was adopted for the study. The qualitative method accounted for the textual and content analysis of the metaphors found in each meme which were classified under the identified types of metaphors: imagistic, ontological, orientational, and structural. Six COVID-19 internet memes were chosen from Facebook using a purposeful sampling strategy based on the prevalence of the metaphorical linguistic portrayal of Nigerians. The chosen data ranged from March 14, 2020, to March 15, 2020. The research concentrated on analysing 6 online memes using the CMT to locate the metaphors because of the uneven distribution of the memes. Analysis with the conceptual metaphorical theory revealed that all the selected memes have metaphorical connotations, the metaphors identified were: image, structural, ontological and orientational, which all revealed the societal mindsets as well as unique paradigms of the effects and coping strategies that COVID-19 victims adopted in the course of the phenomenon. In conclusion, metaphors served as invaluable cognitive devices that enhanced in-depth meaning recovery from the studied COVID-19 internet memes. This study however, would motivate linguists and many inter-disciplinary researchers to further work on cognitive metaphors in other discourses.

Keywords: Cognitive metaphors, Conceptual metaphors, Covid-19, Internet meme, Multimodal, Metaphor

Introduction

Language is a tool used in communication to transfer information from one person to another. Every person uses language differently when communicating, including by experimenting with and altering the specialised language that has been developed socially. Creative people frequently communicate orally and in writing using figurative language. Figurative language is a set of words intended to emphasis an idea or a mood specifically. One of the languages of representation is metaphorical. According to Kovecses (2010), a metaphor is a representation of speech that compares two things by indicating that one of them is the other.

An indirect comparison between two or more seemingly unrelated items or topics is known as a metaphor. Therefore, investigation into metaphor is a fairly recent field of linguistic research, but it has long attracted the attention of academics. There are many other viewpoints that have developed, but they mainly fall into one of two categories; metaphor is seen in the contexts of speech and cognition, accordingly, in traditional metaphor or contemporary metaphor. However, philosophers from Aristotle to Richards are credited with the development of both conventional metaphor and the study of metaphor in the field of rhetoric. Aristotle stated the following definition of metaphor in his well-known work on poetry: "Metaphor consists of giving the thing a name that belongs to something else; the transference can be from genus to species, from species to genus, from species to species, and on grounds of analogy" (Lan, 2005). According to Richards (1936), the interplay between a metaphorical appearance and the background in which it is used is the core of metaphor. The actual examination that when a common metaphor attaches a source domain and a target domain, identifying the source domain by itself instantaneously conjures up the target domain serves as the basis for the interaction theory.

Most pro-traditional metaphor experts concur that metaphor is essentially a rhetorical device, a means of transferring meaning from one word to another and a means of enhancing the force and ornateness of statements. As such, they believe that only exceptionally talented writers can effectively use metaphor, though it is not impossible for the average person to do so. Metaphors 'We Live By,' a co-authored book by Lakoff and Johnson, shows how studies of metaphor have completely changed since the 1980s. This work has upended the basic foundations of studies of metaphor in the field of linguistics by claiming that metaphor is an issue of mind and action rather than a tool for poetic imagining and rhetorical flourish. Kovecses (1986) provided evidence those concepts for emotions like rage, pride, and love can be found in common language. All of these investigations demonstrate how metaphor mediates human cognition and worldview, which is a cognitive idea of metaphor (Lan, 2005).

Linguistic metaphors frequently reflect unintentional decisions made by the speaker or writer, whose choice of language is in part bound by the conceptual frameworks that members of a community share. Similar to how it is used in internet memes, metaphors also aid in the discussion of challenging, emotionally charged, and unusual events. As a result, the internet is a virtual space where many activities take place. Internet users can express themselves in a variety of ways because to the increased flexibility offered by the platform. That is to say, people have recently resorted to creative communication methods, and the language of the internet has become highly creative. 

Meme culture, a word Dawkins initially used in his book The Selfish Gene, is one of the emerging trends in this area. The reduplication of genes in the human body was sometimes described as a meme. Memes, in reality, are cultural artifacts that spread from person to person until they take on the form of a widespread social phenomenon. Internet memes are a term used to describe the widespread adoption of a specific notion in the virtual world and refer to written text images, verbal text images, video images, and multimodal images. In this situation, memes are either passed on directly or changed to fit the cultural setting. Memes are characterised by their shared traits (Shifman, 2003); in most circumstances, memes can be considered humorous objects and are frequently utilised to subtly convey emotions. Strong metaphors that are present in daily life not just in words but also in thoughts and deeds are interpreted by internet memes (Lakoff& Johnson, 2003). To explain experience and ideology, metaphors have been utilised in a variety of fields (Goatly, 1997). Sobrino (2014) found that metaphors and metonyms play a key role in creating a good perception of the things being advertised. Sobrino said that metaphor in the context of advertising involves a certain amount of incomplete metaphorical mappings that broaden one's knowledge but constrict one's thinking.

The conceptual metaphor technique, however, has drawbacks despite having the potential to be illuminating as a tool for discovering underlying meaning. Researchers should be aware of the risks of making excessive generalisations based on scant linguistic evidence and the necessity of developing standardised processes for recognising metaphors. Metaphor has been noted as a cliché that influences mind rather than just language over time. Metaphors We Live By byLakoff and Johnson sparked resurgence in interest in metaphor. By defining metaphor as "understanding and experiencing one type of thing in terms of another" (Lakoff& Johnson 1980), the authors asserted that people regularly think metaphorically and about physical, embodied events as analogous to abstract, complicated phenomena. However, anything that relates to what is felt through motor skills and sensory awareness is actual experience. According to this perspective, the cognitive linguistics-focused scholarship was significantly influenced by cognitive metaphor theory (CMT). Similarly, CMT has progressively demonstrated that many metaphors draw from two or more modes simultaneously rather than being cued in a single mode or modality.

Statement of the Study

The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus witnessed a digitalised era of unprecedented campaigns in Nigeria. Citizens engaged in using social media during this period to sensitise people and to call on the government to help prevent the spread of the virus. Facebook appears to be among the platforms tremendously used by Nigerians to campaign against COVID-19 in the country. COVID-19 has created a global health crisis that has had a deep impact on the way people perceive the world in their everyday lives. Not only does the rate of contagion and patterns of transmission threaten the sense of agency but safety measures that were in place to curtail the spread of the virus, which require social distancing, washing of hands, and the use of masks. The COVID-19 guidelines have made people think and relate differently (no more hugging, shaking of hands, physical attendance of most public gatherings; except critical and scantily attended gatherings). Thus, the internet was the source through which people could quickly send in their reactions during the restrictions.

Previous studies (Asma, 2020; Dynel, 2020; Grzelke, 2020; Luporini, 2021; Msughter, 2020; Norstrom&Sama, 2021; Olapode&Badamosi, 2020; Onipede, 2021; Prieti-Ramos et al., 2020; Predia, 2021; Todorova, 2021; Ugola, 2021; Uwadiegwu, 2021) have contributed in different ways to the literature on memes from various perspectives on language, humour, and styles in COVID-19 memes, Corpora of headlines, and subheadings from news articles. In addition, these researchers primarily focused on the complex semiotic constituents in Coronavirus cartoons, concentrated on areas such as political discourse, media discourse, medical discourse, critical discourse analysis, systemic functional linguistics, and pragma-stylistic of the memes.

As significant as these contributions are to knowledge and scholarship, there are still areas under-represented in the aspect of Cognitive Metaphor theory in analyzing the COVID-19 internet memes.

Objective of the Study

The main objective of this study is to investigate the cognitive metaphors in selected Nigerians' COVID-19 internet memes. The specific objectives are to:

1.         Examine the roles of metaphor in multimodal platforms such as the internet;

2.         Identify the metaphors used in the expression of emotions on the internet and;

3.         Determine the ideological meanings interpreted by these metaphors

Research Questions

1.         What are the roles of a metaphor in multimodal platforms such as the internet?

2.         How are these metaphors used in the expression of emotions on the internet?

3.         What are the ideological meanings interpreted by these metaphors?

Scope of the Study

This study focused on the aspects of linguistic investigation; cognitive metaphors in COVID-19 Internet Memes. It adopted a mixed method for the study. The study used a descriptive approach research design. Eight Covid-19 internet memes were chosen from Facebook using a purposeful sampling strategy based on the prevalence of the metaphorical linguistic portrayal of Nigerians. This study adopts the Cognitive Metaphor Theory by Lakoff and Johnson (2003) in investigating the metaphors in the selected Covid-19 internet memes. The chosen data ranged from March 14, 2020, to March 15, 2020. The research concentrated on analysing 8 online memes using the CMT to locate the metaphors because of the uneven distribution of the memes. The imagistic, ontological, orientational, and structural metaphors were grouped under the recognised types of metaphors by the qualitative method, which also took into account the textual and content analysis of the metaphors found in each meme.

Significance of the Study

A critical investigation of the cognitive metaphors in response to the impact of COVID-19 reveals the relationship between the different patterns of linguistic representation of Nigerians, their socio-cultural background and the underlying ideologies in their posts. This study would benefit the media because authors of memes use the media for publicity since the internet meme is an evolving trend used for satirical illustrations and expression of intents in multimodal ways. Social network users, and internet applications, developed their own unique communicational systems that might seem incomprehensible to people above a certain age, with little to no internet presence. These systems enable social network users to communicate freely their ideas, thoughts, jokes, funny anecdotes and their critiques of their societies and political leaders in a much more creative way than the traditional. Citizens also engaged in using social media during this period to sensitise people and to call on the government to help prevent the spread of the virus. This study however, would motivate linguists and many inter-disciplinary researchers to further work on cognitive metaphors in other discourses.

 

Justification for the Study

The study chose the social media because the internet is a virtual sphere where several activities occur. The freedom enhanced by this platform enables net users to express themselves in different ways. Also, the language of the internet, in recent times, has become the very creative, with individuals resorting to innovative patterns of communication. One of the evolving trends in this sphere is the meme culture, a term first coined by Dawkins in his book, The Selfish Gene. This is because Memes represent cultural information that moves from person to person until the memes become a shared social phenomenon. Given the numerous challenges experienced by Nigerians during the COVID-19 lockdown 2021, it becomes imperative to justify why the selection of events is across the significant period of the stay-at-home order.

Theoretical Framework

The framework within which this research is embedded is Conceptual Metaphor Theory(CMT) and Metaphor Identification Procedure Theory. This theory falls within the paradigm of cognitive linguistics (CL). One of the key contributions that CL has made to the field of language study is a shift away from abstract, disembodied, and de-contextualised studies of language. In this regard, CMT, which formed the theoretical foundation for the current study, is fitting, as the researcher observe the theory as commensurable with the kind of holism demanded by an analysis of COVID-19 memes as embodied in the metaphors it employs.

Review of Literature

Cognitive Linguistics Approach to Memes

The prior overview laid the groundwork for the following part, which addresses the Cognitive Linguistics Approach to memes. The study that follows uses the term "meme" to refer to "image memes" in light of the term's ambiguity and the obvious need for more research in the field of memetics. Instead of offering a single explanation for language, cognitive linguistics is a relatively new field of research that consists of a variety of generally acceptable theories and approaches. (2007) Geeraets: 3. As a result, cognitive linguistics contains a large number of overlapping maxims that can be analysed from many perspectives. Geeraets (2007) claimed that a cognitive linguistic analysis is the structural facets of categorization in natural language, such as the prototypicality. 

The definition of a prototype is "a relatively abstract mental representation..." (Evans and Green 2006: 249). In Yule's words, "the most characteristic instance of a category." (2010: 293). The prototype theory has received considerable criticism, just like previous theories. Numerous categories have ambiguous borders, which is one issue; as a result, Lakoff (1987) separated this term into different taxonomies called Idealised Cognitive Models (ICM's). According to Evans (2006), Lakoff modified EleanoreRosch's prototype theory and asserted that some categories are unique to each individual. A well-known example provided by Barsalou in 1983 demonstrated the critical significance of context in the construction of prototypes, providing strong support for Lakoff's assertion. Barsalou researched ad hoc classifications. It is characterised by Lakoff as "categories that are not conventional or fixed but rather are made up on the fly for some immediate purpose." (1987: 45; Lakoff). An illustration is "what should one remove from their home in the event of a fire?" (1987: 45; Lakoff). Each person will receive a different response. For instance, a child would take different items from home than an adult would. Consequently, it follows that a more precise classification is sensible.

Since everyone's definition of categorization is unique, Lakoff further classified prototypes. The metonymic Idealised Cognitive Model (ICM) is one of these. There are many different kinds of metonymic models, especially for individuals, according to Lakoff and Johnson (1980). An individual member of a category might come to represent the category as a whole, according to A Glossary of Cognitive Linguistics (Evans 2007: 141). An illustration of part for a whole is this. It explains the operation of metonymic models. Stereotypes are present in ICMs of this type.

 

 

Conceptual Metaphor Theory

Conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) was first proposed by George Lakoff and Imprint Johnson in their seminal book Illustrations, 'We Live By' (Lakoff& Johnson, 1980). CMT was later revised and released in a newer version in 2003. According to Kövecses (2010), the understanding of one calculated domain up to another reasonable domain where a used domain alludes to any sound association of involvement is the definition of an allegory. According to Cameron (2003a), a domain is more than just a grouping of ideas or objects. It also explains the connections between the various parts. Nabeshima (2017) defines a domain as a fundamental information structure that contains related terms, ideas, and conclusions. Two theoretical domains are present in every representation that complies with this definition. The objective domain is the more conceptually difficult and waits to be understood and transferred in this fashion, whereas the source domain is the one from which semantic allegorical representations learn about the target domain. In a clear correspondence, such as LOVE IS An excursion, excursion is the source domain and LOVE is the objective domain. As a result, the main purpose of analogies is to help readers apply increasingly complex concepts to real-world situations (Cardillo et al., 2016). According to Goatly (2002), the two domains are "very specific and distant from one another."

A number of neat correspondences or mappings between the two domains make up the interfaces between them (Kövecses, 2010). The primary distinction between the source and target domains is that although the objective domain is frequently theoretical (Kövecses, 2010a; Lakoff& Johnson, 2003; Nabeshima, 2017), the source domain is typically concrete and material. In the paradigm mentioned, LOVE is a distinct concept from Excursion, and LOVE needs to be communicated to the audience during the discussion as the action plan for an applied analogy to a more important source domain. A good parable, from a semiotic perspective, is a symbol that resembles a coin with multiple sides.

Conceptual Metaphor Types

Ignasi (2017) stated that when it comes to metaphor, a figurative form often replaces the literal one, albeit there might not even be a literal expression in some instances. In light of this, a metaphor might be defined as "the use of a word in some new sense in order to remedy a gap in the vocabulary" (Ignasi, 2017). The concept of interaction in the field of metaphor, according to Ignasi (2017), asserts that two ideas about unrelated topics are active concurrently and supported by a single verbal utterance whose meaning is the product of their interaction. Ignasi (2017) then provided evidence for this hypothesis. Ignasi's interaction approach was systematised as the conceptual mapping approach by Lakoff and Johnson (2003) and Lakoff (1993). This point of view asserts that "metaphor has come to mean a cross-domain mapping in the conceptual system" (Lakoff, 1993: 203), which is defined as a set of ontological links between two domains, with the implicational system of the source domain serving as a model for the conceptual relationships in the target domain. The invariance principle, which guarantees the preservation of the target domain's original coherence, places restrictions on mappings. By transferring data from the source domain onto the modeling of the target domain, mappings in turn determine epistemic correlations. Metaphors utilised in the survey show how knowledge configurations from other domains are used to somewhat imitate the domain of human cells. The four categories of conceptual metaphors that have been proposed for conceptual modeling are imagistic, orientational, ontological, and structural (Lakoff& Johnson, 1980; Lakoff, 1993).

A range of degrees of abstraction (image-schemas, frames, domains, and mental spaces), according to Kövecses (2014), may be used to approach the conceptual content of metaphorical mappings. The four conceptual metaphor types can therefore be in line with one or more knowledge configuration levels because both the source and target domains involved in a metaphor are conceived of as knowledge configurations that involve both pre-conceptual structure (image-schemas) and conceptual structure (concept, frame, domain). By establishing a connection between two conventional representations based on how closely they resemble one another, illustrative metaphors make it possible to map source knowledge (the first) onto target knowledge (the second).Since shape is one of the characteristics that define basic concepts in human cognitive systems, conventional images are arranged by both image-schemas and a classification or idea at the level of conceptualization in the mapping. Because they systematically profile highly tangible aspects of experience, such as specific scenes or the distinctive qualities of one species, image metaphors are particularly evocative, as demonstrated in example 1: The COVID-19 virus that the researchers employed had been devastated and was hardly hazardous, notwithstanding the fact that giving the virus to individuals in any form may seem terrifying (Grady, 2011: 1).  The word "gutted" conjures up the idea of a living thing that has had its internal structures evacuated in order to be processed as food or, in a broader sense, as a vessel.

The concept of a vacuum is used to refer to the idea that a viral infection is considered to be devoid of its previous hereditary arrangement so that new DNA structure can be incorporated. Here, the picture metaphor depicts a vacant area. Second, spatial orientation (up-down, in-out, near-far) is used to create a system of concepts using orientational metaphors. Orientational metaphors apply geographical orientation to intangible ideas like happiness (HAPPY IS UP, or SAD IS DOWN). The metaphor's explicit orientational configuration is based on how we perceive and move through the world. Next, ontological metaphors depict concrete entities like things, substances, people, or containers as abstract concepts like actions, feelings, or thoughts.    As a result, experience-related elements such as abstract entities, processes, events, properties, and relations are theoretically controlled as tangible things or physical objects. Since nominalization reflects the characteristics of an object (MIND IS A CONTAINER) or an individual (DEATH IS A REAPER), it serves as a fundamental mechanism for ontological metaphor. Last but not least, structural metaphors help to conceptually configure a complex idea or an entire domain in terms of another. Structure metaphors typically develop from a collection of inference patterns and implications from the source domain that help people understand and provide the target domain coherence (LIFE IS A JOURNEY).

Methodology

The study used a descriptive approach research design. Six COVID-19 internet memes were chosen from Facebook using a purposeful sampling strategy based on the prevalence of the metaphorical linguistic portrayal of Nigerians. The chosen data ranged from March 14, 2020, to March 15, 2020. The research concentrated on analysing 6 online memes using the CMT to locate the metaphors because of the uneven distribution of the memes. The imagistic, ontological, orientational, and structural metaphors were grouped under the recognised types of metaphors by the qualitative method, which also took into account the textual and content analysis of the metaphors found in each meme.

Research Instruments and Method of Data collection

Secondary data were adopted for its relevance, availability, accuracy, and sufficiency to the study. Covid-19 internet memes constitutes the primary data for this study. The collation of data for this study is from available libraries, archives, and the internet. The primary data which is the research instrument are the memes that were sourced from internet postings of Nigerians on Facebook in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic stay-at-home order by Nigeria Government. The memes include individual memes designed and shared by Nigerians on Facebook. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 6 Covid-19 internet memes from Facebook representing the source of data for this study. This study adopted the Cognitive Metaphor Theory by Lakoff and Johnson (2003) in investigating the metaphors in the Covid-19 memes.

This study is limited to the application of Cognitive Metaphor Theory. Given the numerous challenges experienced by Nigerians during the COVID-19 lockdown 2021, it becomes imperative to restrict the selection of events across the significant period of the stay-at-home order. Such main events that is considered important in this study include March 14, 2020, to March 15, 2020 posts on Facebook. This informs the decision to choose the data for the study. This period also marks the time Nigerians were showing their feelings over the impacts of COVID-19.

Six COVID-19 internet memes were purposively selected from different individual Facebook accounts to constitute the study population. The selected memes are replete with religious, political, economic, marriage and educational realities in Nigeria; since these aspects adequately represent the Nigerian society.

Data Presentation:

This section presents the application of Conceptual Metaphor Theory in identifying the metaphors types in the selected Covid-19 internet memes.

Image metaphors

Image metaphors create a connection between the source domain and the target domain based on similarity in shape or visual arrangement. The visual effects that name various types of items and events based on the visual portrayal of the epidemic are recalled by the image metaphors mentioned here. People are urged to keep their social distance in the current pandemic crisis, and buttons are utilised as a point of reference. Button is employed in the context to emphasise the necessity of maintaining social distance during the pandemic.  A button's simple definition is a small, round piece of metal or plastic that is sewed into a garment and used to connect two pieces.   Through examination of the basic connotation and the juxtaposition of the context specific significance with it, the situational interpretation can be determined. The image's depiction of the necessity for social seclusion and the way buttons work make sense to us.  'Buttonhole' is another illustration. The current state of the pandemic, in which people are urged to keep social distance, is compared to buttonholes. Button is employed in the context to emphasis the necessity of maintaining social distance during the pandemic.  A slit cut into a garment to accommodate a button for fastening is the definition of a "buttonhole" in its simplest form.  By contrast with the fundamental connotation, the context-specific implication can be implicit. The image's depiction of the necessity for social isolation and the buttonhole's intended purpose make sense to us. 'Home' is another illustration. The expression "home" in this situation means the residence in which people reside. Other than how it is used in context, the word has no more fundamental meaning. The basic meaning can be taken to be the context.

Orientational metaphors

Orientational metaphors describe how a method is understood in terms of various spatially oriented arrangements. In the 'Lockdown' metaphor, the NCDC's control over Nigerians is depicted as a physical process in which Nigerians would be (in the source domain) physically restrained from any kind of mobility outside of their houses. In terms of language, "lockdown" refers to the restrictions placed on people and vehicles during the COVID-19 pandemic. An emergency situation where people are forbidden from freely entering, leaving, or moving about in a facility or region, is referred to as being on "lockdown." The contextual meaning of “lockdown” is the same as the basic meaning in the meme. Other examples are: ‘finally over’, ‘before’.

Ontological metaphors

Ontological metaphors, as opposed to visual imagistic structures or patterns (image metaphors) or spatial configurations (orientational metaphors), offer ideas for things, occurrences, or operations in vague or novel areas that utilise conceptual qualities taken from other notions that are well and long conventional in the lingo. In this case, "coughs" refers to a recent cough by the consumer. Contextually, the behaviour raises the possibility that the subject is exhibiting a coronavirus symptom. To "cough" is to make a brief, loud noise while forcing air from your lungs via your throat. The basic meaning is different from the context-specific meaning. When the two are put side by side, the later deepens comprehension of the former. The word "hits" is substituted for "Hits home" in this context, indicating that millennial are aware of the virus' existence even though it may be difficult for them to do so. The basic definition of "hit" is to make physical contact with someone or something often violently using a tool, hand, or weapon. As a result, the underlying meaning differs with the contextual meaning. By comparing the contextual meaning to the fundamental meaning, the difference can be seen. 

Structural metaphors

In order for the emergent concepts to designate specific phenomena, ontological metaphors are helpful conceptual frameworks for naming entities or processes in an abstract or novel domain. However, beyond the individual ideas themselves or their frames, the new concepts produced by the projected qualities from the source frame in memes do not have any extra entailments or consequences. In contrast, structural metaphors provide complex mappings from rich source domains onto richer target domains. In these instances, a collection of linguistic manifestations shows how several players in the source complex domain are recycled to provide coherence to participant interactions and activities in the destination domain. Thus, a structural metaphor demonstrates a thorough understanding of a group of things and their involvement in several frames.Examples of four groups of lexical units exhibiting structural metaphors can be found in memes. Lockdown (COVID-19 PANDEMIC) is a home-wrecker, Coronavirus is a fixer, and Coronavirus is a terrifying monster. Looking at these instances demonstrates how the memes embody some of the core ideas of structural metaphor. It is clear from meme 1 that the metaphorical word "sidechicks" corresponds to the meme's depiction of a dog who appears to be starving. Additionally, the illustration of a scruffy man gives the meme's text additional context and significance. Both demonstrate the need to take memes' visual and text into account as a whole when interpreting their metaphorical overtones. The same is noteworthy for meme 2 in the previous example. The text and image illustrate how an appropriate metaphor for the lockdown is that it is a "home wrecker." Damage from fear is being done to Nigerians and their environment. "Fighting corruption" might cause harm. An adversary displays "opportunistic" attitude by waiting for the right opportunity to strike and searching for vulnerable areas. The opponent responds or reacts as a result of the attack. A "dominant" opponent overpowers the other. In this way, the concept of the relationship between the sickness and the pandemic is conceptualised, and the entire "story" about the two foes is projected.

Summary of Findings

Analysis with the conceptual metaphorical theory revealed that all the selected memes have metaphorical connotations, the metaphors identified were: image, structural, ontological and orientational, which all revealed the societal mindsets as well as unique paradigms of the effects and coping strategies that COVID-19 victims adopted in the course of the phenomenon.

The study found that social media was used as a platform for a campaign against Covid-19 in Nigeria based on the analysis of the Covid-19 internet memes. Social media made a significant contribution to citizen involvement in the Covid-19 battle. The study shows and demonstrates how social networking sites contributed to citizen engagement and the use of unrestricted freedom of expression through the use of photographs and the disappearance of authorship regarding the creation, dissemination, and consumption of internet memes to raise awareness of Covid-19.

The study's empirical data demonstrates that online memes were employed as a technique for spreading messages to the broader population. The study discovered that Internet memes were used as weapons in the war against Covid-19 to launch attacks, disseminate private information, play practical jokes, and divert attention from a subject. The study explained how online memes provide a direct channel of communication that helps raise awareness of Covid-19 in Nigeria.Metaphor is a fundamental cognitive tool that helps people understands abstract, loosely organised ideas in terms of more concrete, well-organized concepts. Metaphor, in terms of its structure, is a mapping that crosses conceptual boundaries, because metaphor solely include the projection from the source domain to the target domain and not the other way around, these mappings are unidirectional. This mapping is subject to the invariance principle and is based on the body, daily experience, and knowledge. Metaphors utilised in the survey show how knowledge configurations from other domains are used to somewhat imitate the domain of human cells. The four categories of conceptual metaphors that have been proposed for conceptual modelling are imagistic, orientational, ontological, and structural. Thus, the majority of conventional conceptual metaphor systems are noted to operate intuitively, effortlessly, and continuously with little to no effort. The results also suggests that the use of expressions pertaining to structural metaphors like HOME IS A PRISON, CORONAVIRUS IS A FIXER, LOCKDOWN IS A HOMEWRECKER AND CORONAVIRUS IS A DREADFUL MONSTER seem to be ingrained in the selected memes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, metaphors were extremely helpful cognitive tools that aided in-depth meaning recovery from the Covid-19 memes under study. The study provided evidence of the universality, conceptual character, systematicity, internal organisation, and experimental foundation of metaphor. In essence, metaphor is conceptual rather than linguistic. The metaphors we observe in language are only the outward expression of a vast system of conceptual metaphors.

Metaphor is a fundamental cognitive tool that helps people understands abstract, loosely organised ideas in terms of more concrete, well-organized concepts. Metaphor, in terms of its structure, is a mapping that crosses conceptual boundaries. Because they solely include the projection from the source domain to the target domain and not the other way around, these mappings are unidirectional. This mapping is subject to the invariance principle and is based on the body, daily experience, and knowledge. The majority of conventional conceptual metaphor systems are noted to operate intuitively, effortlessly, and continuously with little to no effort.

Contribution to Knowledge

It is noteworthy that this investigation has contributed to knowledge by demonstrating the importance of considering every discourse, irrespective of the form it wears, as good material for linguistic investigation. The results evidently provide better understanding of metaphors, especially in multimodal discourse such as the 8 memes that formed the primary data.

 

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