THE STUDY OF METAPHOR

CHAPTER X THE STUDY OF METAPHOR

6.1 The Definition According to www.merriam-webster.com online dictionary A metaphor is

“a figure of speech that refers, for rhetorical effect, to one thing by mentioning another thing ”. It may also can be said as, “the direct comparison of tw o different entities (concrete vs. abstract)”. It may provide clarity or identify hidden similarities between two ideas. Antithesis, hyperbole, metonymy and simile are all types of metaphor. One of the most commonly cited examples of a metaphor in English literature is the "All the world's a stage" monologue from As You Like It:

All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances[...] —William Shakespeare, As You Like It, 2/7[3] This quotation expresses a metaphor because the world is not literally

a stage. By asserting that the world is a stage, Shakespeare uses points of comparison between the world and a stage to convey an understanding about the mechanics of the world and the behavior of the people within it.

The Philosophy of Rhetoric (1937) by rhetorician I. A. Richards describes a metaphor as having two parts: the tenor and the vehicle. The tenor is the subject to which attributes are ascribed. The vehicle is the object whose attributes are borrowed. In the previous example, "the world" is compared to a stage, describing it with the attributes of "the stage"; "the The Philosophy of Rhetoric (1937) by rhetorician I. A. Richards describes a metaphor as having two parts: the tenor and the vehicle. The tenor is the subject to which attributes are ascribed. The vehicle is the object whose attributes are borrowed. In the previous example, "the world" is compared to a stage, describing it with the attributes of "the stage"; "the

Other writers employ the general terms ground and figure to denote the tenor and the vehicle. Cognitive linguistics uses the terms target and source, respectively.

6.2 Etymology The English metaphor derived from the 16th-century Old French word métaphore, which comes from the Latin metaphora, "carrying over", in turn from the Greek μεταφορά (metaphorá), "transfer", from μεταφέρω (metapherō), "to carry over", "to transfer"and that from μετά (meta), "after, with, across" + φέρω (pherō), "to bear", "to carry".

6.3 Comparison with other types of analogy Metaphors are most frequently compared with similes. A simile is a specific type of metaphor that uses the words "like" or "as" in comparing two objects, whereas what is commonly referred to as a metaphor states that A is B or substitutes B for A.

What is usually referred to as a metaphor asserts the two objects in the comparison are identical on the point of comparison, a simile merely asserts a similarity. For this reason a common-type metaphor is generally considered more forceful than a simile.

The metaphor category also contains these specialised types: Allegory: An extended metaphor wherein a story illustrates an

important attribute of the subject. Antithesis:A rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences

Catachresis: A mixed metaphor used by design and accident (a rhetorical fault). Hyperbole: Excessive exaggeration to illustrate a point Metonymy: A figure of speech using the name of one thing in

reference to a different thing of which the first is associated. Example: in "lands belonging to the crown" the word "crown" is metonymy for ruler or monarch.

Parable: An extended metaphor narrated as an anecdote illustrating and teaching such as in Aesop's fables, or Jesus' teaching method as told in the Bible.

Pun: Similar to a metaphor, a pun alludes to another term. However, the main difference is that a pun is a frivolous allusion between two different things whereas a metaphor is a purposeful allusion between two different things.

Metaphor, like other types of analogy, can usefully be distinguished from metonymy as one of two fundamental modes of thought. Metaphor and analogy both work by bringing together two concepts from different conceptual domains, whereas metonymy works by using one element from a given domain to refer to another closely related element. Thus, a metaphor creates new links between otherwise distinct conceptual domains, whereas a metonymy relies on the existing links within them.

6.4 Subtypes

A dead metaphor is one in which the sense of a transferred image has become absent. Examples: "to grasp a concept" and "to gather what you've understood" use physical action as a metaphor for understanding. The audience does not need to visualize the action; dead metaphors normally go unnoticed. Some people distinguish between a dead metaphor and a cliché. Others use "dead metaphor" to denote both.

A mixed metaphor is one that leaps from one identification to a second identification inconsistent with the first, e.g.:

I smell a rat [...] but I'll nip him in the bud"-Irish politician Boyle Roche This form is often used as a parody of metaphor itself: If we can hit that bull's-eye then the rest of the dominoes will fall like

a house of cards... Checkmate. — Futurama character Zapp Brannigan. Metaphor in Rhetoric Aristotle said in his work, The Rhetoric, that metaphors make learning

pleasant; "To learn easily is naturally pleasant to all people, and words signify something, so whatever words create knowledge in us are the pleasantest." When discussing The Rhetoric, Jan Garret quoted how "Metaphor most brings about learning; for when [Homer] calls old age "stubble," he creates understanding and knowledge through the genus, since both old age and stubble are [species of the genus of] things that have lost their bloom." Metaphors, according to Aristotle, have "qualities of the exotic and the fascinating; but at the same time we recognize that strangers do not have the same rights as our fellow citizens." Other rhetoricians have asserted the relevance of metaphor when used for a persuasive intent. Sonja Foss characterizes metaphors as being "nonliteral comparisons in which a word or phrase from one domain of experience is applied to another domain". she argues that since reality is mediated by the language we use to describe it, the metaphors we use shape the world and our interactions to it.

Larger applications of metaphor

A metaphorical visualization of the word anger.

The term metaphor is also used to describe more basic or general aspects of experience and cognition:

A cognitive metaphor is the association of object to an experience outside the object's environment

A conceptual metaphor is an underlying association that is systematic in both language and thought

A root metaphor is the underlying worldview that shapes an individual's understanding of a situation

A nonlinguistic metaphor is an association between two nonlinguistic realms of experience

A visual metaphor uses an image to create the link between different ideas Metaphors can also be implied and extended throughout pieces of literature.

6.5 Conceptual metaphors It is true that all of us speak in metaphors whether we realize it or not. In

Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff, a linguist, and Mark Johnson, a philosopher, suggest that metaphors not only make our thoughts more vivid and interesting but that they actually structure our perceptions and understanding. Thinking of marriage as a “contract agreement,” for example, leads to one set of expectations, while thinking of it as „team play”, “a negotiated settlement,” „Russian roulette,” “an indissoluble merger,” or “a religious sacrament” will carry different sets of expectations. When a government thinks of its enemies as „turkeys” or “clowns” it does not take them as serious threats, but if they said that they are “pawns” in the hands of the communists, they will be taken seriously indeed.

In Metaphors We Live By has led many readers to a new recognition of how profoundly metaphors not only shape our view of life in the present but set up the expectations that determine what life will be for us in the future (1980:13). Metaphor is for most people a device of the poetic imagination and the rhetorical flourish- a In Metaphors We Live By has led many readers to a new recognition of how profoundly metaphors not only shape our view of life in the present but set up the expectations that determine what life will be for us in the future (1980:13). Metaphor is for most people a device of the poetic imagination and the rhetorical flourish- a

The concepts that govern our thought are not just matter of the intellect. They also govern our everyday functioning, down to the most common details. Our concepts structure what we perceive, how we get around in the world and how we relate to other people. Our conceptual system thus plays a central role in defining our everyday realities. If we are right in suggesting that our conceptual system is largely metaphorical, then the way we thinks what we experience, and what we do every day is very much a matter of metaphor. The conceptual system used by mankind in wherever society strongly influenced our style and style of thinking and doing is

metaphorical. The non-metaphorical thinking is only possible if we discuss merely physical realities. The greater the level of abstraction made by people, the greater of the metaphorical layers needed to state the result of human thinking.

Many people ignored these for several reasons. One of them is the reason that few form of metaphor is considered “dead” and has unknown origin. The other reason is that we do not know what happen on our conceptual system in our thinking. (1993:224). The clearer depiction of the view that most of our conceptual system is metaphorical can be seen in the instances of conceptual metaphor by Lakoff and Turner (1989:3-4) that is given then name of the metaphor LIFE IS A JOURNEY. In this metaphor the mental domain) “Journey” as the source domain is comp ared to mental domain of “Life” as the target domain. The conceptual mapping between the concepts is:

LIFE IS A JOURNEY. - The person leading a life is a traveller.

- His purposes are destinations. - The means fro achieving purposes are routes. - Difficulties in life are impediments to travel - Counsellors are guides.

- Progress is the distance travelled. - Counsellors are guides. - Progress is the distance travelled - Things you gauge your progress by are the landmarks. - Material resources and talents are provisions.

- The conception of the metaphor LIFE IS A JOURNEY can be applied into other examples like what have been said by (in Ortony 1993:206) like the metaphor of LOVE IS A JOURNEY

- Our relationship has hit a dead-end street. - We can‟t turn back now. - We‟re at the crossroads. - The relationship isn‟t going anywhere. - We‟re spinning our wheels. - Our relationship is off the track.

It should be understood that the above metaphorical conception is not the only form, but there are hundreds and thousands form and mental domain mapping which compared on mental domain to other mental domain like what had been elaborate by Lakoff in the metaphor of LIFE IS A JOURNEY, CHANGE IS MOTION, CAUSES ARE FORCES, SEEING IS KNOWING, THINKING AS BODY MOVEMENT, TIME PASSING IS A MOVEMENT OVER A LANDSCAPE etc.

From this, the researcher can defined that according to George Lakoff metaphor is the most important conceptual construction in the development of human thinking history. The conceptual system which used daily in each and every society will influence our ways of thinking and doing which metaphorical in nature.

In cognitive linguistics, conceptual metaphor, or cognitive metaphor, refers to the understanding of one idea, or conceptual domain, in terms of another. An example of this is the understanding of quantity in terms of directionality (e.g. "the price of peace is rising").

A conceptual domain can be any coherent organization of human experience. The regularity with which different languages employ the same metaphors, which often appear to be perceptually based, has led to the A conceptual domain can be any coherent organization of human experience. The regularity with which different languages employ the same metaphors, which often appear to be perceptually based, has led to the

This idea, and a detailed examination of the underlying processes, was first extensively explored by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in their work Metaphors We Live By. Other cognitive scientists, for example Gilles Fauconnier, study subjects similar to conceptual metaphor under the labels "analogy", "conceptual blending" and "ideasthesia".

Conceptual metaphors are seen in language in our everyday lives. Conceptual metaphors shape not just our communication, but also shape the way we think and act. In George Lakoff and Mark Johnson's work, Metaphors We Live By (1980), we see how everyday language is filled with metaphors we may not always notice. An example of one of the commonly used conceptual metaphors is "argument is war".This metaphor shapes our language in the way we view argument as war or as a battle to be won. It is not uncommon to hear someone say "He won that argument" or "I attacked every weak point in his argument". The very way argument is thought of is shaped by this metaphor of arguments being war and battles that must be won. Argument can be seen in other ways than a battle, but we use this concept to shape the way we think of argument and the way we go about arguing.

Conceptual metaphors are used very often to understand theories and models. A conceptual metaphor uses one idea and links it to another to better understand something. For example, the conceptual metaphor of viewing communication as a conduit is one large theory explained with a metaphor. So not only is our everyday communication shaped by the language of conceptual metaphors, but so is the very way we understand scholarly theories. These metaphors are prevalent in communication and we Conceptual metaphors are used very often to understand theories and models. A conceptual metaphor uses one idea and links it to another to better understand something. For example, the conceptual metaphor of viewing communication as a conduit is one large theory explained with a metaphor. So not only is our everyday communication shaped by the language of conceptual metaphors, but so is the very way we understand scholarly theories. These metaphors are prevalent in communication and we

Mappings There are two main roles for the conceptual domains posited in conceptual metaphors: Source domain: the conceptual domain from which we draw metaphorical expressions (e.g., love is a journey). Whereas, Target domain: the conceptual domain that we try to understand (e.g., love is a journey).

A mapping is the systematic set of correspondences that exist between constituent elements of the source and the target domain. Many elements of target concepts come from source domains and are not preexisting. To know a conceptual metaphor is to know the set of mappings that applies to a given source-target pairing. The same idea of mapping between source and target is used to describe analogical reasoning and inferences.

A primary tenet of this theory is that metaphors are matter of thought and not merely of language: hence, the term conceptual metaphor. The metaphor may seem to consist of words or other linguistic expressions that come from the terminology of the more concrete conceptual domain, but conceptual metaphors underlie a system of related metaphorical expressions that appear on the linguistic surface. Similarly, the mappings of

a conceptual metaphor are themselves motivated by image schemas which are pre-linguistic schemas concerning space, time, moving, controlling, and other core elements of embodied human experience.

Conceptual metaphors typically employ a more abstract concept as target and a more concrete or physical concept as their source. For instance, metaphors such as 'the days [the more abstract or target concept] ahead' or 'giving my time' rely on more concrete concepts, thus expressing Conceptual metaphors typically employ a more abstract concept as target and a more concrete or physical concept as their source. For instance, metaphors such as 'the days [the more abstract or target concept] ahead' or 'giving my time' rely on more concrete concepts, thus expressing

The principle of unidirectionality states that the metaphorical process typically goes from the more concrete to the more abstract, and not the other way around. Accordingly, abstract concepts are understood in terms of prototype concrete processes. The term "concrete," in this theory, has been further specified by Lakoff and Johnson as more closely related to the developmental, physical neural, and interactive body (see embodied philosophy). One manifestation of this view is found in the cognitive science of mathematics, where it is proposed that mathematics itself, the most widely accepted means of abstraction in the human community, is largely metaphorically constructed, and thereby reflects a cognitive bias unique to humans that uses embodied prototypical processes (e.g. counting, moving along a path) that are understood by all human beings through their experiences.