•THE COGNITIVE METAPHOR THEORY

• VISUAL METAPHORS

•MULTIMODAL METAPHORS (VERBO-VISUAL)

Metaphors are pervasive in our life; we speak of, write about, and depict the world through metaphors.

In everyday language we use a large number of conventional metaphorical expressions, which form patterns;

Conventional patterns shape metaphorical thought and create conceptual metaphors

Metaphor is the phenomenon whereby we talk and potentially think about one thing in terms of another

DEFINITIONS

Conceptual metaphor: systematic process of thinking about one thing in terms of something else

Linguistic metaphor: systematic process of talking about one thing in terms of something else

Conceptual metaphor

LOVE IS A JOURNEY (small capitals)*: love is often understood in terms of a journey

Mappings

LOVE = target domain JOURNEY = source domain domain A (TARGET) is understood in terms of a domain B (SOURCE)

LOVE IS A JOURNEY conceptual metaphor

Possible metaphorical linguistic expressions:

Look how far we’ve come We are at crossroads We’ll just have to go our separate ways I don’t think this relationship is going anywhere

Target domain usually refers to abstract, complex, unfamiliar, subjective areas of experience, such as life, love, etc.

Source domain matches concrete, simple, and more familiar experience, such as physical objects, bodily phenomena,etc.

Source domain

“the conceptual domain from which we draw metaphorical expression to understand another conceptual domain is called source domain” (Kövecses, 2010:4)

Target domain

“the conceptual domain that is understood this way is the target domain” (Kövecses, 2010:4)

The MIP (metaphor identification procedure) develops as follows:

Read the entire text–discourse to establish general understanding of the meaning;

Determine the lexical units in the text–discourse;

The MIP (metaphor identification procedure) develops as follows:

(a) For each lexical unit in the text, establish its meaning in context, that is, how it applies to an entity, relation, or attribute in the situation evoked by the text (contextual meaning). Take into account what comes before and after the lexical unit;

(b) For each lexical unit, determine if it has a more basic contemporary meaning in other contexts than the one in the given context. For our purposes, basic meanings tend to be

- More concrete [what they evoke is easier to imagine, see, hear, feel,smell, and taste];

- Related to bodily action;- More precise (as opposed to vague);- Historically older;

Basic meanings are not necessarily the most frequent meanings of the lexical unit.

(c) If the lexical unit has a more basic current–contemporary meaning in other contexts than the given context, decide whether the contextual meaning contrasts with the basic meaning but can be understood in comparison with it.

If yes, mark the lexical unit as metaphorical.

CONTEXTUAL METAPOHR

INTEGRATED METAPHOR

HYBRID METAPHOR

PICTORIAL SIMILE

CONTEXTUAL METAPOHR

an object is represented in an unexpected visual context, object A is understood as being object B, due to the context in which it is portrayed; the visually represented entity

is the target while the visually suggested entity is the source,

which is inferred by the viewer thanks to the context of expression. The contextual metaphorical representation prompts

identification A is B format.

See picture

INTEGRATED METAPHOR

the visual representation shows an object A which looks like an

object B, even without being provided a specific context. The

integrated metaphor expresses similarity between the two

domains A is like B format.

See picture

HYBRID METAPHOR

the visual representation portrays an impossible entity in the

world, showing two objects. A and B, which are usually understood as two different entities belonging to two different

domains, but are exceptionally visualized as belonging to the

same.

See picture

SIMILE METAPHOR

two objects are represented in their entirety and are made to look similar, A is like B format. The juxtaposition appears as a sort of invitation addressed to the viewer to compare two entities, and the verbal text, which functions as a contextualised support, prompts a natural connection, and triggers the process of mapping from A to B.

See picture

Monomodality pertains to messages which are rendered in a single mode, either visual or verbal. If, for example, we take into

consideration some written forms of communication, such as newspaper articles, books, essays, medical prescriptions, letters,

e-mails, text messages, which do contain only the mode of written text, we must conceive them as monomodal texts. Conversely, if visual tools are added to the above-mentioned

texts, such as pictures, graphics, diagrams, smiles (i.e. with text

messages and e-mails), or even some sound, as for example, With birthday postcards that write and sing happy birthday, Monomodal messages turn into multimodal communicative expressions.

As for metaphorical representations, when both target and

source domains are expressed in a single mode, either

verbal or visual, metaphors are classified as monomodal; if

target and source domain are rendered in two different

sign systems (visual, written, spoken), or modes ofPerception (smell, taste, and touch), even if the ‘A is B’

format is maintained, metaphors become multimodal.

CONTEXTUAL METAPOHR

INTEGRATED METAPHOR

HYBRID METAPHOR

PICTORIAL SIMILE

Among the most frequent mutlimodal metaphors are the

verbo-pictorial.See pictures

THE CONCEPT OF IMMEDIACY: the visual mode provides immediate understanding (context and world knowledge)

TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL SEQUENCING: the verbal mode is better at representing actions and their chronological sequences

THE PROCESS OF DOMESTICATION: knotty and abstract concepts when visualised are made accessible and easily comprehensible and understandable

THE CONCEPT OF CONDENSATION: images are better at representing single entities, while the verbal mode may describe both a plurality and single entities