18. The evaluative properties of metaphors
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Alice Deignan
Abstract
It has been asserted by a number of writers from a range of disciplines that metaphors have evaluative and persuasive properties. In the Conceptual Metaphor Theory literature, it is widely agreed that metaphor is evaluative, persuasive and therefore potentially ideological. Outside the cognitive literature, metaphor’s persuasive qualities have been studied by researchers in fields from Critical Discourse Analysis to consumer research. This chapter reviews the mechanisms through which evaluation seems to be carried out, discussing a number of studies. Four themes are identified: metaphors as stories, with entailments, metaphors which map evaluative connotations from source to target domain, the deliberate choice of a source domain which resonates with particular groups of language users, and the use of metaphorical scenarios. I investigate these mechanisms in a small number of metaphorical expressions, using corpus techniques, with a focus on detailed analysis of form as well as meaning. I find that the evaluations conveyed by the expressions that I investigate seem most consistent with Musolff’s scenarios model (2006). However the evaluative meaning expressed is often even more specific, contextually and pragmatically, than his theory would predict. I also argue that the characteristic form of evaluative metaphorical expressions raises challenges for our current categories of linguistic description.
Abstract
It has been asserted by a number of writers from a range of disciplines that metaphors have evaluative and persuasive properties. In the Conceptual Metaphor Theory literature, it is widely agreed that metaphor is evaluative, persuasive and therefore potentially ideological. Outside the cognitive literature, metaphor’s persuasive qualities have been studied by researchers in fields from Critical Discourse Analysis to consumer research. This chapter reviews the mechanisms through which evaluation seems to be carried out, discussing a number of studies. Four themes are identified: metaphors as stories, with entailments, metaphors which map evaluative connotations from source to target domain, the deliberate choice of a source domain which resonates with particular groups of language users, and the use of metaphorical scenarios. I investigate these mechanisms in a small number of metaphorical expressions, using corpus techniques, with a focus on detailed analysis of form as well as meaning. I find that the evaluations conveyed by the expressions that I investigate seem most consistent with Musolff’s scenarios model (2006). However the evaluative meaning expressed is often even more specific, contextually and pragmatically, than his theory would predict. I also argue that the characteristic form of evaluative metaphorical expressions raises challenges for our current categories of linguistic description.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors’ introduction vii
- 1. The wonderful, chaotic, creative, heroic, challenging world of Researching and Applying Metaphor 1
-
1. Metaphor and language learning
- 2. Can people be cold and warm? 21
- 3. Grasping the point 35
- 4. “Drugs, traffic, and many other dirty interests” 63
- 5. The gaps to be filled 81
- 6. A cross-cultural study of metaphoric understanding 105
-
2. Capturing and analysing metaphors
- 7. Love, metaphor and responsibility 125
- 8. A critical look at the desktop metaphor 30 years on 145
- 9. Pragglejaz in practice 165
- 10. Mapping principles for conceptual metaphors 185
- 11. Systematicity in metaphor and the use of invariant mappings 209
- 12. Attitude, style and context 245
- 13. A genre approach to imagery in winespeak 265
-
3. The function of metaphor in discourse
- 14. Wot no similes? 291
- 15. Metaphor marking and metaphor typological and functional ranges in business periodicals 309
- 16. Critical analysis of creative metaphors in political speeches 321
- 17. Metaphor in physical-and-speech action expressions 333
- 18. The evaluative properties of metaphors 357
- Index of names 375
- Index of terms 381
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors’ introduction vii
- 1. The wonderful, chaotic, creative, heroic, challenging world of Researching and Applying Metaphor 1
-
1. Metaphor and language learning
- 2. Can people be cold and warm? 21
- 3. Grasping the point 35
- 4. “Drugs, traffic, and many other dirty interests” 63
- 5. The gaps to be filled 81
- 6. A cross-cultural study of metaphoric understanding 105
-
2. Capturing and analysing metaphors
- 7. Love, metaphor and responsibility 125
- 8. A critical look at the desktop metaphor 30 years on 145
- 9. Pragglejaz in practice 165
- 10. Mapping principles for conceptual metaphors 185
- 11. Systematicity in metaphor and the use of invariant mappings 209
- 12. Attitude, style and context 245
- 13. A genre approach to imagery in winespeak 265
-
3. The function of metaphor in discourse
- 14. Wot no similes? 291
- 15. Metaphor marking and metaphor typological and functional ranges in business periodicals 309
- 16. Critical analysis of creative metaphors in political speeches 321
- 17. Metaphor in physical-and-speech action expressions 333
- 18. The evaluative properties of metaphors 357
- Index of names 375
- Index of terms 381
