John Benjamins Publishing Company
Chapter 8. Terminological metaphors and the nomadism of specialised terms
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Micaela Rossi
Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to describe various forms and functions of metaphors in specialized texts and discourses. Far from being simple catachresis, metaphorical terms show an extraordinary vitality: they reveal their heuristic potential as “metaphorical swarms” (Prandi 2012) originating from shared conceptual metaphors, or as creative conflict metaphors (Brown 2003; Gibbs 2008), that have given birth to new scientific theories (Hesse 1988). We can find examples of consistent metaphorical concepts which have given rise to a group of metaphorical terms, such as the analogy between blood circulation and running water systems (Oliveira 2009), or conflict-based creative metaphors, as in Darwin’s natural selection. Such metaphors lend to the framing and spreading of scientific knowledge (Prandi & Rossi 2012). In this contribution, we will first analyze three metaphorical English terms created with the modifier junk, and we will afterwards examine the way they were translated into French and Italian. In doing so, we will highlight different processes involved in the interlinguistic transfer of metaphorical terms (Humbley 2006a).
Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to describe various forms and functions of metaphors in specialized texts and discourses. Far from being simple catachresis, metaphorical terms show an extraordinary vitality: they reveal their heuristic potential as “metaphorical swarms” (Prandi 2012) originating from shared conceptual metaphors, or as creative conflict metaphors (Brown 2003; Gibbs 2008), that have given birth to new scientific theories (Hesse 1988). We can find examples of consistent metaphorical concepts which have given rise to a group of metaphorical terms, such as the analogy between blood circulation and running water systems (Oliveira 2009), or conflict-based creative metaphors, as in Darwin’s natural selection. Such metaphors lend to the framing and spreading of scientific knowledge (Prandi & Rossi 2012). In this contribution, we will first analyze three metaphorical English terms created with the modifier junk, and we will afterwards examine the way they were translated into French and Italian. In doing so, we will highlight different processes involved in the interlinguistic transfer of metaphorical terms (Humbley 2006a).
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
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Part I. The social dimension of variation
- Chapter 1. The emotional dimension in terminological variation 11
- Chapter 2. Term usage and socioterminological variation 31
- Chapter 3. Diastratic variation in language for specific purposes 57
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Part II. Tools and methods
- Chapter 4. Towards a resource of semantically and contextually structured term variants and their translations 83
- Chapter 5. Specialized verbs and specialized uses of verbs in a comparable corpus of judgments produced in Canada, Portugal and Brazil 109
- Chapter 6. Should we be looking for the needle in the haystack or in the straw poll ? 131
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Part III. Semantics of variation
- Chapter 7. Terminological variation and the unsaturability of concepts 155
- Chapter 8. Terminological metaphors and the nomadism of specialised terms 181
- Chapter 9. Term and concept variation in specialized knowledge dynamics 213
- Index 259
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. The social dimension of variation
- Chapter 1. The emotional dimension in terminological variation 11
- Chapter 2. Term usage and socioterminological variation 31
- Chapter 3. Diastratic variation in language for specific purposes 57
-
Part II. Tools and methods
- Chapter 4. Towards a resource of semantically and contextually structured term variants and their translations 83
- Chapter 5. Specialized verbs and specialized uses of verbs in a comparable corpus of judgments produced in Canada, Portugal and Brazil 109
- Chapter 6. Should we be looking for the needle in the haystack or in the straw poll ? 131
-
Part III. Semantics of variation
- Chapter 7. Terminological variation and the unsaturability of concepts 155
- Chapter 8. Terminological metaphors and the nomadism of specialised terms 181
- Chapter 9. Term and concept variation in specialized knowledge dynamics 213
- Index 259
