Metaphors and activity

Abstract

Given its basis in the historical conditions under which people live and engage in their worlds, a study of communicative practice deals as much with the actual doings of real agents as it does with the systemic potentials of symbolic forms. (Hanks 1996:231) ABSTRACT:This paper considers metaphor as a kind of activity in the spirit of Levinsons Activity Types or of Meys Pragmatic Acts. Contrary to what has been suggested in the literature, metaphors neither belong exclusively to the domain of abstract reasoning (such as by analogy; Max Black), nor are they merely linguistic and/or psychological processes (of cognition; George Lakoff). Metaphors do not originate and live in the brain only, neither do they exclusively belong to some conceptual domain from which they can establish relations to other domains, or blend with them. Metaphors are primarily pragmatic activities.In my contribution, I will concentrate on the pragmatics of what is called embodiment: while metaphors represent, respectively support or illustrate, an activity that is performed by the total human being, the body part of the metaphoric deal is often neglected. Yet, as many researchers in the humanities and the sciences have shown, the role of the body in solving problems through appropriate metaphoring cannot be overestimated. An embodied perspective on thought, and especially on metaphor, will allow us to form a better understanding of the things we do with words, when we use words to do things. KEY-WORDS: the origin of metaphors ; pragmatic activities; embodiment.RESUMO:Este artigo considera a metáfora um tipo de atividade no espírito dos Tipos processos lingüísticos e/ou psicológicos (da cognição; George Lakoff). As metáforas não tem sua origem e vivem apenas no cérebro, nem pertencem exclusivamente a algum domínio conceitual, a partir do qual elas possam estabelecer relações ou fusões com outros domínios.As metáforas são primordialmente atividades pragmáticas. Na minha contribuição, eu me concentrarei na pragmática do que tem sido denominado embodiment : apesar de metáforas representarem, respectivamente sustentarem ou ilustrarem uma atividade realizada pelo ser humano total, a parte corporal do empreendimento metafórico tem sido freqüentemente negligenciada. Ainda assim, como muitos pesquisadores nas ciências têm demonstrado, o papel do corpo na solução de problemas por meio da metaforização apropriada não pode ser superestimado. Uma perspectiva que considere o papel do corpo no pensamento, e especialmente na metáfora, nos permitirão compreender melhor os atos que realizamos com palavras , quando usamos palavras para realizar atos. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: a origem das metáforas; atos pragmáticos; o papel do corpo humano na metaforização.

EU Universities’ Mission Statements

“…Cognitive linguists perceive metaphor as a reflection of general conceptual organization, categorization principles, and processing mechanisms (see Gibbs, 1999;Grady, 1999;Kövecses, 2002Kövecses, , 2009Lakoff, 1987;Lakoff & Johnson, 1999;Mey, 2006). In this view, metaphor is seen as a specific mental mapping and a neural co-activation influencing the way people think, reason, and imagine in their everyday life (Johnson, 1993;Lakoff, 1996;Lakoff & Johnson, 1999).…”

Metaphor Evaluation of Leadership Styles: A Case Study of Presidential New Year Greetings

“…As a result, he argues that ideologies and their structures "influence attitudes, mental models and the choice of discourse structures" (van Dijk 2011: 395). At the same time, discourse structures are also determined by one's personal and social history, interests and concerns (Chilton 2004(Chilton , 2005Goatly 2007;Mey 2006;Turner 2001). Thus, metaphor analysis makes it possible to determine the prevailing attitudes shaped by personal and social contexts.…”

“…The analysis of metaphor in political discourse as valued for its ideological nature has been widely discussed in the research of numerous cognitive linguists and discourse analysts: Goatly (2007), Lakoff (1996Lakoff ( , 2006Lakoff ( , 2011, Charteris-Black (2009, 2011, Chilton (1996), Koller (2004), Musolff (2006, Mey (2006) etc. Moreover, metaphor research is particularly valued for its interdisciplinary nature.…”

Presidential New Year Greetings: What is Implied by Metaphors

“…The effects of metaphor in political discourse have been analysed by Lakoff and Chilton (1989), Lakoff (1987), Musolff (2004, 2008, Chilton (2004), Charteris-Black (2004, 2011), Turner (2001), etc. The most widely spread metaphors underlying the language of politics can be assigned to three different groups as follows: (1) human nature, (2) motion and (3) competitive character (see Kövecses, 2002;Lakoff and Chilton, 1989;Lakoff, 1996;Lakoff and Johnson, 1999;Chilton, 2005; Charteris-Black, 2011; Mey, 2006).…”