Information and Experience in Metaphor: A Perspective From Computer Analysis

Novel linguistic metaphor can be seen as the assignment of attributes to a topic through a vehicle belonging to another domain. The experience evoked by the vehicle is a significant aspect of the meaning of the metaphor, especially for abstract metaphor, which involves more than mere physical similarity. In this article I indicate, through description of a specific model, some possibilities as well as limitations of computer processing directed toward both informative and experiential/affective aspects of metaphor. A background to the discussion is given by other computational treatments of metaphor analysis, as well as by some questions about metaphor originating in other disciplines. The approach on which the present metaphor analysis model is based is consistent with a theory of language comprehension that includes both the intent of the originator and the effect on the recipient of the metaphor. The model addresses the dual problem of (a) determining potentially salient properties of the vehicle concept, and (b) defining extensible symbolic representations of such properties, including affective and other connotations. The nature of the linguistic analysis underlying the model suggests how metaphoric expression of experiential components in abstract metaphor is dependent on the nominalization of actions and attributes. The inverse process of undoing such nominalizations in computer analysis of metaphor constitutes a translation of a metaphor to a more literal expression within the metaphor-nonmetaphor dichotomy

Cops, popes, and garbage collectors: metaphor and antagonism in an atheist/Christian YouTube video thread

Using a discourse dynamics, metaphor-led analysis, this article investigates the use of metaphor in three YouTube videos made by two American YouTube users: one fundamentalist Christian and one atheist. The focus of the analysis is on how metaphor was produced dynamically in the interaction between the users as they discussed the appropriateness of user actions. Metaphorical language was of key importance to the discourse event, and was explicitly oriented to by the participants: The Christian user suggests an analogy between himself and a “cop,” the atheist retaliates that the Christian believes himself to be “the Pope of YouTube,” and the Christian resists this characterization, with other users leaving text comments that also directly respond to the “Pope of YouTube” metaphor. The analysis shows that YouTube users employed metaphors to describe and validate their activity on YouTube, and that although metaphor use did not differ depending on the user's ideological position, users reinterpreted and subverted the metaphor use of others to assert their own opinions about the community

Metaphor and philosophy: an encounter with Derrida

This paper presents a critical analysis of the central argument of Derrida's paper 'White Mythology'. The crucial claims are that the concept of metaphor presupposes philosophy, that philosophy presupposes the concept of metaphor, and that philosophy cannot accommodate the concept of metaphor. I offer support for the first two claims, explaining the general kind of view of philosophy and of metaphor which they require, but I argue that even if we grant the first two claims, the concept of metaphor only presents a difficulty for a particular conception of philosophy, rather that philosophy as such

Contextual Effects on Metaphor Comprehension: Experiment and Simulation

This paper presents a computational model of referential metaphor comprehension. This model is designed on top of Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), a model of the representation of word and text meanings. Compre­hending a referential metaphor consists in scanning the semantic neighbors of the metaphor in order to find words that are also semantically related to the context. The depth of that search is compared to the time it takes for humans to process a metaphor. In particular, we are interested in two independent variables : the nature of the reference (either a literal meaning or a figurative meaning) and the nature of the context (inductive or not inductive). We show that, for both humans and model, first, metaphors take longer to process than the literal meanings and second, an inductive context can shorten the processing time

The Pope of YouTube: Metaphor and misunderstanding in Atheist-Christian YouTube dialogue

Using a discourse dynamics analysis, this article investigates the use of metaphor in three YouTube videos made by two American YouTube users: one a fundamentalist Christian and one an atheist. The focus of the analysis is on how metaphor was produced dynamically in the interaction and what this interaction may tell us about how misunderstanding occurred between the two users. Analysis shows that understanding of specific metaphors seems to differ depending on who is producing and interpreting a given metaphor

The study of metaphor as part of Critical Discourse Analysis

This article discusses how the study of metaphoric and more generally, figurative language use contributes to critical discourse analysis (CDA). It shows how cognitive linguists’ recognition of metaphor as a fundamental means of concept- and argument-building can add to CDA's account of meaning constitution in the social context. It then discusses discrepancies between the early model of conceptual metaphor theory and empirical data and argues that discursive-pragmatic factors as well as sociolinguistic variation have to be taken into account in order to make cognitive analyses more empirically and socially relevant. In conclusion, we sketch a modified cognitive approach informed by Relevance Theory within CDA

Metaphor. The good argument in science communication

The relation between metaphor and argumentation in science communication is becoming a crucial tool for critical metaphor studies. In this article, by means of a crossed analysis (epistemological, cognitive and linguistic), I focus especially on a peculiar dynamic of metaphor use in scientific communication showing opposite, paradoxical attitudes towards the use of metaphors, respectively, ubiquity vs. invisibility, inclination vs. resistance, deliberate vs. non-deliberate. In this way, an overall philosophical reflection about the underlying reasons for the ambivalence in the use of metaphor in scientific communication would be proposed and discussed

Five Differences Between Ecological and Economic Networks

Ecological and economic networks have many similarities and are often compared. However, the comparison is often more apt as metaphor than a direct equivalence. In this paper, five key differences are explained which should inform any analysis which compares the two.Comment: 4 page

Guardian angels and teachers from hell: using metaphor as a measure of schools' experiences and expectations of General National Vocational Qualifications

In this paper the author examines some claims about the nature of metaphor, its possible significance in illuminating cultural, institutional, and personal constructs, and some ways in which this has been applied in educational research. To illustrate the application of metaphor analysis, the paper describes an examination of the figurative language used by teachers and headteachers in six English secondary schools when speaking about their new vocational curriculum and its students. Transcripts of interviews were scrutinized for metaphorical and other figurative modes of expression, and instances were identified of recurring patterns and themes. This paper argues that the metaphorical language employed within each of the schools reflects a lower level of esteem for the vocational qualification and the pupils taking it than that which is overtly expressed, and suggests that the negative metaphors employed by the headteacher may be instrumental in determining the status of such qualifications within the school