The significance of metaphors for our everyday communication referring to the example “football is war”
Assignment 2
The significance of metaphors for our everyday communication referring to the example
“football is war”
Table of contents
1. Introduction………………………………………………………....3
2. Definition of metaphor……………………………………………..3
3. Reasons for using metaphors…………………………………….3
4. Metaphorical concepts……………………………………………..4
4.1 Structural metaphors………………………………………...…4
4.2 Orientational metaphors……………………………………….5
4.3 Ontological metaphors…………………………………………6
4.3.1 Container metaphors…………………………………7
4.3.2 Personifications……………………………………….8
5. Conclusion……………………………………………………………9
6. References……………………………………………………..……10
1. The majority of people think that metaphors are a stylistic device which is rather used in written language than in spoken language. But metaphors are active elements in thinking and acting, and only a few people are conscious of that fact. This firmly established language phenomenon in our everyday communication is a central part of our conceptual system which depends on the individual view of the world.
2. At first in this context the question of the definition of a metaphor arises. Lakoff and Johnson (1980: 5) constitute that “the essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another.” Thus a metaphor can be described as an implicit comparison between two different objects relating to another in a specific coherence. In cognitive linguistics it is called conceptual metaphors. Furthermore metaphors are traditionally understood as figures of speech, which compare one thing to another, to make texts more vivid, descriptive, and artistic. But according to George Lakoff and Mark Johnson metaphors are
one of our most important tools for trying to comprehend partially what cannot be comprehended totally: our feelings, aesthetic experiences, moral practices, and spiritual awareness. (Barcelona 2000: 61)
They see
The significance of metaphors for our everyday communication referring to the example
“football is war”
Table of contents
1. Introduction………………………………………………………....3
2. Definition of metaphor……………………………………………..3
3. Reasons for using metaphors…………………………………….3
4. Metaphorical concepts……………………………………………..4
4.1 Structural metaphors………………………………………...…4
4.2 Orientational metaphors……………………………………….5
4.3 Ontological metaphors…………………………………………6
4.3.1 Container metaphors…………………………………7
4.3.2 Personifications……………………………………….8
5. Conclusion……………………………………………………………9
6. References……………………………………………………..……10
1. The majority of people think that metaphors are a stylistic device which is rather used in written language than in spoken language. But metaphors are active elements in thinking and acting, and only a few people are conscious of that fact. This firmly established language phenomenon in our everyday communication is a central part of our conceptual system which depends on the individual view of the world.
2. At first in this context the question of the definition of a metaphor arises. Lakoff and Johnson (1980: 5) constitute that “the essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another.” Thus a metaphor can be described as an implicit comparison between two different objects relating to another in a specific coherence. In cognitive linguistics it is called conceptual metaphors. Furthermore metaphors are traditionally understood as figures of speech, which compare one thing to another, to make texts more vivid, descriptive, and artistic. But according to George Lakoff and Mark Johnson metaphors are
one of our most important tools for trying to comprehend partially what cannot be comprehended totally: our feelings, aesthetic experiences, moral practices, and spiritual awareness. (Barcelona 2000: 61)
They see