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The career of metaphor (2005)
| Venue: | Psychological Review |
| Citations: | 92 - 3 self |
BibTeX
@ARTICLE{Bowdle05thecareer,
author = {Brian F. Bowdle and Dedre Gentner},
title = {The career of metaphor},
journal = {Psychological Review},
year = {2005},
pages = {216}
}
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Abstract
A central question in metaphor research is how metaphors establish mappings between concepts from different domains. The authors propose an evolutionary path based on structure-mapping theory. This hypothesis-the career of metaphor-postulates a shift in mode of mapping from comparison to categorization as metaphors are conventionalized. Moreover, as demonstrated by 3 experiments, this processing shift is reflected in the very language that people use to make figurative assertions. The career of metaphor hypothesis offers a unified theoretical framework that can resolve the debate between comparison and categorization models of metaphor. This account further suggests that whether metaphors are processed directly or indirectly, and whether they operate at the level of individual concepts or entire conceptual domains, will depend both on their degree of conventionality and on their linguistic form. Over the past two decades, the cognitive perspective on metaphor has undergone a radical shift. Traditionally, metaphors have been treated as both rare in comparison to literal language and largely ornamental in nature. Current research suggests precisely the opposite. Rather than being restricted to poetic uses, metaphor is common in everyday communication (e.g., Graesser, Long, &
Keyphrases
entire conceptual domain literal language processing shift categorization model metaphor hypothesis radical shift different domain individual concept evolutionary path current research central question figurative assertion poetic us structure-mapping theory metaphor research hypothesis-the career linguistic form unified theoretical framework cognitive perspective everyday communication
