Metaphor

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MetaphorS Definition,classification and
functions
By Group 6
2
Background
3
Questionnaire
1.Do you know the word metaphor? A. Yes B. No
C. Not sure 2.Do you know the definition of
metaphors? A. Yes B. No C. Not sure 3.Do you
often use metaphors in daily life? A. Yes B. No
C. Not sure 4.Do you know the functions of
metaphors in daily life? A. Yes B. No C. Not
sure
5. Do you know how to correctly use metaphors?
A. Yes B. No C. Not sure 6. Do you know how
many kinds can metaphors be divided into? A. Yes
B. No C. Not sure 7. Can you list some examples
of metaphors? A. Yes B. No C. Not sure 8. Do
you think the metaphor is important in daily
life? A. Yes B. No C. Not sure
4
Chart Analysis (sample50)
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• We have invited 50 online friends to do
  the questionnaire for us,after we analyze the
  results, we find that not so many people know
  metaphor or the details of it clearly,such as
  its definition,classification and its functions.
  Therefore, we choose this topic for our research.

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History of metaphors

• The idea of metaphor can be traced
  back to Aristotle who, in his Poetics (around
  335 BC), defines metaphor as follows Metaphor
  is the application of a strange term either
  transferred from the genus and applied to the
  species or from the species and applied to the
  genus, or from one species to another or else by
  analogy. For the sake of clarity and
  comprehension it might additionally be useful to
  quote the following two alternative translations
  Metaphor is the application of an alien name by
  transference either from genus to species, or
  from species to genus, or from species to
  species, or by analogy, that is, proportion. Or,
  as Halliwell puts it in his translation
  Metaphor is the application of a word that
  belongs to another thing either from genus to
  species, species to genus, species to species, or
  by analogy.

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Our Group Members Assignments

• Liu Fowa1.Search for the definition of
  metaphors.
• 2.Make the questionnaire and analyze the results
  at last.
• Qiu Xi1.Find some examples of metaphors.2.Deliver
  the presentation.
• Lu Xiaoke 1.Divide the examples weve found into
  groups according to some standards. 2.Deliver the
  presentation.
• Yang Lizhu1.Search for the functions of
  metaphors. 2.Put all the materials weve found
  together ,make the final PPT and write the
  written paper.

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Whats the definition
of metaphor?
---------By Liu Fowa
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• From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• A metaphor is an analogy between two objects
  or ideas the analogy is conveyed by the use of a
  metaphorical word in place of some other
• word.
• From Eaglestone
• Metaphor roughly means to transfer. They
  transfer meaning by using a term to describe
  something else .
• From English Collins Dictionary
• A metaphor is an imaginative way of
  describing something by referring to something
  else which is the same in a particular way.

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• From linguist George Lakoff and philosopher
  Mark Johnson
• The essence of metaphor is understanding and
  experiencing one kind of thing in terms of
  another.
• From Lakoff and Johnson
• In all aspects of life, ... we define our
  reality in terms of metaphors and then proceed to
  act on the basis of the metaphors. We draw
  inferences, set goals, make commitments, and
  execute plans, all on the basis of how we in part
  structure our experience, consciously and
  unconsciously, by means of metaphor

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• Examples weve found
• ---By Qiu Xi

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Examples weve found

• You're looking pretty rabbit -- what's up?(Youre
  looking so fretfulwhats up?)
• 'Metrosexual' is a modern word for an urban
  heterosexual male who is overly concerned with
  appearance.('Metrosexual' is used to describe
  male who is overly concerned with appearance.)
•  That lends weight to the argument.(That makes
  the argument more important.)
• They stood alone, frozen statues on the
  plain.(They stood alone, keeping unmoved)
• The ball happily danced into the net.(The goal
  was scored.)
• I was lost in thought. (I was in deep thought.)
• She flew at him. (She was angry with him.)
• He was rattled. (He was terrified.)
• New era business is a whole different ball
  game.(New era business is a whole different
  situation.)
• We were drinking the white.(We were drinking
  coffee with milk in it.)

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Examples weve found

• I am the dog end of every day.(Im tired end of
  every day.)
• That is worth less than a dead didgeridoo.(That
  is worth nothing.)
• We faced a scallywag of tasks.(We faced hard
  tasks.)
• Let me compare thee to an artic day, sharp and
  bright, forever light...(You are wonderful.)
• It's been a purple dinosaur of a day.(It is a
  stupid moment of a day.)
• I'll chew on it. (Ill think about it.)
• Her thoughts were on the wing. (She is thinking
  about it.)
• Fabulous was something worthy of fable. Like many
  other superlatives, it has lost its original edge
  and now just means 'good'. (Fabulous has lost its
  original meaning,now it just means 'good .)
• Roasting today! (Its so hot today!)

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Examples weve found

• He legged it.( Here leg means walk by foot).
• A photon struck him bolts were for greater men.
  (Here photon means small idea bolts means
  big ideas).
• I like your wheels, man! (wheels means car).
• Nice bit of skirt. (Here skirt young girl,bit
  of skirt is a slang).
• Try this nib. (Here nib means pen).
• She danced, a wild and gothic fairy. ( Here
  gothic fairy means a kind of fairy that have
  gothic characteristics).
•  Thick, primal, blind fog descended before his
  eyes. (Here blind describes fog in order to
  express the thickness of fog).
• The car screeched in hated anguish, its flesh
  laid bare in the raucous collision.
  (Originally,anguish is a kind of feeling of human
  beings, but here it describes the car).
• He is the pointing gun, we are the bullets of his
  desire. ( Here he is compared to the pointing
  gun and we are compared to the bullets).

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Examples weve found

• The origin of the whole nine yards(all of it
  completely) seems unknown, even to an expert word
  website. 
• The President has his hand firmly on the tiller
  of government and it is now plain sailing (smooth
  /easy sailing).
• He's a loose cannon (somebody that is out of
  control) who always goes off the deep end (makes
  bad choice and their lives become crazy).
• Footloose (who is carefree) and fancy-pants
  (people who think they are better than others).
• He often shot his mouth off in the dark (speaks
  before listening).
• A rolling stone gathers no bird in the hand.
  (somebody keeps moving and dose not have a place
  to call home)
• It was playing with fire in the belly. (doing
  something dangerous)

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Examples weve found

• Thanks -- thats just the ticket, old chap. Im
  over the moon about it(over the moonmeans very
  happy or delighted).
• All the worlds a stage and men and women merely
  players. ( Life is like a play - we merely go
  through the stages of our life acting it out).
• Panting hard, he hand-braked the corner,
  power-sliding into the doorway. running as
  driving
• Noisy twinkling in the night, the shares blew
  hypnotic shards of brilliance down on the hopeful
  investors. Share price movement as a sky-rocket
  firework
• Winning the argument. (argument as war)
• Time is money.
• Life as journey.
• Cool down! Cool temperature
• He was mad. mad anger

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The Classifications of Metaphors ------By Lu
Xiaoke
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• The examples weve found can be divided into
  15 different groups. They are
• Absolute metaphor , Active metaphor , Complex
  metaphor , Compound metaphor, Dead metaphor ,
  Dormant metaphor, Dying metaphor ,Extended
  metaphor, Implicit metaphor ,Pataphor,
• Root metaphor, Simple metaphor , Submerged
  metaphor ,
• Synechdochic metaphor

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Absolute metaphor ????

• Examples
• I am the dog end of every day.
• That is worth less than a dead digeridoo.
• We faced a scallywag of tasks.
• Description
• An absolute metaphor is one where there is
  absolutely no connection between the subject and
  the metaphor.

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Active metaphor ????

• Examples
• Let me compare thee to an artic day, sharp and
  bright, forever light...
• It's been a purple dinosaur of a day.
• You're looking pretty rabbit -- what's up?
• 'Metrosexual' is a modern word for an urban
  heterosexual male who is overly concerned with
  appearance.
• Description
• An active metaphor is one which is relatively new
  and hence is not necessarily apparent to all
  listeners, although if the metaphor is
  well-selected, it will be easy enough to
  understand.

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Complex metaphor ????

• Examples
• That lends weight to the argument.
• They stood alone, frozen statues on the plain.
• The ball happily danced into the net.
• Description
• A complex metaphor happens where a simple
  metaphor is base on a secondary metaphoric
  element.

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Compound metaphor????

• Examples
• She danced, a wild and gothic fairy.
• Thick, primal, blind fog descended before his
  eyes.
• The car screeched in hated anguish, its flesh
  laid bare in the raucous collision.
• Description
• A compound metaphor is one where there are
  multiple elements in the metaphor that are used
  to snag the listener. These elements may be
  enhancement words such as adverbs, adjectives,
  etc.
• Each element in the compound metaphor may be used
  to signify an additional item of meaning.

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Dead metaphor ???

• Examples
• Fabulous was something worthy of fable. Like many
  other superlatives, it has lost its original edge
  and now just means 'good'.
• Money was so called because it was first minted
  at the temple Juno Moneta.
• The origin of 'the whole nine yards' seems
  unknown, even to an expert word website.
• Description
• A dead metaphor occurs where the once-evocative
  transferred image is no longer effective or even
  understood, perhaps being lost in the aeons of
  time.

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Dormant metaphor????

• Examples
• I was lost in thought. How?
• She flew at him. Why? In anger? Love?
• He was rattled. Why? By what or whom?
• Description
• A dormant metaphor is one where the connection
  between the vehicle and the subject is not clear.

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Dying metaphor ????

• Examples
• New era business is a whole different ball game.
• The President has his hand firmly on the tiller
  of government and it is now plain sailing.
• Thanks -- that's just the ticket, old chap. I'm
  over the moon about it.
• Description
• A dying metaphor is one which has become so
  over-used, it is considered unfashionable or
  lacking in eloquence to use it. In effect, it is
  a cliché.

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Extended metaphor ????

• Examples
• He is the pointing gun, we are the bullets of his
  desire.
• All the world's a stage and men and women merely
  players.
• Let me count my loves of thee, my rose garden, my
  heart, my fixed mark, my beginning and my end.
• Description
• An extended metaphor is one where there is a
  single main subject to which additional subjects
  and metaphors are applied.
• The extended metaphor may act as a central theme,
  for example where it is used as the primary
  vehicle of a poem and is used repeatedly and in
  different forms.

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Implicit metaphor ????

• Examples
• Roasting today! 
• She had the screaming.
• We were drinking the white.
• Description
• In an implicit metaphor, the full subject is not
  explained, but is implied from the context of the
  sentence.

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Mixed metaphor ????

• Examples
• He's a loose cannon who always goes off the deep
  end.
• Footloose and fancy-pants.
• He often shot his mouth off in the dark.
• A rolling stone gathers no bird in the hand.
• It was playing with fire in the belly.
• Description
• A mixed metaphor is one where the metaphor is
  internally inconsistent, for example where
  multiple metaphors are used which do not align
  with one another.
• The metaphors used often have some connection,
  although this is often tenuous or inappropriate.

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Pataphor ????

• Examples
• Panting hard, he hand-braked the corner,
  power-sliding into the doorway. running as
  driving
• Noisy twinkling in the night, the shares blew
  hypnotic shards of brilliance down on the hopeful
  investors. Share price movement as a sky-rocket
  firework
• Description
• The pataphor is an extreme form of metaphor,
  taking the principle to its limit, where the
  basic metaphor is typically not mentioned but
  extensions to it are used without reference.

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Root metaphor????

• Examples
• Winning the argument. (argument as war)
• Time is money.
• Life as journey.
• Description
• A root metaphor is one which is so embedded
  within a language or culture that it is often not
  realized as being a metaphor.

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Simple metaphor ????

• Examples
• Cool down!
• He was mad.
• I'll chew on it. 
• Description
• A simple metaphor has a single link between the
  subject and the metaphoric vehicle. The vehicle
  thus has a single meaning which is transferred
  directly to the subject.

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Synechdochic metaphor????

• Examples
• I like your wheels, man! wheels car
• Nice bit of skirt. skirt woman
• Try this nib. nib pen
• Description
• The synechdochic metaphor is one where a small
  part or element of something is used to represent
  the whole.

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Submerged metaphor????

• Examples
• Her thoughts were on the wing.
• He legged it.
• A photon struck him bolts were for greater men.
• Description
• A Submerged metaphor is one in which the
  metaphoric vehicle is indicated by one part of
  it.
• Typically, the element selected to be the
  metaphor has particular significance for the
  intended meaning.

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What are the functions of metaphors? ---By Yang
Lizhu
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Functions of metaphors

• 1. They can add ornamental (???)or poetic
  flourish to language--as when William Shakespeare
  refers to the sun as the eye of heaven and writes
  of variations in sunny days in terms of the state
  of the suns gold complexion(??) in a certain
  context, one can conceive of the sun in the sky
  shining its light to see the Earth, the sun god
  keeping an eye on its territory, sometimes making
  it hot for us.

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Functions of metaphors

• 2. They can give new meanings to words as when
  a virus has infected ones computer system,
  infected not by a biological virus but by an
  encoded algorithm (??)that behaves like one
• 3. They can reduce overload in mental storage of
  units of knowledge, thereby facilitating(???)
  discourse(??).

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Functions of metaphors

• 4. They can express our experiences in rich and
  vivid language, which, through the emotional
  impact that accompanies a rich and vivid
  reconceptualization(????) of domains(??), often
  fosters a communicative and/or explanatory role
  of metaphor.

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Functions of metaphors

• Aristotle (?????)says something to that effect in
  his Rhetoric"Liveliness is specially conveyed by
  metaphor, and by the further power of surprising
  the hearer because the hearer expected something
  different, his acquisition of the new idea
  impresses him all the more. His mind seems to
  say, 'Yes, to be sure I never thought of that'."
  

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Functions of metaphors

• 5. They can spark creativityWhen we experience
  radical(???) metaphor, we can be aware of an
  initial double-focus effect, a blur (??)produced
  when images from different realms(?,??) of
  experience are suddenly superimposed (??)on each
  other. In successful metaphor, such confusion
  quickly resolves itself into a startling new
  perception of reality. By bringing together
  images not previously combined, metaphor can
  spark a conflagration of thought that is the
  essence of creativity.

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Functions of metaphors

• 6. They can underpin(??,??) the cognitive(???)
  function of conceptualizing also by
  aggregating(??) with other conceptual metaphors
  in the unconscious mind, where most thinking and
  remembering occurs, thereby constructing a
  conceptual system for an individual, or for
  social, political, commercial or professional
  groups, as manifested(??) in the discourse of
  those groups.

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Functions of metaphors

• 7. They can generate(??) new metaphors through
  their generation of insight into a phenomenon,
  which can generate additional insight leading to
  new metaphors, continuation of the process
  resulting in a network of metaphors offering
  fuller insight into the phenomenon through
  development of a conceptual system--as when
  ....the metaphor of the genetic code kicked off
  (??)several related metaphors such as "genetic
  translation," "words," "genetic reading,"
  "transcription," "making sense," "making
  nonsense," "dictionaries," "libraries.....

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Functions of metaphors

• 8. They can accomplish metaphor-related
  pedagogical (???)goals using a constructed
  fictional, sometimes fantastical(???), novel
  concept as when Kosslyn and Koenig, in their
  book, Wet MindThe New Cognitive
  Neuroscience(????),construct a fictional
  scenario(?????) of rows of octopi
  (???)unknowingly generating information output
  about local fish density to overhead seagulls
  through interactions of their tentacles(????), a
  metaphor they constructed to explain the nature
  and operation of a connectionist neural network

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Functions of metaphors

• 9. They can influence the frame or cast of mind
  of the listener/reader regarding an issue,
  perhaps leading to action as when politicians
  use expressions such as right to life(???), war
  on terror(????), and surge( ????
  ,???????????????).

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Functions of metaphors

• 10. They can, by diffusion(??,??) from one domain
  of discourse (e.g., science) to another (e.g.,
  economics, popular culture), each of which have
  their own codes or conventions of discourse,
  acquire new variants of meaning, potentially
  producing new knowledge in the invaded domain or
  even changing the domain's perspective of reality
  a creative or innovative role of metaphor.

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Functions of metaphors

• 11. They can occupy the minds of mind-scholars,
  from many different intellectual fields of study,
  in the study of the nature of metaphor and its
  relevance to understanding the nature of the
  mind.

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References

• http//en.citizendium.org/wiki/MetaphorFunctions_
  of_metaphor
• http//literaryzone.com/?p99
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphor
• English Collins Dictionary

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Thank you!