Metaphor Clusters, Metaphor Chains: Analyzing the Multifunctionality of Metaphor in Text

Abstract

This paper applies Halliday's (1994) theory of the interpersonal, ideational and textual meta-functions of language to conceptual metaphor. Starting from the observation that metaphoric expressions tend to be organized in chains across texts, the question is raised what functions those expressions serve in different parts of a text as well as in relation to each other. The empirical part of the article consists of the sample analysis of a business magazine text on marketing. This analysis is two-fold, integrating computer-assisted quantitative investigation with qualitative research into the organization and multifunctionality of metaphoric chains as well as the cognitive scenarios evolving from those chains. The paper closes by summarizing the main insights along the lines of the three Hallidayan meta-functions of conceptual metaphor and suggesting functional analysis of metaphor at levels beyond that of text.

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