E54: re:blurb - Conceptual Metaphor

re:verb

On today’s show, the re:verb team gets “meta” - metaPHORICAL, that is! On this re:blurb episode, we discuss the rhetorical and linguistic features of conceptual metaphors, which provide us with a way to make connections between two (often very different) processes. To put it more simply: have you ever heard the phrase “time is money”? Have you ever scolded someone for *wasting* their time, telling them that they could *spend* it doing something more *worthy*? If so, you’ve been using a very common conceptual metaphor!

Listen in as we break down a vast array of conceptual metaphors, from cultural metaphors that mediate our cognition and everyday social life to political metaphors wielded by the powerful to frame tendentious policies and practices in ways beneficial to them. As an example of the latter, we provide an analysis of the mixed political metaphor “sowing discord,” often used in the context of U.S. foreign policy rhetoric about Russia. Despite what the latter metaphor implies, we hope that this episode takes root in your mind and provides music to your ears!

Metaphor Theory References:

Chilton, P. A. (1996). Security metaphors: Cold war discourse from containment to common house (Vol. 2). Peter Lang Pub Incorporated.

Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Conceptual metaphor in everyday language. The journal of philosophy, 77(8), 453-486.

Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press.

Reddy, M. (1979). The conduit metaphor. Metaphor and thought, 2, 285-324.

Analysis References:

Countering Russian Disinformation. (2020, September 23). Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Holycross, Jordan & Riggio, Olivia. (2018, September 18). Morning Edition’s Think Tank Sources Lean to the Right. FAIR.org.

Johnson, Adam. (2016, October 1). NYT Exposes a Favorite Source as War Industry Flack. FAIR.org.

Johnson, Adam. (2017, May 8). Lockheed Martin–Funded Experts Agree: South Korea Needs More Lockheed Martin Missiles. FAIR.org.

Lipton, Eric & Williams, Brooke. (2016, August 7). How Think Tanks Amplify Corporate America’s Influence. The New York Times.

Shupak, Gregory. (2018, July 26). The Sanctification of NATO. FAIR.org.

Further Reading on Conceptual Metaphors:

Charteris-Black, J. (2006). Britain as a container: Immigration metaphors in the 2005 election campaign. Discourse & Society, 17(5): 563-581.

Grady, J. (1997). Foundations of meaning: Primary metaphors and primary scenes.

Grady, J., Oakley, T., & Coulson, S. (1999). Blending and metaphor. Amsterdam studies in the theory and history of linguistic science (Series 4), 101-124.

Ibarretxe-Antuñano, I. (2013). The relationship between conceptual metaphor and culture. Intercultural pragmatics, 10(2), 315-339.