Metaphor Research Articles

The role of metaphor in shamanism and poetry as a therapeutic tool for healing

This paper explores the healing power of metaphor in indigenous shamanism and contemporary poetry. It explores how metaphor bridges the landscape, communicates emotions, and advances healing across cultures and languages. Analyzing specific examples from diverse shamanic traditions and contemporary poems reveals shared themes and unique approaches to metaphorical usage. The paper presents glimpses of case studies from secondary data demonstrating symbolic identity's therapeutic value. It was found helpful in treating and managing anxiety and depression. Overall, this insight reflects the power of metaphor in facilitating self-knowledge, healing, and solidifying us. It also connects us to shared human experiences. The review paper uses comparative approaches to analyze cultural knowledge and explores how poets and shamans use metaphors in different cultural settings. The research objectives involve examining and collecting academic documents related to the topic from secondary sources. Thematic analysis structures and displays the gathered material in relevant areas. Shamanism and poetry use metaphors and promote healing and personal transformation. Both practices utilize metaphorical language to access and express emotional depths and navigate challenging experiences. Thus, that fosters individual and collective well-being. They have diverse cultural traditions and contemporary quests; however, there are shared themes and unique approaches to metaphor's therapeutic function.

TCMeta: a multilingual dataset of COVID tweets for relation-level metaphor analysis

AbstractThe COVID pandemic spurred the use of various metaphors, some very common and universal, others depending on the language, country and culture. The use of metaphors by the general public, especially in languages other than English, has not yet been sufficiently investigated, one of the reasons being the lack of resources and automatic tools for metaphor analysis. To fill this gap, we introduce TCMeta, a dataset of tweets annotated for metaphors around COVID-19, in two languages from ten different countries. The dataset contains metaphoric phrases covering four source domains. Furthermore, we introduce a semi-automatic methodology to annotate more than 2000 tweets in English and Slovene. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first multilingual semi-automatically compiled dataset of user-generated texts aimed at investigating metaphorical language about the pandemic. It is also the first Slovene dataset of tweets annotated for metaphors.

The Use of Comparative and Repetitive Language Styles in the Collection of Geguritan Sêrat Plérok by Yusuf Susilo Hartono

<p>This study describes the comparative style of language found in the collection of Sêrat Plérok geguritan by Yusuf Susilo Hartono. The purpose of this study is to determine the form of comparative language style in the geguritan group of Sêrat Plérok. The research method used is a qualitative descriptive method with a stylistic approach. The data collection technique used in this research is document analysis. The source of the data used in this research is the anthology book geguritan Sêrat Plérok by Yusuf Susilo Hartono. The data used is geguritan which contains comparative language styles, the number of data found is 11 data. The results of this study are (1) simile style with 2 data, (2) metaphor language style with 4 data, and (3) personification style with 5 data. The conclusion in this study, the author wrote three comparative language styles from four types of comparative language styles in eleven data to compare things and beautify vocabulary. Comparative language style that is not found in the geguritan Sêrat Plérok anthology is allegorical style.</p>

A Study on English Translation of Poems and Lyrics by Mao Tse-tung from the Perspective of Metaphor

Mao Tse-tung is a great revolutionist, and his poems have always been praised as “A poem wins a country”. Metaphor is a process to understand and experience one thing through another thing, with its core to create undiscovered connections between ontology and metaphor, it is to combine two dissimilar things together. Poems and Lyrics written by Mao Tse-tung are rich in metaphors, this paper compares and studies four English translations of Mao Tse-tung’s poems(translated by Xu Yuanchong, Foreign Languages Press, Wang Huiming and Gu Zhengkun) from the perspective of metaphor at conceptual level, and discusses how translator deal with verbal metaphors and nominal metaphors. The results find that most of the translators choose to retain metaphors in the target language in order to accurately convey the information of the poems, which is suitable to translate metaphors in the poems.

Drawing as a Tool in Metaphor-Led Discourse Analysis

ABSTRACT The use of words to label concepts is a weak point in CMT but one which is little discussed. This article considers the relative merits of image and writing as semiotic modes for identifying conceptual metaphor domains and whether image can offer an alternative to target is source formulae. It reports on an experiment in which MA translation students draw composite drawings to represent orientational metaphoric aspects of a UK government press release. Conventional metaphoric language deriving from the orientational metaphors, especially good is up/bad is down, plays a significant role across this text, forming a “metaphor chain” pattern. The drawings and post-task interviews with the participants reveal details of the internal structure of the source domain up and how it is conceptualized. Particularly of note is the strong horizontal forward aspect of orientation which emerges when the written text is represented pictorially. The article demonstrates how drawing can be used as a tool in metaphor-led discourse analysis.

PENGGUNAAN GAYA BAHASA DALAM PUISI KARYA SISWA KELAS VIII SMP NEGERI 27 MALANG

Poetry is one of the standards for junior high school (SMP) students' literary abilities. In poetry, there is definitely a language style that functions to beautify the language in poetry. Likewise with poems written by class VIII A students at SMPN 27 Malang. Based on this, the aim of this research is to reveal the use of language styles in students' poetry, so that the types and forms of use of language styles are known and students' abilities in applying diction in poetry. The research used is qualitative. The data sources contained in this research are 34 poems written by students. From the results of the analysis, it was found that sixteen (16) types of language styles were obtained, with a total of 79. The language styles found include: the first is rhetorical reticence with the highest number of occurrences of around 22 data, then followed by the metaphor, hyperbole and personification language styles with 9 data, followed by the anaphora language style with 6 data. There are other language styles such as rhetorical questions and associations with 4 data each, followed by synecdoche pars pro toto and repetition with 3 data. Next there are the language styles of allegory, tautology, synecdoche totem pro parte which both amount to 2 data, then there are also the language styles of epic parable, simile, pleonasm, and alliteration which each have 1 data. The forms of language style units obtained from students' poetry are in the form of word units, sound units and sentence units. Finally, students' ability to apply denotative and connotative meaningful diction in poetry.

“Pilgrimage” and “Labyrinth”: Walking and Metaphor in Tim Robinson’s Stones of Aran

Tim Robinson’s acclaimed two-volume account of the Aran Islands, Stones of Aran: Pilgrimage (1986) and Stones of Aran: Labyrinth (1995), originated both in the author’s personal fascination with the islands and his professional, cartographic project when he was encouraged to produce a detailed map of the area. The digressive narratives in the companion volumes are structured around Robinson’s walks along the coast (Pilgrimage) and through the interior of Aran (Labyrinth). His generically hybrid books combine topography, folklore, human and natural history, culture and nature. Although sceptical about the tradition of romanticising the Aran Islands and a self-professed non-believer, Robinson nevertheless tends to transcend down-to-earth, factual reporting towards reflections on the spiritual and the universal. This approach paves the way for the use of metaphorical language. The article examines the intersection between the scholarly and the creative, the objective and the personal in Stones of Aran, and especially the tension between the writer’s simultaneous proclivity for and resistance to figurative language.

The Analysis of Figurative Language Found in the Prestige Movie

This research is to analyze the figurative language found in the The Prestige movie. In the movie, the use of language is essential as the tool to communicate with each other. About language, figurative language is one kind of language variety. Figurative language dramatically improves the way humans communicate meaning. The analysis and discovery of the figurative language utilized in the film The Prestige was the primary goal of this study. The purpose of this study is to identify the kinds of figurative language that are used in this film. It also seeks to identify the most often-used metaphorical language in this film. This study's author employs a qualitative methodology, which falls under the library research category. The dialogue from the film The Prestige serves as the research's data source. As a result, seven categories of figurative language were identified by the study's findings. Seven kinds of figurative language are found in the total of selected either monologue or dialogue that contains a figurative language. The figurative language found are: personification (6 data), hyperbole (9 data), metaphor (5 data), simile (2 data), and paradox (1 data). Based on the data gathered and examined, hyperbole appeared in nine data points. The hyperbole of figurative language used is the most common form in this movie.

The Translation of Joyce's Letters into Catalan

ABSTRACT: This essay focuses on the Catalan translation of a selection of James Joyce's letters, Cartes antologia . The essay discusses the main translation problems the translator encountered and the strategies and methods deployed to solve them. The difficulties analyzed center around the translation of 1) quotations from Joyce's own works, including those of works in the pre-publication stages of writing; 2) literary allusions to Homer's Odyssey and Joyce's Ulysses; 3) the combination of high and low registers; 4) wordplay; 5) idioms; and 6) metaphorical language. Natural, idiomatic language was required when translating idioms and metaphorical language. A sense of rhythm and poeticality was indispensable when translating the coalescence of high and low registers. Being able to create alliterations and near-homophones was of vital importance to convey wordplay. Familiarity with Joyce's works, especially Ulysses and its Catalan translation, was essential to translate urtexts. And, finally, a sound knowledge of the Catalan literary tradition, especially regarding the translations of the Odyssey , proved useful when translating literary allusions. In all, translating Joyce's letters is regarded as an act of literary translation, a creative process that demanded the ability to fashion a fresh, vibrant new text that had to live up to the original.

Voice Synthesis Improvement by Machine Learning of Natural Prosody.

Since the advent of modern computing, researchers have striven to make the human-computer interface (HCI) as seamless as possible. Progress has been made on various fronts, e.g., the desktop metaphor (interface design) and natural language processing (input). One area receiving attention recently is voice activation and its corollary, computer-generated speech. Despite decades of research and development, most computer-generated voices remain easily identifiable as non-human. Prosody in speech has two primary components-intonation and rhythm-both often lacking in computer-generated voices. This research aims to enhance computer-generated text-to-speech algorithms by incorporating melodic and prosodic elements of human speech. This study explores a novel approach to add prosody by using machine learning, specifically an LSTM neural network, to add paralinguistic elements to a recorded or generated voice. The aim is to increase the realism of computer-generated text-to-speech algorithms, to enhance electronic reading applications, and improved artificial voices for those in need of artificial assistance to speak. A computer that is able to also convey meaning with a spoken audible announcement will also improve human-to-computer interactions. Applications for the use of such an algorithm may include improving high-definition audio codecs for telephony, renewing old recordings, and lowering barriers to the utilization of computing. This research deployed a prototype modular platform for digital speech improvement by analyzing and generalizing algorithms into a modular system through laboratory experiments to optimize combinations and performance in edge cases. The results were encouraging, with the LSTM-based encoder able to produce realistic speech. Further work will involve optimizing the algorithm and comparing its performance against other approaches.

Eloquent Metaphors: Leveraging Linguistic Tools for Leadership in Biden's Inaugural Political Rhetoric

This study examined the intricate use of metaphorical language by President Joe Biden inaugural address, revealing its profound impact on political rhetoric and public perception. Utilizing conceptual metaphor theory as a framework, this study thoroughly identified and analyzed different types of metaphors in Biden's speech: conceptual, structural, and cultural. The analysis revealed how these metaphors transcend mere linguistic ornamentation and serve as fundamental cognitive tools that shape collective understanding and emotional connection. Biden’s speech, which is rich in metaphors, transforms complex political and social challenges into relatable stories and images that, resonate deeply with a wide audience. This study also contextualizes metaphorical use in a broader historical and cultural context, highlighting the dynamic nature of the political discourse. Moreover, it sheds light on the educational importance of understanding metaphors, emphasizing their roles in enhancing communication and rhetorical skills in various fields. This study offers deeper insight into the strategic use of metaphors in political rhetoric and how they play a crucial role in the interplay between language, cognition, and persuasion.

Metaphorical language in couple's therapy: A conceptual exploration of its impact on conflict resolution

Metaphorical language, though often overlooked, plays a pivotal role in couple's therapy, shaping the dynamics of communication and influencing conflict resolution processes. This conceptual exploration delves into the multifaceted impact of metaphorical language on the therapeutic discourse within couples. Through a synthesis of existing literature and theoretical frameworks, this paper elucidates the intricate interplay between metaphorical expressions and the resolution of relational conflicts. The use of metaphorical language in couple's therapy serves as a symbolic bridge, facilitating the articulation of deeply rooted emotions and experiences that may otherwise remain inaccessible. Metaphors act as linguistic vehicles, enabling individuals to convey complex thoughts and feelings in a manner that transcends literal expression. Within the therapeutic context, metaphors offer a creative space for couples to explore their relationship dynamics, perceptions, and narratives. Furthermore, metaphorical language not only elucidates individual experiences but also shapes the shared reality constructed by couples. Metaphors can reveal underlying relational patterns, power dynamics, and unspoken assumptions, thereby fostering insight and empathy between partners. By reframing conflicts through metaphorical lenses, couples can gain a fresh perspective on their challenges, promoting collaborative problem-solving and mutual understanding. However, the impact of metaphorical language in couple's therapy is not unidimensional. Misinterpretations or divergent interpretations of metaphors may inadvertently exacerbate misunderstandings or conflicts within the therapeutic process. Therapists must navigate the nuances of metaphorical communication sensitively, balancing interpretation with validation of individual experiences and perspectives. This conceptual exploration highlights the significance of metaphorical language in shaping the therapeutic discourse and its potential implications for conflict resolution in couple's therapy. By embracing and exploring metaphorical expressions, therapists can harness the transformative power of language to facilitate insight, empathy, and ultimately, relational healing within couples. Further empirical research is warranted to elucidate the nuanced mechanisms through which metaphorical language influences therapeutic outcomes in couple's therapy.

Role of Lexical Priming theory in the investigation of the formal characteristics of metaphoricity

This paper aims to relate the body of research and findings on the role of Michael Hoey’s Lexical Priming theory in current metaphor investigation, with special emphasis in the research on its formal representations. It is argued that the application of this theory to the analysis of metaphor, pioneered by Katie J. Patterson, sheds light to the explanation of some aspects of metaphoric language which have been of increasing interest among linguists in recent years. From a purely theoretical approach, these contributions will be thoroughly examined. The ability of this theory to account for the processes of metaphor acquisition, identification, and usage by the individual, as well as for the great diversity of metaphorical behaviours and uses, demonstrates the particular relevance of its application to the study of figurative language.

What does metaphoric language say about aggression? The relationships between metaphoric language, impulsivity, and aggression

Aggressive behavior among adolescents has been identified as a serious worldwide problem, especially when combined with trait impulsivity. This study investigates the impact of an overlooked aspect of language, namely, metaphor comprehension, on impulsivity and aggression in adolescents. A total of 204 adolescents completed self-reported questionnaires assessing impulsivity and aggression and underwent tests assessing familiar and less familiar metaphor comprehension. The findings reveal inverse relationships between metaphor comprehension and both impulsivity and aggression. Regarding aggression, notable distinctions were observed in the correlations between familiar and less familiar metaphors with specific aggression types. Additionally, impulsivity was found to mediate the relationship between the comprehension of familiar metaphors and aggression. These results are elucidated in the context of cognitive and executive functions, emphasizing the significance of considering metaphor comprehension as a cognitive process capable of modulating aggressive behavior.

Poetik der Visualität

Abstract In recent decades the poetics of the visual has attracted increased scholarly interest in cultural and historical studies; but so far, the topic has rarely been considered from intercultural perspectives. A revealing example of this is Wolfram von Eschenbach’s medieval poem Parzival, composed shortly after 1200, that suggests that his author was – at least to some extent – familiar with the arabian knowledge of his time, as transmitted through the Iberian translation Centre of Toledo. The metaphorical language of the poem evokes contrasts of light and darkness, the phenomenon of haziness and the play of colours. So far, hardly any attempt has been made to relate these motifs to contemporaneous Arabic theory of optics. Influential thinkers such as Alhazen (Ibn al-Haytham) studied the structure of the eye, the radiation of light, as well as the effects of reflection and refraction. Whereas these ideas would spread in occidental science only over the course of the 13th century (via Roger Bacon and others), Wolfram’s Parzival ‘reflects’ elementary components of Arabian optics already in an earlier period.

Metaphorical language and psychopathological symptoms: a case study of trauma victims’ metaphor use

BackgroundWhile clinical diagnosis of mental health issues focuses on factual details represented by literal language (e.g., the onset and process of the triggering event and duration of symptom), the relationship between metaphorical language and psychopathological experiences remains an intriguing question. Focusing on psychological trauma triggered by the 2019–2020 Hong Kong social unrest, this study explored the correlations between trauma victims’ quantitative metaphor usage patterns and their experience of specific Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) symptoms.MethodsForty-six individuals with trauma exposure within 28 days were recruited through convenience sampling. Each completed a 20– to 30-minute semi-structured interview and filled out the Chinese version of the Stanford Acute Stress Reaction Questionnaire (SASRQ; 1). Metaphors in the interviews were identified using the discourse dynamic approach (2), and clinically interesting categories related to trauma and emotion expression, as revealed by previous literature, were sorted out. Standardized frequencies of the categories were correlated with participants’ SASRQ scores of five major ASD symptoms, and the correlational patterns were interpreted from a discourse analytic perspective.ResultsThe study reveals how metaphor usage patterns can reflect the speakers’ differentiated experiences of psychopathological symptoms. Compared with individuals who experienced less trauma, those more disturbed by the re-experiencing symptom were more inclined to use emotion-related metaphors and to metaphorize about the self and the self-society relationship. Individuals who experienced more severe anxiety and hyperarousal showed a heightened awareness of self-related issues and diminished attention to others. Those who suffered from more severe impairment in functioning produced more metaphors in the negative valence. Dissociation and avoidance, which were less experientially salient and intense than the others, were not significantly correlated with metaphor usage patterns.ConclusionThis study establishes symptom-level metaphor usage patterns as a previously overlooked but interesting avenue in trauma evaluation, treatment, and research. While the study is confined to a single context, it nevertheless reveals the potential for metaphor research findings to be incorporated as useful materials in psychology education and therapist training.

The journey within: mental navigation as a novel framework for understanding psychotherapeutic transformation

BackgroundDespite the demonstrated efficacy of psychotherapy, the precise mechanisms that drive therapeutic transformations have posed a challenge and still remain unresolved. Here, we suggest a potential solution to this problem by introducing a framework based on the concept of mental navigation. It refers to our ability to navigate our cognitive space of thoughts, ideas, concepts, and memories, similar to how we navigate physical space. We start by analyzing the neural, cognitive, and experiential constituents intrinsic to mental navigation. Subsequently, we posit that the metaphoric spatial language we employ to articulate introspective experiences (e.g., “unexplored territory” or “going in circles”) serves as a robust marker of mental navigation.MethodsUsing large text corpora, we compared the utilization of spatial language between transcripts of psychotherapy sessions (≈ 12 M. words), casual everyday conversations (≈ 12 M. words), and fictional dialogues in movies (≈ 14 M. words). We also examined 110 psychotherapy transcripts qualitatively to discern patterns and dynamics associated with mental navigation.ResultsWe found a notable increase in the utilization of spatial metaphors during psychotherapy compared to casual everyday dialogues (U = 192.0, p = .001, d = 0.549) and fictional conversations (U = 211, p < .001, d = 0.792). In turn, analyzing the usage of non-spatial metaphors, we did not find significant differences between the three datasets (H = 0.682, p = 0.710). The qualitative analysis highlighted specific examples of mental navigation at play.ConclusionMental navigation might underlie the psychotherapy process and serve as a robust framework for understanding the transformative changes it brings about.

Critical Discourse Analysis of Trump's Tweets on the Covid-19 Pandemic

This paper presents a critical discourse analysis of Donald Trump's tweets regarding COVID-19, utilizing Fairclough's three-dimensional model and Halliday's systemic functional linguistics to examine the language used. The analysis centers on two tweets that illustrate Trump's politicization of the pandemic and the propagation of stigmatization through social media. The research examines the stylistic and formal characteristics of Trump's tweets, focusing on his use of metaphorical language and blame-shifting tactics, specifically his labeling of COVID-19 as a 'Chinese virus.' The analysis also investigates discourse practices, connecting Trump's rhetoric on the U.S.-China trade agreement and pandemic response to wider political narratives. The study analyzes the socio-cultural implications of Trump's discourse at a macro level. It highlights how his discourse exacerbated xenophobia, nationalism, and social divisions during the global health crisis. The findings demonstrate that Trump's tweets influenced public perceptions and international relations, reinforcing anti-China attitudes and contributing to a polarized public response to the pandemic. This study emphasizes the significance of a critical and reflective approach to political communication, particularly during times of crisis. It also offers insights into the creation and dissemination of ideological narratives in the digital era.

What we inherit and what we create. Making the case for an interpretive approach to societal cultures

To deal with the omnipresence of otherness in today’s culturally-complex world, Cross-Cultural Management (CCM) investigates the interrelations between culture and management. The most recent research denaturalizes culture to emphasize the construction of otherness as an instrument of power plays. Thus, it refutes the very possibility of vast national cultures, given the cultural diversity found in modern societies. This conceptual article revisits the notion of culture and provides a definition that makes it possible to grasp both what is inherited and what is created in ‘otherness’. It draws upon an interpretive approach to culture which, although still overlooked in English-language research on CCM, has for several decades been developed in France. The socalled Gestion &amp; Société approach posits that the root causes of otherness lie in the diversity of culturally-shared major fears and ideal ways of living together to counteract them. This approach breaks new ground by emphasizing the inherited cultural references underlying the individuals’ sense-making and by acknowledging the individual agency of the stakeholders who use these references to create new intercultural arrangements in cross-cultural encounters at work. A language metaphor is used to show how the inherited part of culture and the part that is created are articulated. Examples of empirical findings illustrate the benefits of this approach to overcome the critical effects of otherness. The value of its contribution to the understanding of otherness is assessed in comparison with other interpretive approaches, and avenues for future research are discussed.

Teaching free improvisation: European higher music education teachers’ conceptual tools

In higher music education (HME) contexts, free improvisation is currently a rapidly evolving field across musical genres. Previous research indicates that teaching and learning improvisation can be challenging, depending on students’ experience and how improvised music-making is facilitated, but few studies address free improvisation in HME. Our study has explored this field by utilising qualitative interviews with teachers of free improvisation in European HME institutions. Results provided insight into teachers’ motivation and the educational aims which informed their approaches to teaching improvisation. Some teachers referred to a canon of free improvised or experimental music and well-known improvisers, interpreted as a need amongst the teachers to position and legitimise a potentially marginalised subject within institutions. Teachers in our study used different types of frameworks to develop students’ ability to interact and listen. Focusing on musical parameters, limitations of choices or language metaphors were often used as tools for acquiring such aims. Results further indicate that free improvisation should be a safe space, enhance democratic values and disrupt hierarchies of knowledge. In sum, our study contributes to mapping and understanding contradictions and complexities of this developing area of pedagogy.