The role of (deliberate) metaphor in communicating knowledge in academic discourse : an analysis of college lectures from different disciplines

"While the relatively recent notion of 'deliberate' metaphors - metaphors that supposedly play a special role in communication - is contested among researchers, the debate lacks empirical grounding. This book presents the first large-scale study of forms and functions of deliberate metaphors in authentic spoken academic discourse. The author's comprehensive qualitative analyses of 23 US-American college lectures from four different disciplines demonstrate that deliberate metaphors occur in various forms and fulfill important communicative functions. While these findings may indicate the value of deliberate metaphors, the author's critical discussions of both identification and application of deliberate metaphors in authentic discourse also point out issues with the very concept of 'deliberate' metaphor"-- Read more... Acknowledgements 6 Contents 8 List of Abbreviations 16 1 Introduction 18 2 Theoretical Framework: Approaches to Metaphor and its Study 26 3 Language Data and Methodological Considerations 70 4 Social Psychology: The Role of Deliberate Metaphor in Communicating Knowledge across two Different Genres of Academic Discours 130 5 Deliberate Metaphors across three Different Disciplines: Forms and Functions 182 6 Philosophy: Deliberate (?) Metaphors, Recontextualizations, and Mixed Metaphors in Negotiating the Concepts Mind and Self 228 7 Biology: The Role of Metaphors in Communicating Knowledge about DNA Transcription and Translation in four Molecular Biology Le 290 8 Chemistry: The Role of Metaphors in Communicating Knowledge about Electrochemistry and Nuclear Chemistry in four Lectures 344 9 Summary and Conclusion: The Value of Analyzing Deliberate Metaphors in Knowledge Communication – and some Limitations 382 Appendix 392 List of Figures 432 List of Tables 434 References 438 The,Role,of,(Deliberate),Metaphor,in,Communicating,Knowledge,in,Academic,Discourse "While the relatively recent notion of 'deliberate' metaphors - metaphors that supposedly play a special role in communication - is contested among researchers, the debate lacks empirical grounding. This book presents the first large-scale study of forms and functions of deliberate metaphors in authentic spoken academic discourse. The author's comprehensive qualitative analyses of 23 US-American college lectures from four different disciplines demonstrate that deliberate metaphors occur in various forms and fulfill important communicative functions. While these findings may indicate the value of deliberate metaphors, the author's critical discussions of both identification and application of deliberate metaphors in authentic discourse also point out issues with the very concept of 'deliberate' metaphor"-- Provided by publisher

While the relatively recent notion of ‘deliberate’ metaphors – metaphors that supposedly play a special role in communication – is contested among researchers, the debate lacks empirical grounding. This book presents the first large-scale study of forms and functions of deliberate metaphors in authentic spoken academic discourse. The author’s comprehensive qualitative analyses of 23 US-American college lectures from four different disciplines demonstrate that deliberate metaphors occur in various forms and fulfill important communicative functions. While these findings may indicate the value of deliberate metaphors, the author’s critical discussions of both identification and application of deliberate metaphors in authentic discourse also point out issues with the very concept of ‘deliberate’ metaphor.

This book features comprehensive qualitative metaphor analyses in US-American college lectures. The author shows that deliberate metaphors fulfill important communicative functions. However, the critical discussion of their identification and application demonstrates problems with 'deliberateness'. Conceptual Metaphor Theory - Communicating Knowledge - Metaphors in psychology - Recontextualizations - Mixed Metaphors - The Concepts Mind and Self - Science teaching - Science popularization