Module V·Article II·~2 min read
Cognitive Linguistics: Metaphors We Live By
Linguistic Relativity and Cognitive Linguistics
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Lakoff and Johnson: Conceptual Metaphor
George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (“Metaphors We Live By”, 1980) made a revolution in the understanding of metaphor. The traditional view: metaphor is a poetic embellishment, a rhetorical device. Lakoff and Johnson: metaphor is a fundamental mechanism of thought. We understand abstract concepts through the concrete.
“Argument is war”: He attacked each of my arguments. His position is invulnerable. He won the argument. This metaphor structures our understanding of argument: there is a winner and a loser, positions attack and defend. It would be possible to understand argument differently: “Argument is building”: we build understanding together, each brings bricks.
Different metaphors create different consequences and different possibilities for action.
Orientational and Ontological Metaphors
Orientational metaphors: “good is up, bad is down.” “Mood dropped” (depression — movement downward). “Stocks went up” (growth — upward). “He is at the peak of success.” These spatial metaphors are so rooted that they seem “literal.” But they are metaphors: good is not literally “higher.”
Ontological metaphors: the abstract is thought of as a thing, a container, or a person. “Inflation is our enemy” (personification). “They are in a state of shock” (mental state — container). “Our plan collapsed” (the abstract as physical object).
Conceptual Metaphor in Negotiations and Leadership
Leaders who know the power of metaphor use it consciously. Churchill: “Iron curtain” — a physical metaphor for political reality, which became literal in the perception of the Cold War. Reagan: “American morning” — a temporal metaphor of hope and a new beginning.
In negotiations: “This is our Rubicon” (point of no return) vs. “This is a fork in the road” (choice of path) — different frames for the same situation. The first creates tension, the second — a sense of possibility.
Question for reflection: Find three dominant metaphors in your professional speech. What are their consequences? What alternative metaphors could open new possibilities for thinking?
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