Dark Matter of Metaphor: What Metaphoricity Reveals about the Mind

Abstract

Broadly speaking, this paper engages with research on the possibility of conscious metaphor processing. In particular, it aims to look into the events in which linguistic metaphors being used in discourse could be deautomatized (Kyratzis, 2003) ‒ i.e., in which they could be recognized as metaphors ‒, as well as to look into discursive components which would be able to afford such a deautomatization. Based on the notions of conceptual metaphor (Lakoff; Johnson, 2002 [1980]) and metaphoricity (Müller, 2008), this paper proceeds with identification and analysis of both the occurrence of activation devices of metaphoricity and their effects upon metaphor use, in an attempt to account for how such use could become directly accessible to introspective consciousness. Outcomes from this investigation suggest that some co-occurring textual elements, such as certain adverbs, conjunctions, and images, would be able to afford the recognition of linguistic metaphors as such in discourse.

Keywords:
Metacognition; Deautomatization; Metaphor; Metaphoricity