Published In
Metaphor and Symbol
Document Type
Post-Print
Publication Date
7-1-2008
Subjects
Metaphor, Discourse analysis, Metaphor -- Analysis
Abstract
This essay compares simulation-based accounts of metaphor processing recently proposed by Gibbs (2006a) and Ritchie (2006), using examples of metaphors based on the metaphor vehicle "journey" from four different texts. From analysis of these different examples, it is concluded that simulation may come into play at different levels, depending on the metaphor and the context in which it is used. Further, it is suggested that the imaginative simulation of the object or action named by a metaphor vehicle, proposed by Gibbs, incorporates a partial subset of detail-level perceptual simulators. This leads to the proposal that the two models describe cognitive processes that operate at different levels or stages in the metaphor interpretation process, and that they might usefully be merged into a single more comprehensive model of embodied metaphor interpretation. The more comprehensive model provides a richer theoretical context for understanding how reuse and modification of a particular metaphor (Cameron, 2007) as well as the use of apparently different metaphors that activate similar simulations can influence comprehension, and how skilled orators can use these effects to accomplish complex communicative objectives (e.g., Blair, 2005; Obst, 2003).
Rights
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Locate the Document
DOI
10.1080/10926480802223085
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/8701
Citation Details
Published as: L. David Ritchie. (2008). X IS A JOURNEY: Embodied Simulation in Metaphor Interpretation. Metaphor and Symbol, 23, 174-199.
Description
NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Metaphor and Symbol. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Metaphor and Symbol, Vol. 23, Issue 3, 2008.