Metaphor modeling in different types of
discourse: comparative aspect
Svetlana Mishlanova,Svetlana Polyakova,
Tatyana UtkinaPerm, Russia
Contents
Introduction Material and methods Metaphor representations in
different discourse types Metaphor scheme Results of comparison
Conceptualization and categorization of specialized knowledge
not only traditional fields of LSP like terminology and genre studies
but also specialized discourse and different types of knowledge
Basic Notions Discourse Concept Concept representation Metaphor Metaphor model
Discourse Verbal activity in specialized field
(politics, law, medicine, economics etc.)
Concept mental unit all types of knowledge (from naïve
ideas to scientific notions) produced in discourse
multilevel hierarchical conceptual structure correlating with particular scientific history and/or development of professional competence
Concept representation internal representation (frame,
mental mapping etc.) external representation (verbal,
graphic, musical, other cultural codes)
Cognitive Theory of Metaphor
METAPHOR is a universal mental mechanism that uses previously
acquired knowledge
Metaphor representation Conceptual
metaphor
Language metaphor (on the basis of
verbal data)
Target / Source (Lakoff)
Denotative descriptor / Significative descriptor
(Baranov & Karaulov)
Conceptual metaphor: Target
FRAME Mental representation of Target Structure of concept (specialized
knowledge) Consists of slots (basic slots,
subslots etc.)
Conceptual metaphor: SourceMETAPHOR MODELMental representation of SourceConsists of Basic domains (H / N) Basic metaphor models (HB / HA, AN / IN) Taxons (Professional Activity, Politics and War, Culture
etc.) Subtaxons (Law, Army, Weapon etc.) Terminal taxons (delinquency, fire-arms, cold steel etc.) Metaphors (lymphocyte-killer, guilty allergen, shooting
pain etc.)
Frame vs Metaphor Model
Target Source(Frame) Metaphor Model
Concept Metaphor Model
Frame vs Metaphor Model Concept is structured not as frame,
it is categorized in the “mirror of metaphor”
Хотя сама ММ – исходно наиболее релевантный или освоенный (частотный) фрагмент фрейма
Language metaphor: Denotative descriptor
The set of texts representing concept in discourse
Definite topic and theme repertoire
Language metaphor: Significative descriptor
Metaphor thesaurus The set of all metaphors obtained
in discourse connected by different semantic relations (those of function, cause, example etc.)
Metaphor scheme The set of basic metaphor models
in particular quantitative relation
Metaphor SchemeDividing into 4 basic metaphor models Human Being Animated Nature Unanimated Nature Human ActivityTwo predominant metaphor models compose the
nucleus of the metaphor scheme; two less representative metaphor models belong to its peripheral part
Gives uniform treatment to the many different metaphor models so that different types of discourse can be contrasted and compared
Discourse typology Different types of concept representation Different phases of speech production
(internal & external speech) (Vygotsky, Leontyev)
Language competence & language performance (Chomsky)
‘Language-competence’ & ‘language-text’ (Karaulov)*
* According to Ju. Karaulovthere are three forms of language representation:‘language-system’, ‘language-text’ and ‘language-
competence’
Hypothesis Metaphor modeling depends on the
type of concept representation (respectively, on the discourse type)
i.e. there are different metaphor schemes in different forms of language representation (‘language-text’ and ‘language-competence’)
Aim To compare metaphor models in
different forms of language representation (‘language-text’ and ‘language-competence’) in Russian, English and German medical discourse
Design
Text
Scientific
Rus
Ger
Eng
Concept MMPopular
Rus
Eng
AssociationsRus
Eng
Material and Methods
Text analysis Scientific medical texts (R + G +
E) Popular medical texts (R + E)Psycholinguistic study Associative field (R + E)
Text analysis 3000 examples of metaphor chosen by
the method of entire selection from scientific medical text of different genres (monographs, scientific articles, conference proceedings, clinical manuals etc.)
2800 examples of metaphor chosen by the method of entire selection from popular medical text (magazine and newspaper articles concerning medical tasks, children encyclopedia etc.)
Examples from the Russian medical discourse
Аминокислоты взаимодействуют с ионом цинка, а расположенная между ними полипептидная цепочка ВЫПЕТЛИВАЕТСЯ в виде «пальца...
В дальнейшем может появиться напряжение мышц конечностей, прямых мышц живота, который становится ТВЕРДЫМ, КАК ДОСКА
При тщательном рентгенологическом исследовании над аспергиллемой можно обнаружить ВОЗДУШНЫЙ СЕРП
Вместо меченного антикроличьего гамма-глобулина используют антикозий гамма-глобулин. Эта операция применяется для проверки неспецифического связывания с клетками меченых АТ, а также для контроля неспецифических «СЭНДВИЧЕЙ» с немеченым античеловеческим Ig
Examples from the English medical discourse
As the disease progresses, the mucosal contour gains a granulated appearence, AS THOUGHT IT WERE COATED WITH ICING SUGAR [
When the mucosa is undermined by the necrotic process, the characteristic «SHIRT STUD» ULCERS become visible
Several diseases CAN MIMIC the clinical and endoscopic appearance of Crohn's disease
Crohn's disease. Endoscopic findings: bizarre, «MAP-LIKE» NECROSIS..., paving-stone pattern by alternation of necrosis...
The remission phase is characterised by the healing of the ulcers. Frequently, MUCOSAL ISLANDS or prominent areas of granulation tissue are visible...
Examples from the German medical discourse Akutes Lungenödem. Das klinische Bild eindrucksvoll:
schwerste Atemnot mit lautem, weithin hörbarem Rasseln («LUNGE KOCHT»)
Es handelt sich um die Entwicklung einer Perikardverschwielung mit nachfolgender Kalkeinbildung, die durch bindgewebige Organisation von Exudat in den Perikardblättern hervorgerufen wird. Es entsteht das Bild des PANZERHERZENS
Kleine, «TAUTROPFENÄHNLICHE» KOLONIEN, Oxidase-positiv [
Im Röntgenbild findet sich eine diffuse oder lokalisierte SCHLEIERIGE bis WOLKIGE TRÜBUNG der Lungenlappen …
Es werden geprueft: 1. Wandbeschaftenheit der Arterien. Bei Arteriosklerose oft regides Gefässrohr («GÄNSEGURGEL»)
Metaphor Schemes of Medical Discourse (%)
Discourse Type
Human Being
AnimateNature
Inanimate Nature
Haman Activity
Russian 15 10 15 60
English 7 10 15 68
German 15 12 18 65
Examples from the Russian popular discourse Гипофиз расположен в основании черепа. Он очень маленький
– не больше обыкновенного наперстка. Но это – главная железа нашего организма: она управляет работой всех других желез
К заболеванию некоторые привыкают, как к старому надоевшему мужу, которого и бросить жалко, и терпеть невозможно…
Во время болезни вирусы и микробы нарушают работу ресничек, воспаленная слизистая начинает усиленно выделять слизь, чтобы защититься от непрошеных гостей
Высохшая капля выглядит экзотически: в виде тонкой паутины, тропического цветка, кружевного листа папоротника…И по этой картине можно определить, болен ли человек
На кардиограмме уже сформировалась картинка явного инфаркта миокарда. Картинка эта представляет из себя как бы силуэт сидящей кошки: вверху торчит ушко, а затем идет выгнутая спинка. И эта «кошка» смертельно опасна для сердца
Examples from the English popular discourse In a final flurry of activity, a last wave of cytokines is
released Of course the granddaddy of all anti-inflammatories is
aspirin, and millions of Americans already take it to prevent heart attacks
The very last part of the brain to be pruned and shaped to its adult dimensions is the prefrontal cortex, home of the so-called executive functions – planning , setting priorities, organizing thoughts, suppressing impulses, weighing the consequences of one's actions
Your health is a partnership between you and your physician By the time symptoms like shortness of breath appear, the
illness has usually been progressing for a decade or two. "It's like the brakes on a car," says Dr. Michael Stulbarg, chief of clinical pulmonary medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center. "You don't realize the damage they're enduring in normal use, and then at some point they just go out on you"
Metaphor Scheme of popular discourse (%)
Discourse Type
Human Being
AnimateNature
Inanimate Nature
Human Activity
Russian 20 7 9 64
English 20 3 9 68
Psycholinguistic study
Complete the statement:
The DISEASE is like ....., because ..... .
72 Russians (adults)92 Americans (adults)
Examples in the Russian groups
1.HUMAN BIOLOGY: “an old man”, “Depression” “Horrible dream”, “Death”
“Devastation of heart brings disease and death”, “it is black, ugly and it hurts” or “being frightened”.
2. HUMAN SOCIO: “A doctor”, “An old woman (“a witch”), “A broken
Mechanism” “it is like study because you don’t pay much attention to it, but
eventually you feel bad” “after each disease there’s recovery, as every fair tale ends well” “Feeble old man makes us feel pity for him”3. NATURE INANIMATE: “A Rainy day”, “ A thunder cloud” “Water-it runs through your fingers”4. NATURE ANIMATE: “Mosquito”, “A poisonous snake”, “An old broken
tree” or “Rotten stuff” and “mould”: “It steadily and secretly destroys the body without our noticing” “If the action is not taken on time it will spread and grow further”
Examples in the American groups
1. The Model HUMAN BIOLOGY “Heart attacks”, “Diabities”, “ Being Fat”, “ Non-Active and Overweight”, “Being Old, “Bad sleep”, “Bad Face Color”, etc.
“Being tired and overweight because is not natural or normal”, “Y’re feeling down and sick”, “you don’t move” etc.
2. The model HUMAN as A SOCIAL Being: “Macdonald staff … because when you eat it you poison your self
and get sick” “An Unwelcomed Tutor” and “ game of dodge”, “a broken doll”
etc.3. NATURE INANIMATE:“A Shitty Day” (it’ll pass) and “a Thunder” and
“Snow” “ DISEASE (Illness) is like hitting a wall at the end of the hill and
being broken into pieces because you picked up so much dirt on the way and you cannot get it together once you are broken up".
4. NATURE ANIMATE _______________
Metaphor Scheme of associative fields (%)
Discourse Type
Human Being
AnimateNature
Inanimate Nature
Human Activity
Russian 34 28 20 20
English 56 5 11 28
Metaphor Schemes in different discourse types
Discourse Type
Human Being
AnimateNature
Inanimate Nature
Human Activity
Scientific
Popular
Associative
Metaphor Scheme Trends There is a direct dependence on
the type of discourse which is shown as a shift of the metaphor scheme nucleus to the right (from associations to scientific medical discourse)
Metaphor Scheme in Scientific Discourse: Comparison
HumanBeing
AnimateNature
InanimateNature
HumanActivity
English
German
Russian
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Metaphor Scheme in Popular Discourse: Comparison
HumanBeing
AnimateNature
Inanimatenature
HumanActivity
English
Russian
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Metaphor Scheme in Associative Fields: Comparison
HumanBeing
AnimateNature
InanimateNature
HumanActivity
RussiansAmericans
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Conclusions External representations of the concept
depend on the level of professional competence (respectively, type of knowledge) in medical discourse
Cultural features have proved to influence insignificantly on the text representations, but there are some differences in associative fields in medical discourse
Why do we study medical discourse?
a new patient-centered paradigm in medicine
a new social policy in Russia the idea of personal responsibility for
one’s own health to achieve compliance in doctor-patient
communication, to make medical management more effective, to improve our life quality
18th European Symposium
on Language for Special Purposes
22-26 August 2011Perm State University
Russia
Special Language and Innovation in a Multilingual World
Conference tracks:
Innovational Technologies in Professional Communication Multilingualism and LSP Translation and LSP Cognitive aspects of special languages Professional competence and LSP Innovation in LSP training Terminology and Terminography Linguistic features of special discourse [email protected]
Perm State University (1916)