The concept of ‘purposeful metaphor’ is proposed as an alternative to ‘deliberate metaphor’ (Steen, 2008) in providing a theory of metaphor in discourse and communication. The case for ‘purposeful metaphor’ is framed within a discussion of intentionality in a murder trial. It is argued that ‘deliberateness’ originates in epistemologies based in language use, but is not valid for epistemologies that distinguish between conscious and unconscious thought process; in literary studies it is known as the ‘intentional fallacy’. However, considerations of intention are relevant in critical metaphor analysis that seeks insight into the social and political motivation of metaphor. Insights from Speech Act Theory and rhetorical theory suggest that ‘deliberate metaphor’ could be modified to ‘purposeful metaphor’ because we conceptualise ‘purpose’ in terms of a SOURCE (or idea), a PATH (or rhetorical plan) to realise a GOAL (or rhetorical outcome). ‘Purposeful metaphor’ therefore integrates the source (or idea behind) path, (or rhetorical plan), and goal, (or rhetorical outcome) of metaphor, while ‘deliberate metaphor’ only profiles its inception. Illustrations are given of how ‘purposeful metaphor’ contributes to an explanation of metaphor use in political and legal discourse, and other persuasive genres. Linguistic evidence for purposefulness is in the interaction between textually complex use of metaphor and contextual features such as political purpose or describing medical conditions.
Anderson, J., Y. Zhu, J. Zhuang, J.C. Nelson, M.J. Bresnahan & X. Yan
2017. Metaphors that communicate weight-based stigma in political news: A case study of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. European Review of Applied Psychology 67:3 ► pp. 139 ff.
Beger, Anke
2019. The contested notion of ‘deliberate metaphor’: What can we learn from ‘unclear’ cases in academic lectures?. Yearbook of the German Cognitive Linguistics Association 7:1 ► pp. 51 ff.
2015. Do pragmatic signals affect conventional metaphor understanding? A failed test of deliberate metaphor theory. Journal of Pragmatics 90 ► pp. 77 ff.
Poppi, Fabio Indìo Massimo, Giovanni A. Travaglino & Salvatore Di Piazza
2018. Talis pater, talis filius: the role of discursive strategies, thematic narratives and ideology in Cosa Nostra. Critical Discourse Studies 15:5 ► pp. 540 ff.
Rashid Ali, Farrah Diebaa
2021. Phonological Documentation of the Punan Language: Treating and Healing Malaysia: A Critical Analysis of Najib Razak’s Metaphors. Journal on Asian Linguistic Anthropology 3:3 ► pp. 19 ff.
Rashid Ali, Farrah Diebaa
2023. Helming Malaysia:Najib Razak’s Metaphors inMalaysian Supply Bills. Journal on Asian Linguistic Anthropology 5:1 ► pp. 1 ff.
Reijnierse, W. Gudrun, Christian Burgers, Tina Krennmayr & Gerard J. Steen
2018. DMIP: A Method for Identifying Potentially Deliberate Metaphor in Language Use. Corpus Pragmatics 2:2 ► pp. 129 ff.
Salis, Pietro & Francesca Ervas
2021. Evidence, Defeasibility, and Metaphors in Diagnosis and Diagnosis Communication. Topoi 40:2 ► pp. 327 ff.
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