Article published in:
Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 27:2 (2014) ► pp. 323–337

Economy is a living organism

Metaphorical expressions in a learner corpus of English

| Universitat de Barcelona

This paper presents results from a qualitative corpus-based study on Spanish EFL learners’ metaphorical production. The analysis of a learner corpus of business English, which included essays written by undergraduates, showed that learners do make use of metaphorical language and that the metaphorical expressions identified in their texts — economy/business is a living organism, business is war, business is a relationship, and economic success and failure are movements on a vertical axis — match those used by native speakers, as stated in the literature (Burcea, 2010; Kovács, 2006; Kövecses, 2002; White, 2003; among others). In addition, data also confirmed that even in learner’s language metaphors are connected in large networks within the same text, which contribute to enhancing text global coherence, as pointed out by Semino (2008). Finally, the potential benefits of raising learners’ metaphorical awareness and making explicit to them cross-linguistic differences in the expression of general conceptual metaphors are highlighted.

Keywords: conceptual metaphor, ESP teaching, EFL, business English
Published online: 08 December 2014
https://doi.org/10.1075/resla.27.2.04cas
References
Boers, F
(2000) Metaphor awareness and vocabulary retention. Applied Linguistics, 21(4), 553–571. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Burcea, R
(2010) Metaphorical conceptualizations of marketing. Annals of Spiru Haret University, Economic Series, 1(3), 153–160.Google Scholar
Castaño, E., Hilferty, J., Verdaguer, I., Comelles, E., & Laso, N.J
(2011) The metaphorical basis of coherence relations. Paper presented at the Learner Corpus Research 2011 , Louvain-la Neuve (15-17 September 2011).
Celuch, K.G., Bantham, J.H., & Kasouf, C.J
(2006) An extension of the marriage metaphor in buyer–seller relationships: an exploration of individual level process dynamics. Journal of Business Research, 591, 573–81. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chapetón, M
(2010) Metaphor in argumentative writing: A comparative corpus-driven study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Barcelona, Barcelona.
Chapetón, M., & Verdaguer, I
(2012) Researching linguistic metaphor in native, non-native, and expert writing. In F. MacArthur, J.L. Oncins-Martínez, A. Piquer-Píriz & M. Sánchez-García (Eds.), Metaphor in use: Context, culture and communication (pp. 149–174). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Charteris-Black, J
(2000) Metaphor and vocabulary teaching in ESP economics. English for Specific Purposes, 19(2), 149–165. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Charteris-Black, J., & Ennis, T
(2001) A comparative study of metaphor in Spanish and English financial reporting. English for Specific Purposes, 20(3), 249–266. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Eubanks, P
(1999) Conceptual metaphor as rhetorical response. A reconsideration of metaphor. Written Communication, 161, 171–99. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Falck, M.J
(2012) Metaphor variation across L1 and L2 speakers of English. In F. MacArthur, J.L. Oncins-Martínez, A. Piquer-Píriz & M. Sánchez-García (Eds.), Metaphor in use: Context, culture and communication (pp. 109–134). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fuertes Olivera, P.A., & Pizarro Sánchez, I
(2002) Translation and ‘similarity-creating’ metaphor in specialized languages. Target, 14(1), 43–73. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Golden, A
(2012) Metaphorical expressions in L2 production: Researching linguistic metaphor in native, non-native, and expert writing. In F. MacArthur, J.L. Oncins-Martínez, A. Piquer-Píriz & M. Sánchez-García (Eds.), Metaphor in use: Context, culture and communication (pp. 135–148). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Herrera, H., & White, M
(2000) Cognitive linguistics and the language learning process: A case from economics. Estudios ingleses de la Universidad Complutense, 81, 55–78.Google Scholar
Kovács, E
(2006) Conceptual metaphors in popular business siscourse. Publicationes Universitatis Miskolcinensis: Sectio Philosophica, 11(3), 69–80.Google Scholar
Kövecses, Z
(2002) Metaphor: A practical introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
(2005) Metaphor in culture: Universality and variation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2008) Universality and variation in the use of metaphor. In N.L. Johannesson & D.C. Minugh (Eds.), Selected papers from the 2006 and 2007 Stockholm Metaphor Festivals (pp. 51–54). Stockholm: Department of English, Stockholm University.Google Scholar
Lakoff, G
(1993) The contemporary theory of metaphor. In A. Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (pp. 202–251). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M
(1980) Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Littlemore, J., & Low, G
(2006) Metaphoric competence, second language learning, and communicative language ability. Applied Linguistics, 27(2), 268–294. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mischler, J
(2013) Metaphor across time and conceptual space. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nacey, S
(2013) Metaphors in learner English. Amsterdam: John Benjamins DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Semino, E
(2008) Metaphor in discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Simons, T
(2001) Mastering the art of metaphor. Presentations, 15(6), 42- 52.Google Scholar
Velasco, M
(2004) Metaphor and ESP: Metaphor as a useful device for teaching L2 learners of business English. Ibérica, 101, 115–131.Google Scholar
White, M
(2003) Metaphor and economics: the case of growth. English for Specific Purposes, 221, 131–151. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 2 other publications

Domaradzki, Mikolaj
2016. Conceptualizing the economy as a living organism: vivification in Arab economic discourse. Text & Talk 36:4 DOI logo
Domaradzki, Mikolaj
2018. Health metaphors and embodiment in Arab economic discourse. Review of Cognitive Linguistics 16:2 ► pp. 317 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 23 january 2023. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.