2.3.3 Metaphor:A contemporary view

The field of metaphor studies has appealed to a growing number of researchers, at least partly due to the fact that there is a strong realization that metaphors are part and parcel of everyday life （Sardinha 2002:1）.In the cognitive paradigm into metaphor research so far, Lakoff & Johnson have emerged as true pioneers with their seminal book Metaphors We Live By published in 1980 （Cameron & Low 1999:77; Yu 1998:2）.What follows will be a brief introduction to metaphor in the cognitive paradigm largely based on Lakoff &Johnson's ideas.

The contemporary theory of metaphor maintains that human conceptual systems are to a large extent metaphorical in the sense that they contain mappings of inference patterns from typically more concrete domains to typically more abstract domains（Yu 2003:22）.Lakoff & Johnson, in their landmark book, strongly believe that“our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature”（Lakoff & Johnson 1980:3）.Interestingly, Lakoff & Johnson make use of a metaphor to give a vivid definition to metaphor in the Afterword to Metaphors We Live By, “It is as though the ability to comprehend experience through metaphor were a sense, like seeing, touching or hearing, with metaphors providing the only ways to perceive and experience much of the world.Metaphor is as much a part of our functioning as our sense of touch, and as precious”（ibid:239）.Besides, they emphasize another important feature, i.e., the ubiquity of metaphor, saying that“metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not j ust in language but in thought and action”（Lakoff &Johnson 1980:3）.

This conception of metaphor is thus thought to be revolutionary against the classical metaphor theory. Lakoff summarizes the qualities of the nature of metaphor in cognitive sense into six aspects, which are quoted in the following.

1）Metaphor is the main mechanism through which we comprehend abstract concepts and perform abstract reasoning;2）Much subj ect matter, from the most mundane to the most abstruse scientific theories, can only be comprehended via metaphor; 3）Metaphor is fundamentally conceptual, not linguistic, in nature;4） Metaphorical language is a surface manifestation of conceptual metaphor;5）Though much of our conceptual system is metaphorical, a significant part of it is nonmetaphorical.Metaphorical understanding is grounded in non-metaphorical understanding;6）Metaphor allows us to understand a relatively abstract or inherently unstructured subj ect matter in terms of a more concrete, or at least more highly structured subj ect matter.

（Lakoff 1994:244）

It can be seen clearly from this quotation that Lakoff attaches great importance to the cognitive feature of metaphor.In other words, the fundamental role that metaphor plays in comprehending abstract concepts and in performing abstract reasoning.And we also notice that, Lakoff, in this statement, acknowledges that much, rather than all subj ect matters, is to be understood through metaphor.It thus implies that the world can be understood nonmetaphorically and metaphor is only one of the mechanisms by which people use to know the world.