Title

On Metaphoric Inversion

Authors

Authors

P. D. Deane

Comments

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Abbreviated Journal Title

Metaphor Symb. Act.

Keywords

Similarity; Asymmetry; Language & Linguistics; Psychology, Experimental

Abstract

This article examines examples of metaphoric inversion, pairs of conceptual metaphors that employ the same metaphoric mapping but exhibit reversed topic-vehicle orientation. This phenomenon includes such pairs as ''PEOPLE ARE COMPUTERS'' versus ''COMPUTERS ARE PEOPLE''. It is an unusual phenomenon because the usual effect of reversing a metaphor is anomaly or a complete shift in the metaphor's conceptual ground. Analysis suggests an underlying asymmetry despite the common ground. One of the metaphors in the pair functions as an ordinary personification or anthropomorphism, not taken seriously or extended beyond its areas of obvious applicability to the topic. The other metaphor seems, by contrast, often to carry moral or philosophical overtones and to be actively extended in a way that undermines the entrenched attributes of its topic.

Journal Title

Metaphor and Symbolic Activity

Volume

8

Issue/Number

2

Publication Date

1-1-1993

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

111

Last Page

126

WOS Identifier

WOS:A1993LT48700003

ISSN

0885-7253

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