Eine soziologische Perspektive auf Semantik und Pragmatik der Metapher

Abstract

Metaphors are seen as a result of a tension and interaction between what has been said and what has been meant. This conception of metaphor is taken to develop a sociological view on the use of metaphors in social interaction. It is shown that in social interaction a metaphorical utterance is playing with the tension of referring simultaneously to the present and to the future. Metaphorical expressions use the contingency of meaning to structure the present. The consequences for an understanding of metaphorical truth are discussed.