Deliberate metaphors?

An exploration of the choice and functions of metaphors in US-American college lectures

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the notion of deliberate metaphor use (cf. Steen 2011a) in academic discourse. In three college lectures, we analyze different kinds of metaphors (direct and indirect metaphors, novel and conventional metaphors) that are potential candidates of deliberate metaphor, in order to reveal how we can identify deliberate metaphors and what purpose they serve in academic discourse. Our analysis points out that deliberate metaphors are a powerful tool for professors who try to offer their students a new and scientific perspective on abstract concepts. However, we cannot give a general answer to the question how deliberate metaphors can be identified in discourse, since this seems to depend on the particular discourse context.