The Construction of Metaphoric Text and Talk

Book excerpt: The Construction of Metaphoric Text and Talk: A Discourse Analytic Approach argues that in view of their omnipresence in human thinking and action, metaphors play a very important role in discourse construction and organization and this role can be textural and textual. In order to explore the textual role of metaphors, Meizhen Liao proposes that metaphors in discourse be treated as a complex adaptive system (CAS), which is further composed of two sub-systems, a micro one consisted of the tenor and the vehicle and a macro one made up of different metaphors. The dynamic interaction within the micro system between the tenor and the vehicle in terms of mapping, as well as among the macro system of all the metaphors in the text or talk via competition, cooperation, or complementation contributes to the construction and organization of discourse as an adaptive process in pursuit for the goal or goals of the discourse. In the process of the interaction, emergent textual patterns develop and an adequate analysis of the patterns at both micro and macro as well as deep and surface levels of discourse will shed light on the true nature and pattern of human thinking and action. The author concludes that as metaphor has become entrenched in our conceptual system the study of metaphor as a complex adaptive system in discourse be conducted in its own right.