Articles by Laura Hidalgo Downing
Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses, 2004
The aim of this article is to argue that negation plays a crucial role in the creation of discour... more The aim of this article is to argue that negation plays a crucial role in the creation of discourse coherence understood as a process which involves the creation of a textual world. Negation modifies information present in discourse or evoked from propositions in discourse, thus performing different discourse functions in which frame knowledge plays a crucial role. A proposal is put forward for a classification of the cognitive-discourse functions of negative propositions in argumentative discourse with illustrations from extracts from opinion articles, headlines and advertisements in Spanish and British newspapers.
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Journal of Pragmatics 185, 93-107., 2021
The aim of this article is to compare choices in epistemic and effective stance markers and negat... more The aim of this article is to compare choices in epistemic and effective stance markers and negation as a marker of stance in the farewell addresses by US presidents Obama and Bush. The discussion focuses on how these choices reveal specific stance-taking acts of positioning
towards topics and alignment/disalignment with communities of speakers and how they contribute to construing two different idiosyncratic interactional or dialogic stance styles. The analysis reveals that Obama's interactional stance style can be argued to be highly dialogic and relies on a combination of stance markers, among which directivity and contrastive negation stand out, since they are absent in Bush. Directivity is used to
engage directly with his audience and persuade them to take specific courses of action regarding the future of America, while contrastive negation is used to write in different voices in his speech, creating complex relations of (dis)alignment with communities of speakers. Bush's interactional stance style relies more on choices which involve the expression of epistemic certainty and deontic modality, as a means of legitimizing a positioning towards America in which the safeguard of national security is his major concern.
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Lodz Papers in Pragmatics, 2017
The present article explores stance and stancetaking in two genres of scientific discourse, by an... more The present article explores stance and stancetaking in two genres of scientific discourse, by analysing the discourse-pragmatic functions of epistemic modals and negation. The semantics and pragmatics of modals in specialised discourses has been the focus of attention in recent however, the function of negation remains understudied so far. The present article proposes an approach to stance and modality which encompasses both modal and negative meanings as functions in discourse (Halliday 1994; Givón 1993; Halliday and Matthiesen 2004; Martin and White 2005). A quantitative method based on keyword analysis is applied as a point of departure for the identification of modal and negative stance markers; this is followed by a qualitative analysis of the discourse-pragmatic functions. The analysis shows that, although epistemic modals and negation are used more frequently in the semi-formal corpus, the use of epistemic modals and of negation may be interpreted as shaping conventionalised discourse-specific patterns of stancetaking in the biomedical sciences. Results also show that although negation is less frequent in the formal corpus, the range and variety of functions is greater and more complex than in the semi-formal corpus, thus suggesting the important role played by negation in biomedical discourse, in particular, in the communication of new ideas and new findings.
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Exploring Discourse Strategies in Social and Cognitive Interaction Multimodal and cross-linguistic perspectives. Manuela Romano & Dolores Porto eds., May 6, 2016
The present article explores the interaction between multimodality and narrativity
as a discourse... more The present article explores the interaction between multimodality and narrativity
as a discourse strategy which promotes creativity as a socio-cognitive
process in British TV cosmetics ads. Multimodal TV ads narratives are structured
visually and aurally by means of the extended metaphors light is good
and harmonious music is good, as well as other multisemiotic features. Two
narrative patterns are examined: in the first type, story ending coincides with
narrative ending; this is illustrated by two ads with specific metaphors which
set out the problem to which the product provides a solution. In the second
type, illustrated by two hair products ads, story ending coincides with narrative
beginning, and displays multimodal metaphors which enhance the positive attributes
of the product.
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The Routledge Handbook of Metaphor and Language. Elena Semino and Zsofia Demjen (eds)., 2016
22
Metaphor and persuasion
in commercial advertising
Laura Hidalgo-Downing and Blanca Kraljevic-... more 22
Metaphor and persuasion
in commercial advertising
Laura Hidalgo-Downing and Blanca Kraljevic-Mujic
Introduction and context: the role of metaphor and persuasion in
commercial advertising
Commercial advertising is a persuasive genre which makes extensive use of metaphor as a strategy for engaging with potential consumers and attracting their attention to the product. Metaphor plays a crucial role in the persuasive function of this genre by appealing to the emotions and evaluative judgments of the potential buyer and by supporting claims about the positive properties of the product, often by means of creative strategies (Semino 2008: 168–75). This introductory section addresses, first, the nature of commercial advertising as a genre and, second, the persuasive function of metaphor in commercial advertising.
Commercial advertising as a persuasive genre
Advertising is a pervasive genre in our society. In our day-to-day life experience we are constantly being exposed to various forms of advertising in continuously changing and ever more inventive formats: printed forms such as newspapers; multi-semiotic modes which have arisen with each new technological invention, from billboards through TV ads to internet ads; and a variety of everyday advertisements on all the types of objects which we see and handle daily, such as bottles, pens, cosmetics, food products, clothes, cars and ICTs (Gorman and McLean 2003). Commercial advertising, which is the focus of this chapter, needs to be distinguished from other types of advertising which are persuasive but do not pursue a commercial goal or involve a business transaction (see Geis 1998). That is,
this chapter will not deal, for example, with advertisements for non-profit organisations, which appeal to the reader/viewer in order to support their social or political causes, or with political campaigning. In brief, this chapter deals with forms of advertising in which a company with a brand name has as a primary objective the selling of a product or service, often also promoting their brand at the same time (see Cook 2001, Myers 1994, Vestergaard and Schroeder 1985, Geis 1982, 1998, Goddard 1998, Koller 2008). While there may be ads which promote brands exclusively, very often commercial advertising promotes both brands and products
simultaneously.
In analysing advertising, persuasion as an effect on an audience needs to be distinguished from the strategies used to achieve that affect. Rhetorical and discursive strategies are the
Taylor and Francis
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Revista Brasileira de Linguïstica Aplicada. Special Issue on 'Metaphor and Metonymy as Social Practices', R. Gibbs and L. Ferreira (eds.), May 2015
This article presents a study of ongoing global and local changing practices by exploring the int... more This article presents a study of ongoing global and local changing practices by exploring the interaction between multimodal metaphor and narrative in advertising discourse. Thus, we make use of CMT and Conceptual Integration Theory to compare how social changes and continuities are represented and re-contextualised in advertising discourse, across time, genres and cultures: changes in time and across genres are addressed through the analysis of printed ads from 2000-2002 and internet ads from 2001-2009; second, we compare the interaction between TRANSFORMATION and MAGIC metaphors and storytelling frames in both genres and periods; finally, we pay particular attention to the variation of a campaign of a global brand (Coca-Cola) in three different cultures, thus revealing competing changes in global and local social practices.
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Routledge Handbook of Language and Creativity, Sep 8, 2015
The present chapter provides an overview of metaphor and metonymy as two of the crucial conceptua... more The present chapter provides an overview of metaphor and metonymy as two of the crucial conceptual and discursive resources for creativity. This is defined as an unstable dynamic process of meaning construction arising from the interaction of incongruous domains. Creativity undergoes continuous negotiatiation and re-contextualisation by language users.
An overview of the scholarly research on metaphor and metonymy and their relation to creativity is provided, starting from the classical view of these tropes as ornamental figures of speech, to the current view of figurative language as a pervasive tool of conceptualization, communication and the construction of social realities in everyday language use. The mechanisms which give rise to metaphorical and metonymic creativity are discussed both as semantic processes of extension and elaboration, and from a discourse-pragmatic perspective, namely, the functions these phenomena play in real discourse and genres, such as everyday communication, graffiti, emails and advertisements, among others. An overview of current methodological approaches to the identification and definition of figurative expressions is provided. Topics of current interest are addressed, such as the distinction between conventional and novel metaphors, and the interaction between the use of metaphor and metonymy and other discourse features such as multimodality, narrative, humour and opposition.
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Carol Chapelle (ed.) (2016) The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, , Dec 1, 2015
The grammar of a language like English provides language users with linguistic
(lexicogrammatical... more The grammar of a language like English provides language users with linguistic
(lexicogrammatical, specifically morphosyntactic) resources to express meaning, construct
sentences and texts, and to communicate with other speakers (see, e.g., Quirk,
Grenbaum, Leech, & Svartvik, 1985; Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004; Thompson, 2004).
Prosodic, phraseological, and discourse-pragmatic features are also included in numerous
grammars (see, e.g., Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004; Hunston, 2011). These grammatical
resources are used by speakers to express evaluation, which Thompson and Hunston
describe as follows:
For us, evaluation is the broad cover term for the expression of speaker or
writer’s attitude or stance towards, viewpoint on, or feelings about the entities
or propositions that he or she is talking about. The attitude may refer to certainty
or obligation or desirability or any of a number of other sets of values.
Modality may be seen as a sub-category of evaluation. (2000, p. 5)
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Laura Alba Juez and Geoff Thompson (eds.) (2014) Evaluation in Context, Jun 1, 2014
This article explores the role of negative-modal synergies in the expression of authorial stance ... more This article explores the role of negative-modal synergies in the expression of authorial stance and intersubjective positioning in Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species. As markers of stance, both negation and modality contribute to the expression of evaluation in discourse, though little attention has been paid to the co-occurrence of both types of markers. Drawing on corpus-based methods, I first identify the recurrent discourse pattern which gives rise to a semantic prosody of negative-modal meaning throughout The Origin of Species as compared to Voyage of the Beagle. Second, I discuss how this discourse pattern reflects Darwin’s positioning in the presentation of his Theory of Natural Selection. An analysis of the resources which express intersubjective positioning reveals the tension between conflicting goals in Darwin’s presentation of his new theory, namely, the expression of certainty regarding his insights and discoveries and the need to be cautious in communicating them. Thus, the various patterns of (co)-occurrence of negation, modality and personal pronouns, construe specific authorial positions against the backdrop of competing scientific theories and in anticipation of readers’ potential disagreement.
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María de los Ángeles Gómez González, Francisco José Ruiz de Mendoza Ibáñez, Francisco Gonzálvez García and Angela Downing (eds.) The Functional Perspective on Language and Discourse: Applications annd Implications, Dec 1, 2013
This article presents the results of a study carried out with Spanish University students on the ... more This article presents the results of a study carried out with Spanish University students on the differences and similarities in the use of strategies of directness and indirectness in responses to elicited speech acts of complaint and disagreement in Spanish and English. The methodology used is based on the model proposed by Kasper (2000) for the collection of responses as thought processes, or what a speaker intends to say, and what s/he actually says in a given situation. We elaborate on the concept of indirectness by drawing on various discourse-based and pragmatic approaches such as cross-cultural and intercultural pragmatics (Blum-Kulka, House and Kasper 1989), politeness theory (Brown and Levinson 1987, EscandellVidal 1995, Fraser 1990, Thomas 1996, Locher 2004), indirectness and cultural identity (Spencer Oatey 2000, Locher 2004, among others) and the role of mitigation in discourse (see, for example Butler 1988, 2003, Downing and Locke 2006). We expect to find differences regarding the students’ responses in their production in Spanish, their mother tongue, and in English, the language of instruction. These differences are expected to show students’ attempts to adapt to the model of indirectness that they assumeto be characteristic of English culture, vs. the model of directness associated with Spanish culture. In terms of strategies of mitigation in order to achieve indirectness, we also expect to find a higher frequency of use of strategies directed to positive face wants in the Spanish answers and a higher frequency of negative politeness strategies and off record strategies in the English responses. We expect the results to shed light on the possible problems non-native speakers of English may have in expressing complaints and requests and in the use of adequate modal forms in these speech events.
Key words: indirectness, intercultural politeness, dispreferred responses, non-native speakers,English and Spanish.
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Laura Hidalgo-Downing and Blanca Kraljevic Mujic (eds.) Special Issue on Metaphorical Creativity across Modes. Metaphor in the Social World 13: 2
Introduction
Special issue on metaphorical creativity across modes
Laura Hidalgo Downing and Bl... more Introduction
Special issue on metaphorical creativity across modes
Laura Hidalgo Downing and Blanca Kraljevic Mujic
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid / Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
1. Introduction
This special issue brings together some of the papers which were presented in the panel “Metaphor, creativity and identity” at the 8th RaAM (Researching and Applying Metaphor) International Conference, which took place at Lancaster University in July 2012, together with contributions from other prestigious schol- ars in the field. As shown by the extensive production of scholarly research on metaphor in recent years, current studies of metaphor are undergoing an interest- ing stage of cross-fertilization between various disciplines (Cognitive Linguistics, Discourse Studies, Multimodal approaches to the study of metaphor, among oth- ers). This integration of ideas and initiatives from different fields is undoubtedly enriching our understanding of how metaphor is produced and interpreted as a cognitive, social and cultural phenomenon. However, such cross-fertilization brings, along with this new richness and complexity, a series of questions which pose new challenges to the study of metaphor and other figurative language. The papers in this special issue contribute to the present reflection on the complex and dynamic nature of metaphor and related cognitive phenomena.
Our objectives are to explore metaphorical creativity across modes, by focus- ing on specific topics which are of current relevance in recent discussions of meta- phor as a field of study. The contributions to the issue explore the use of metaphor in naturally occurring discourse, more specifically, discourse which typically in- volves different modes (a television interview, films, experimental literature, ad- vertising, protest slogans). Seen as a whole, the papers provide complementary perspectives on the relationships between metaphorical creativity and its instan- tiation within and across modes. Thus, some of the papers reflect on the influence of mode on the manifestation and interpretation of metaphor, while others focus on the crucial role of the interaction between modes for the creation of complex metaphorical meaning.
Metaphor and the Social World 3:2 (2013), 133–139. doi 10.1075/msw.3.2.01int issn 2210–4070 / e-issn 2210–4097 © John Benjamins Publishing Company
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Metaphor in the Social World 13:2
In this article we explore the creative recontextualization of JOURNEY, WAR, RACE and SPORTS meta... more In this article we explore the creative recontextualization of JOURNEY, WAR, RACE and SPORTS metaphors and discuss their manifestations in multimodal ICT advertisements across time. Our objectives are to discuss (i) the choices of
metaphors and related source domains used to describe (e)businesses in two dif- ferent time periods, (ii) how the highlighting and hiding of features of the source domains remain constant or change, (iii) the relations between modes, and (iv) the discursive strategies for metaphorical creativity. The results of our analy-
sis reflect an interesting shift in the highlighting and hiding of features of the main metaphors and related sources across the two time periods, thus revealing variations in emergent metaphors across time. We argue that these results reflect ongoing social changes which illustrate the contextual basis and motivation of metaphor as a linguistic form of action and creative communication in advertis- ing discourse.
Keywords: advertising discourse, (e-)business, metaphorical creativity, multimodal metaphor, recontextualization, time variation.
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Juana Marín Arrese et al. (eds.) (2013) English Modality: Core, Periphery and Evidentiality, May 1, 2013
Following recent research on the role of modality as markers of stance (Biber et al. 1999; de Fin... more Following recent research on the role of modality as markers of stance (Biber et al. 1999; de Fina, Schiffrin and Bamberg 2006; Englebretson 2007; Marín Arrese 2004, among others), the present article explores the role of modality and personal pronouns as two dimensions of the expression of stance and the construction of (inter)subjective positioning and identity in three interviews on the subject of climate change. While modal stance categories and personal pronouns have traditionally been analysed separately (see, for instance, Martin and White 2005 and Wilson 1990, respectively), we believe that a combined analysis of these two features can provide insights into the way speakers construct their identities in interaction. Following authors such as de Fina, Schiffrin and Bamberg (2006), Hanks (2009) and Werth (1999), we consider modality in broad terms as the function of language which situates discourse according to the relevant context. Seen in this light, both modal expressions and deictic pronouns are indexical in nature, in the sense that both pronouns and stance devices contribute to the active and dynamic creation of the discursive context. More specifically, we adopt Martin and White’s system of Engagement within Appraisal Theory to analyse the role of modal markers. On this basis, the objective of the present article is to analyse and discuss the following aspects: first, the distribution and frequency of the categories of engagement, following Martin and White’s model of Appraisal Theory, thus subsuming modality to Engagement; second, the frequency and use of the personal pronouns “I”, “you” and “we” and their co-occurrence with the stance categories of Engagement; third, the function of both types of markers in the expression of subject positions and public identities. For this purpose three interviews to public figures (a politician, an environmentalist and a scientist) on the topic of global warming were selected as instances of a discourse event likely to demand a clear positioning from the speaker. The findings reveal relevant differences in the frequency, co-occurrence and distribution of the markers, in particular with regard to the uses of markers of entertainment and disclaim, as well as the frequency of personal pronoun types.
Keywords: engagement; indexicality; modality; interviews; intersubjective positioning; stance; identity.
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Barry Pennock-Speck and M.Milagros del Saz Rubio (eds) (2013) The Analysis of multimodal TV Commercials., Apr 1, 2013
This study discusses the degrees of multimodal narrativity and the role of closure in multimodal ... more This study discusses the degrees of multimodal narrativity and the role of closure in multimodal storyworld projection in TV advertisements. Narrativity is here understood as a scalar property (Ryan 2006; Abbott 2011) whereby certain semiotic construals are perceived as more or less ‘narrative,’ depending on the number of conditions of narrativity which they prototypically fulfil. In this sense, the persuading function of TV advertisements should not obscure the fact that they often resort to narrative strategies in trying to engage viewers’ attention. The corpus analysed shows that most of these commercials actually fulfill many of the conditions for category membership within a transgeneric, tranmedial approach to narrative fuzziness. The analysis has focused on two narrative features of TV ads: storyworld projection and the presence or absence of the narrative property of closure.
Key words: TV advertisements, narrativity, multimodality, social semiotics.
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Francisco Gonzálvez-García, María Sandra Peña Cervel and Lorena Pérez Hernández. RCL. Special Issue onMetaphor and metonymy revisited beyond the Contemporary Theory of Metaphor. 2011.
In this paper we carry out a study of multimodal metaphors in a corpus of 52 ICT advertisements p... more In this paper we carry out a study of multimodal metaphors in a corpus of 52 ICT advertisements published in English-speaking magazines during the period 1999–2002. The general theoretical framework adopted for this purpose is a combination of text world theory and of a multimodal approach to metaphor in discourse, which in turn draws from the principles of conceptual metaphor theory and of discourse theories. The main argument presented in this study is that metaphor is a key instrument in the presentation and negotiation of conventional and creative meanings in advertising discourse as a type of public discourse. More specifically, ICT advertisements during the time period 1999–2002 are particularly interesting for the study of metaphor because of the combination of conventional and innovative underlying concepts which are grounded in the specific socio-cultural context of recent advances in new technologies. In this sense, metaphor contributes to the discourse functions of display, by inviting the receiver to identify with fantasy worlds which are rooted in assumed patterns of socio-cultural behaviour and which are presented in the ad, and to the functions of persuasion and of cognitive change. First, we have identified and classified multimodal metaphors in the corpus according to their cognitive-functional type, then, following Semino (2008) we have identified predominant discourse patterns of metaphorical occurrences. Finally, we have identified the main resources for creativity in the advertisements. We have also studied how the combinations of individual micro-propositional metaphors give rise to extended metaphors which revolve around the megametaphor LIFE IS A CYBERSPACE JOURNEY. This megametaphor invites the receiver to reinterpret the more conventional metaphor LIFE IS A JOURNEY in terms of the new advances and experiences in society regarding IC technologies.
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Ibérica 2009. Special Issue on Metaphor and Metonymy.., Nov 1, 2009
In this paper we examine the role played by metaphor in a corpus of sixty abstracts on immunology... more In this paper we examine the role played by metaphor in a corpus of sixty abstracts on immunology from Scientific American. We focus on the distinction between conventional metaphors and culturally adapted new metaphors and discuss the role played by metaphor choice in the communicative purposes of the abstracts and their register features. We argue that one of the main trategies used to attract the reader‘s attention is the combination of highly conventionalized metaphors, which occur more frequently in the corpus, together with what we call “culturally adapted new metaphors”, which display different degrees of creativity and are less frequent in the corpus. Conventional
metaphors typically reinforce the world view shared by the scientific community and introduce basic ideas on the subject of immunology. Culturally adapted new metaphors include a cline from slightly new perspectives of conventional models, to highly creative uses of metaphor. Culturally adapted new metaphors
appeal primarily to a general readership and not to the scientific community, as they tap human emotions and mythic constructions. These play a crucial role in the abstracts, as they contribute to persuasive and didactic communicative functions in the text.
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In Manuel Padilla, Lucía Fernández and Reyes Gómez (eds.) Pragmatics Applied to Language Teaching. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009
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In William Baker y Kenneth Womack (eds.) The Year’s Work in English Studies Volume 87.pps. 151-163. , 2007
This chapter provides a critical overview of the publications carried out in Stylistics within th... more This chapter provides a critical overview of the publications carried out in Stylistics within the area of English Studies during the year 2006. The review includes monogaphs, articles in journals, chapters in books and special issues on the topic. The chapter is useful for university students and scholars who are interested in having Access to a reader friendly overview of the publications carried out in the filed during 2006.
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In Christopher Butler, Raquel Hidalgo Downing & Julia Lavid (eds.) (2007) Functional Perspectives on Grammar and Discourse. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2007
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In William Baker y Kenneth Womack (eds.) The Year’s Work in English Studies Volume 86. 144-156., 2006
This chapter provides a critical overview of the publications carried out in Stylistics within th... more This chapter provides a critical overview of the publications carried out in Stylistics within the area of English Studies during the year 2005. The review includes monogaphs, articles in journals, chapters in books and special issues on the topic. The chapter is useful for university students and scholars who are interested in having Access to a reader friendly overview of the publications carried out in the filed during 2005.
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Articles by Laura Hidalgo Downing
towards topics and alignment/disalignment with communities of speakers and how they contribute to construing two different idiosyncratic interactional or dialogic stance styles. The analysis reveals that Obama's interactional stance style can be argued to be highly dialogic and relies on a combination of stance markers, among which directivity and contrastive negation stand out, since they are absent in Bush. Directivity is used to
engage directly with his audience and persuade them to take specific courses of action regarding the future of America, while contrastive negation is used to write in different voices in his speech, creating complex relations of (dis)alignment with communities of speakers. Bush's interactional stance style relies more on choices which involve the expression of epistemic certainty and deontic modality, as a means of legitimizing a positioning towards America in which the safeguard of national security is his major concern.
as a discourse strategy which promotes creativity as a socio-cognitive
process in British TV cosmetics ads. Multimodal TV ads narratives are structured
visually and aurally by means of the extended metaphors light is good
and harmonious music is good, as well as other multisemiotic features. Two
narrative patterns are examined: in the first type, story ending coincides with
narrative ending; this is illustrated by two ads with specific metaphors which
set out the problem to which the product provides a solution. In the second
type, illustrated by two hair products ads, story ending coincides with narrative
beginning, and displays multimodal metaphors which enhance the positive attributes
of the product.
Metaphor and persuasion
in commercial advertising
Laura Hidalgo-Downing and Blanca Kraljevic-Mujic
Introduction and context: the role of metaphor and persuasion in
commercial advertising
Commercial advertising is a persuasive genre which makes extensive use of metaphor as a strategy for engaging with potential consumers and attracting their attention to the product. Metaphor plays a crucial role in the persuasive function of this genre by appealing to the emotions and evaluative judgments of the potential buyer and by supporting claims about the positive properties of the product, often by means of creative strategies (Semino 2008: 168–75). This introductory section addresses, first, the nature of commercial advertising as a genre and, second, the persuasive function of metaphor in commercial advertising.
Commercial advertising as a persuasive genre
Advertising is a pervasive genre in our society. In our day-to-day life experience we are constantly being exposed to various forms of advertising in continuously changing and ever more inventive formats: printed forms such as newspapers; multi-semiotic modes which have arisen with each new technological invention, from billboards through TV ads to internet ads; and a variety of everyday advertisements on all the types of objects which we see and handle daily, such as bottles, pens, cosmetics, food products, clothes, cars and ICTs (Gorman and McLean 2003). Commercial advertising, which is the focus of this chapter, needs to be distinguished from other types of advertising which are persuasive but do not pursue a commercial goal or involve a business transaction (see Geis 1998). That is,
this chapter will not deal, for example, with advertisements for non-profit organisations, which appeal to the reader/viewer in order to support their social or political causes, or with political campaigning. In brief, this chapter deals with forms of advertising in which a company with a brand name has as a primary objective the selling of a product or service, often also promoting their brand at the same time (see Cook 2001, Myers 1994, Vestergaard and Schroeder 1985, Geis 1982, 1998, Goddard 1998, Koller 2008). While there may be ads which promote brands exclusively, very often commercial advertising promotes both brands and products
simultaneously.
In analysing advertising, persuasion as an effect on an audience needs to be distinguished from the strategies used to achieve that affect. Rhetorical and discursive strategies are the
Taylor and Francis
Not for distribution
An overview of the scholarly research on metaphor and metonymy and their relation to creativity is provided, starting from the classical view of these tropes as ornamental figures of speech, to the current view of figurative language as a pervasive tool of conceptualization, communication and the construction of social realities in everyday language use. The mechanisms which give rise to metaphorical and metonymic creativity are discussed both as semantic processes of extension and elaboration, and from a discourse-pragmatic perspective, namely, the functions these phenomena play in real discourse and genres, such as everyday communication, graffiti, emails and advertisements, among others. An overview of current methodological approaches to the identification and definition of figurative expressions is provided. Topics of current interest are addressed, such as the distinction between conventional and novel metaphors, and the interaction between the use of metaphor and metonymy and other discourse features such as multimodality, narrative, humour and opposition.
(lexicogrammatical, specifically morphosyntactic) resources to express meaning, construct
sentences and texts, and to communicate with other speakers (see, e.g., Quirk,
Grenbaum, Leech, & Svartvik, 1985; Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004; Thompson, 2004).
Prosodic, phraseological, and discourse-pragmatic features are also included in numerous
grammars (see, e.g., Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004; Hunston, 2011). These grammatical
resources are used by speakers to express evaluation, which Thompson and Hunston
describe as follows:
For us, evaluation is the broad cover term for the expression of speaker or
writer’s attitude or stance towards, viewpoint on, or feelings about the entities
or propositions that he or she is talking about. The attitude may refer to certainty
or obligation or desirability or any of a number of other sets of values.
Modality may be seen as a sub-category of evaluation. (2000, p. 5)
Key words: indirectness, intercultural politeness, dispreferred responses, non-native speakers,English and Spanish.
Special issue on metaphorical creativity across modes
Laura Hidalgo Downing and Blanca Kraljevic Mujic
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid / Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
1. Introduction
This special issue brings together some of the papers which were presented in the panel “Metaphor, creativity and identity” at the 8th RaAM (Researching and Applying Metaphor) International Conference, which took place at Lancaster University in July 2012, together with contributions from other prestigious schol- ars in the field. As shown by the extensive production of scholarly research on metaphor in recent years, current studies of metaphor are undergoing an interest- ing stage of cross-fertilization between various disciplines (Cognitive Linguistics, Discourse Studies, Multimodal approaches to the study of metaphor, among oth- ers). This integration of ideas and initiatives from different fields is undoubtedly enriching our understanding of how metaphor is produced and interpreted as a cognitive, social and cultural phenomenon. However, such cross-fertilization brings, along with this new richness and complexity, a series of questions which pose new challenges to the study of metaphor and other figurative language. The papers in this special issue contribute to the present reflection on the complex and dynamic nature of metaphor and related cognitive phenomena.
Our objectives are to explore metaphorical creativity across modes, by focus- ing on specific topics which are of current relevance in recent discussions of meta- phor as a field of study. The contributions to the issue explore the use of metaphor in naturally occurring discourse, more specifically, discourse which typically in- volves different modes (a television interview, films, experimental literature, ad- vertising, protest slogans). Seen as a whole, the papers provide complementary perspectives on the relationships between metaphorical creativity and its instan- tiation within and across modes. Thus, some of the papers reflect on the influence of mode on the manifestation and interpretation of metaphor, while others focus on the crucial role of the interaction between modes for the creation of complex metaphorical meaning.
Metaphor and the Social World 3:2 (2013), 133–139. doi 10.1075/msw.3.2.01int issn 2210–4070 / e-issn 2210–4097 © John Benjamins Publishing Company
metaphors and related source domains used to describe (e)businesses in two dif- ferent time periods, (ii) how the highlighting and hiding of features of the source domains remain constant or change, (iii) the relations between modes, and (iv) the discursive strategies for metaphorical creativity. The results of our analy-
sis reflect an interesting shift in the highlighting and hiding of features of the main metaphors and related sources across the two time periods, thus revealing variations in emergent metaphors across time. We argue that these results reflect ongoing social changes which illustrate the contextual basis and motivation of metaphor as a linguistic form of action and creative communication in advertis- ing discourse.
Keywords: advertising discourse, (e-)business, metaphorical creativity, multimodal metaphor, recontextualization, time variation.
Keywords: engagement; indexicality; modality; interviews; intersubjective positioning; stance; identity.
Key words: TV advertisements, narrativity, multimodality, social semiotics.
metaphors typically reinforce the world view shared by the scientific community and introduce basic ideas on the subject of immunology. Culturally adapted new metaphors include a cline from slightly new perspectives of conventional models, to highly creative uses of metaphor. Culturally adapted new metaphors
appeal primarily to a general readership and not to the scientific community, as they tap human emotions and mythic constructions. These play a crucial role in the abstracts, as they contribute to persuasive and didactic communicative functions in the text.
towards topics and alignment/disalignment with communities of speakers and how they contribute to construing two different idiosyncratic interactional or dialogic stance styles. The analysis reveals that Obama's interactional stance style can be argued to be highly dialogic and relies on a combination of stance markers, among which directivity and contrastive negation stand out, since they are absent in Bush. Directivity is used to
engage directly with his audience and persuade them to take specific courses of action regarding the future of America, while contrastive negation is used to write in different voices in his speech, creating complex relations of (dis)alignment with communities of speakers. Bush's interactional stance style relies more on choices which involve the expression of epistemic certainty and deontic modality, as a means of legitimizing a positioning towards America in which the safeguard of national security is his major concern.
as a discourse strategy which promotes creativity as a socio-cognitive
process in British TV cosmetics ads. Multimodal TV ads narratives are structured
visually and aurally by means of the extended metaphors light is good
and harmonious music is good, as well as other multisemiotic features. Two
narrative patterns are examined: in the first type, story ending coincides with
narrative ending; this is illustrated by two ads with specific metaphors which
set out the problem to which the product provides a solution. In the second
type, illustrated by two hair products ads, story ending coincides with narrative
beginning, and displays multimodal metaphors which enhance the positive attributes
of the product.
Metaphor and persuasion
in commercial advertising
Laura Hidalgo-Downing and Blanca Kraljevic-Mujic
Introduction and context: the role of metaphor and persuasion in
commercial advertising
Commercial advertising is a persuasive genre which makes extensive use of metaphor as a strategy for engaging with potential consumers and attracting their attention to the product. Metaphor plays a crucial role in the persuasive function of this genre by appealing to the emotions and evaluative judgments of the potential buyer and by supporting claims about the positive properties of the product, often by means of creative strategies (Semino 2008: 168–75). This introductory section addresses, first, the nature of commercial advertising as a genre and, second, the persuasive function of metaphor in commercial advertising.
Commercial advertising as a persuasive genre
Advertising is a pervasive genre in our society. In our day-to-day life experience we are constantly being exposed to various forms of advertising in continuously changing and ever more inventive formats: printed forms such as newspapers; multi-semiotic modes which have arisen with each new technological invention, from billboards through TV ads to internet ads; and a variety of everyday advertisements on all the types of objects which we see and handle daily, such as bottles, pens, cosmetics, food products, clothes, cars and ICTs (Gorman and McLean 2003). Commercial advertising, which is the focus of this chapter, needs to be distinguished from other types of advertising which are persuasive but do not pursue a commercial goal or involve a business transaction (see Geis 1998). That is,
this chapter will not deal, for example, with advertisements for non-profit organisations, which appeal to the reader/viewer in order to support their social or political causes, or with political campaigning. In brief, this chapter deals with forms of advertising in which a company with a brand name has as a primary objective the selling of a product or service, often also promoting their brand at the same time (see Cook 2001, Myers 1994, Vestergaard and Schroeder 1985, Geis 1982, 1998, Goddard 1998, Koller 2008). While there may be ads which promote brands exclusively, very often commercial advertising promotes both brands and products
simultaneously.
In analysing advertising, persuasion as an effect on an audience needs to be distinguished from the strategies used to achieve that affect. Rhetorical and discursive strategies are the
Taylor and Francis
Not for distribution
An overview of the scholarly research on metaphor and metonymy and their relation to creativity is provided, starting from the classical view of these tropes as ornamental figures of speech, to the current view of figurative language as a pervasive tool of conceptualization, communication and the construction of social realities in everyday language use. The mechanisms which give rise to metaphorical and metonymic creativity are discussed both as semantic processes of extension and elaboration, and from a discourse-pragmatic perspective, namely, the functions these phenomena play in real discourse and genres, such as everyday communication, graffiti, emails and advertisements, among others. An overview of current methodological approaches to the identification and definition of figurative expressions is provided. Topics of current interest are addressed, such as the distinction between conventional and novel metaphors, and the interaction between the use of metaphor and metonymy and other discourse features such as multimodality, narrative, humour and opposition.
(lexicogrammatical, specifically morphosyntactic) resources to express meaning, construct
sentences and texts, and to communicate with other speakers (see, e.g., Quirk,
Grenbaum, Leech, & Svartvik, 1985; Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004; Thompson, 2004).
Prosodic, phraseological, and discourse-pragmatic features are also included in numerous
grammars (see, e.g., Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004; Hunston, 2011). These grammatical
resources are used by speakers to express evaluation, which Thompson and Hunston
describe as follows:
For us, evaluation is the broad cover term for the expression of speaker or
writer’s attitude or stance towards, viewpoint on, or feelings about the entities
or propositions that he or she is talking about. The attitude may refer to certainty
or obligation or desirability or any of a number of other sets of values.
Modality may be seen as a sub-category of evaluation. (2000, p. 5)
Key words: indirectness, intercultural politeness, dispreferred responses, non-native speakers,English and Spanish.
Special issue on metaphorical creativity across modes
Laura Hidalgo Downing and Blanca Kraljevic Mujic
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid / Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
1. Introduction
This special issue brings together some of the papers which were presented in the panel “Metaphor, creativity and identity” at the 8th RaAM (Researching and Applying Metaphor) International Conference, which took place at Lancaster University in July 2012, together with contributions from other prestigious schol- ars in the field. As shown by the extensive production of scholarly research on metaphor in recent years, current studies of metaphor are undergoing an interest- ing stage of cross-fertilization between various disciplines (Cognitive Linguistics, Discourse Studies, Multimodal approaches to the study of metaphor, among oth- ers). This integration of ideas and initiatives from different fields is undoubtedly enriching our understanding of how metaphor is produced and interpreted as a cognitive, social and cultural phenomenon. However, such cross-fertilization brings, along with this new richness and complexity, a series of questions which pose new challenges to the study of metaphor and other figurative language. The papers in this special issue contribute to the present reflection on the complex and dynamic nature of metaphor and related cognitive phenomena.
Our objectives are to explore metaphorical creativity across modes, by focus- ing on specific topics which are of current relevance in recent discussions of meta- phor as a field of study. The contributions to the issue explore the use of metaphor in naturally occurring discourse, more specifically, discourse which typically in- volves different modes (a television interview, films, experimental literature, ad- vertising, protest slogans). Seen as a whole, the papers provide complementary perspectives on the relationships between metaphorical creativity and its instan- tiation within and across modes. Thus, some of the papers reflect on the influence of mode on the manifestation and interpretation of metaphor, while others focus on the crucial role of the interaction between modes for the creation of complex metaphorical meaning.
Metaphor and the Social World 3:2 (2013), 133–139. doi 10.1075/msw.3.2.01int issn 2210–4070 / e-issn 2210–4097 © John Benjamins Publishing Company
metaphors and related source domains used to describe (e)businesses in two dif- ferent time periods, (ii) how the highlighting and hiding of features of the source domains remain constant or change, (iii) the relations between modes, and (iv) the discursive strategies for metaphorical creativity. The results of our analy-
sis reflect an interesting shift in the highlighting and hiding of features of the main metaphors and related sources across the two time periods, thus revealing variations in emergent metaphors across time. We argue that these results reflect ongoing social changes which illustrate the contextual basis and motivation of metaphor as a linguistic form of action and creative communication in advertis- ing discourse.
Keywords: advertising discourse, (e-)business, metaphorical creativity, multimodal metaphor, recontextualization, time variation.
Keywords: engagement; indexicality; modality; interviews; intersubjective positioning; stance; identity.
Key words: TV advertisements, narrativity, multimodality, social semiotics.
metaphors typically reinforce the world view shared by the scientific community and introduce basic ideas on the subject of immunology. Culturally adapted new metaphors include a cline from slightly new perspectives of conventional models, to highly creative uses of metaphor. Culturally adapted new metaphors
appeal primarily to a general readership and not to the scientific community, as they tap human emotions and mythic constructions. These play a crucial role in the abstracts, as they contribute to persuasive and didactic communicative functions in the text.
John Benjamins Publishing Company 7 F TL isbn 978 90 272 0552 0
Approaches to negation within the functional-cognitive tradition tend to focus of specific areas of negation, its function as a speech act, or its cognitive model. Few attempts have been made to propose an integrated discourse model. Studies of negation with few exceptions tend to be limited to brief selections or isolated sentences. This book fills the gap in studies of negation in discourse by providing an up-to-date critical review of the state of the art in negation and by proposing a model that brings together the semantic, cognitive, and pragmatic features of negation, which are crucial for an understanding of its role in discourse.
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