Using an annotated corpus to study metaphors for communication in English

1. Using an annotated corpus to study metaphors for communication in English Elena Semino (and John Heywood) Lancaster University (UK)

2. The corpus • The corpus contains 120 text samples of approximately 2,000 words each, amounting to a total of 258,348 words of (late) 20th century written British English. It is divided into three sections, which comprise 40 text samples each and represent three main genres: • prose fiction (87,709 words), • newspaper news reports (83,603 words), and • biography and autobiography (87,036 words)

3. Annotation for speech, writing and thought presentation • Coding system for phenomena such as Direct Speech, Free Indirect Thought, etc. (see Semino and Short 2004). • Samples of annotated text: <sptag cat=NRS next=DS s=0.21 w=3> Mr Howard adds: <sptag cat=DS next=NRS s=0.79 w=11> "It would amount to the break-up of the Britain we love.“ <sptag cat=NRSA next=NRS s=0.38 w=7> Traditionalists have accused the authors of heresy <sptag cat=NRS next=IS s=0.11 w=2> and claim <sptag cat=IS next=DS s=0.50 w=9> they are making a mockery of the Bible message.

4. A sample concordance N Concordance 2 12> "You have to live and breathe the job 24 hours a day, <sptag cat=NRS next=DS s=0.14 w=2> she said. <sptag cat=DS next= 3 ame to a dramatic end. <P> The 29-year-old Tasmanian, <sptag cat=NRS next=IS s=0.09 w=3> said by police <sptag cat=IS ne 4 "> The Mackenzie King Record Vol 3, p. 236 </endnote> <sptag cat=NRS who=B next=IS whonext=B s=0.2 w=4> In public Churc 5 ight and returned to safely land the 747 at Heathrow. <P> <sptag cat=NRS next=DS s=0.36 w=4> An airline spokeswoman said: 6 ld>NOVEMBER 10, 9.58pm:</hi> Houghton phones again <sptag cat=NRS next=DS s=0.2 w=4> and Lodge tells him: <sptag cat= 7 are colossal - well in excess of £2m between them." <p> <sptag cat=NRS next=IS s=0.1 w=2> It's alleged <sptag cat=IS next=N 8 t the same time a girlfriend moved in with a little boy. <p> <sptag cat=NRS next=DS s=0.1 w=2> He said: <sptag cat=DS next=N 9 RINK. DOES IT COST ALL THAT - A GLASS OF STOUT?" <sptag cat=NRS who=H next=N s=0 w=2> SHE ASKED, <sptag cat=N 10 2> He made a particular hit by giving her a box of sweets, <sptag cat=NRS who=B next=IS whonext=B s=0.05 w=1> saying <spta 11 I giggled as she swam in a torrential downpour yesterday - <sptag cat=NRS next=IS s=0.13 w=4> after it was revealed <sptag cat= 12 ide Bosnia between Serbs and a Moslem-Croat federation. <sptag cat=NRS next=IS s=0.40 w=4> He also called for <sptag cat=IS 13 yellow trim, "bored into the swamp like a power drill". <P> <sptag cat=NRS next=IS s=0.07 w=3> Mr Muelhaupt said <sptag cat=I 14 rtunately, on those days my coach brings me a cup of tea <sptag cat=NRS who=C next=IS whonext=C s=0.18 w=4> and urges me 15 ia, back tracked a little and came up with a get-out Claus. <sptag cat=NRS next=IS s=0.1 w=2> He suggested <sptag cat=IS next 16 my holidays in Hawaii yesterday so I'm a bit jet-lagged," <sptag cat=NRS next=N s=0.12 w=2> he said. <P> <sptag cat=N next 17 t=NRS whonext=B s=0.67 w=4> 'A watch or something,' <sptag cat=NRS who=B next=NI whonext=B s=0.33 w=2> I suggested. 18 tionship" between Britain and America to a new low. <p> <sptag cat=NRS next=IS s=0.41 w=12> British officials who tried to fix u 19 une that injured seven people and destroyed a DC-9. <P> <sptag cat=NRS next=IS s=0.18 w=6> Yesterday, ValuJet's president, L 20 ad logged more than 2,000 hours as a ValuJet pilot. <P> <sptag cat=NRS next=IS s=0.12 w=3> Mr Pena said <sptag cat=IS next 21 xt=NRS whonext=G s=0.46 w=6> 'That is a spoil of war,' <sptag cat=NRS who=G next=N s=0.15 w=2> said Edgington, <sptag c 22 onext=J s=0.58 w=7> "A BIT OF A PLEB, WASN'T HE?" <sptag cat=NRS who=J next=N s=0.42 w=5> PUT IN THE MILITARY FRI 23 lice over an alleged sex attack on a teenage beauty. <P> <sptag cat=NRS next=IS s=0.45 w=5> Blonde Melanie Hilzinger, 19, clai 24 s presenter Jonathan Ross read out a tribute from Charles <sptag cat=NRS next=DS s=0.05 w=2> which said: <sptag cat=DS next 25 ng about the place until she moved out a few weeks later." <sptag cat=NRS next=DS s=0.5 w=8> Another neighbour, 62 year-old Mr 26 cat=IS next=NRS s=0.2 w=5> he is a royal servant. <p> <sptag cat=NRS next=IS s=0.2 w=3> Lodge assures him <sptag cat=IS

5. Criteria for metaphoricity A particular linguistic expression referring to verbal communication was classified as metaphorical if: • it has a more basic current sense that is not to do with verbal communication, and • the verbal communication sense of the relevant expression can be said to be motivated by the more basic sense via a cross-domain mapping where the target is speaking/writing and the source is a different domain. • Former Tory chairman Kenneth Baker blasted the Prime Minister for an act of “crass stupidity”. (The Daily Star, 5/12/1994)

6. Analytical problems 1: Metaphor identification Some examples of borderline cases: • Sir Nicholas Bonsor, chairman of the Commons defence committee, called publicly yesterday for British troops to be pulled out. (The Guardian, 5/12/1994) • ‘How much did you sell her,’ Dennis butted in, thrusting his face forwards till it was only inches from the dealer’s. (Val McDermid, Dead Beat, 1992, p. 168) • Aides hurriedly stressed that the Chancellor had meant to say the reverse. (News of the World, 11/12/1994)

7. Analytical problems 2: Classification in terms of patterns/conceptual metaphors • Mr Brookes-Baker warned of the dangers in adopting a Scandinavian style monarchy - and pointed to the example of Sweden. (The Daily Mirror, 5/12/1994) • The Arsenal boss thundered: “I have not profited from any transfers - and it's important that is made clear.” (The Daily Star, 12/12/1994) • “How much did you sell her, then?” Dennis butted in, thrusting his face forwards till it was only inches from the dealer’s. (Val McDermid, Dead Beat, 1992, p. 168)

8. Analytical problems 2: Classification in terms of patterns/conceptual metaphors • Mr Brookes-Baker warned of the dangers in adopting a Scandinavian style monarchy - and pointed to the example of Sweden.  GESTURE (e.g. signalling, offering)and VISIBILITY (e.g. reveal, emerge, shed light on). • The Arsenal boss thundered: ‘…’  NATURE (e.g. storming, erupting) and SOUND/LOUDNESS (chiming in, calling, being strident). • Dennis butted in: ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR (snarling, cooing, ratting on) and PHYSICAL AGGRESSION (attacking, hitting out).

9. Results 1 – Refinement of earlier accounts ARGUMENT IS WAR  ANTAGONISTIC COMMUNICATION IS PHYSICAL AGGRESSION • The Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke, yesterday stepped up his guerrilla warfare against the Tory right by insisting that […].(The Guardian, 13/5/1996) • Mr Major […] has warned his party’s warring factions […]. (The Daily Telegraph, 5/12/1994) • as she [Princess Diana] fled to Majorca following her bust-up with The Queen over divorce negotiations with Prince Charles. (The Sun, 13/5/1996) • Crime victims hit out yesterday over plans to give thugs a five-star Christmas in jail. (The Sun, 5/12/1994) (see also Vanparys 1995)

10. Results 2 - Quantitative information (Newspaper section of the corpus)

11. Results 3 - Theoretical implications • All the source domains that conventionally contribute to the construction of the target domain of communication have a wide metaphorical ‘scope’, i.e. they contribute to the construction of a wide range of target domains (Kövecses 2002). • Different (aspects of different) source domains contribute to the construction of different aspects of communication (e.g. expression of meaning, performance of speech acts, achievement of goals via speech, antagonistic communication, etc.). • However, explanations at the level of broad source domains cannot properly account for the linguistic patterns found in the data and for the meanings and uses of individual expressions. • Explanations at the level of ‘scenes’ (Grady 1997) or ‘scenarios’ (Musolff 2004) can account more successfully for individual meanings and uses, but a number of problems have emerged in the analysis.

12. Theoretical implications ctd. Grady’s primary metaphors: DAMAGE IS PHYSICAL HARM, OBJECTING IS ATTACKING • Last night Delors attacked Balladur’s idea of a “Europe of circles” in which each member country could progress at its own speed. (The Daily Telegraph, 12/12/1994) • amid renewed backbench sniping at the Blair style of leadership (The Guardian, 13/5/1996)

13. Theoretical implications ctd. Other types of scenes? • “How much did you sell her, then?” Dennis butted in, thrusting his face forwards till it was only inches from the dealer’s. (Val McDermid, Dead Beat, 1992, p. 168) • After Claudie had reluctantly and shamefacedly put him in the picture about Cardinal’s Wharf, he became really interested. (Peregrine Worsthorne, Tricks of Memory, 1993, p. 125) • Both presenters have been slammed for fluffing their lines (The News of the World, 11/12/1994)

14. Conclusions The use of a corpus methodology: • Provides a wider range of examples; • Brings out a wider range of methodological issues; • Allows the extraction of frequency information; • Can lead to important theoretical insights.

15. Main references • Grady, J. (1997) Foundations of meaning: primary metaphors and primary scenes. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. University of California, Berkeley. • Kövecses, Z. (2002) Metaphor: A Practical Introduction. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. • Musolff, A. (2004) Metaphor and Political Discourse: Analogical Reasoning in Debates about Europe. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. • Semino, E. (2005) ‘The metaphorical construction of complex domains: the case of speech activity in English’, Metaphor and Symbol, 20, 1, 35-70. • Semino, E. and Short, M. (2004) Corpus Stylistics: Speech, Writing and Thought Presentation in a Corpus of English Writing. London: Routledge. • Vanparys, J. (1995). A survey of metalinguistic metaphors. In L. Goosens, P. Pauwels, B. Rudzka-Ostyn, A.-M. Simon-Vandenbergen and J. Vanparys, By Word of Mouth: Metaphor, Metonymy and Linguistic Action in a Cognitive Perspective, (pp. 1-34). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.