Metaphor: A Practical Introduction

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195145119 ISBN 13: 9780195145113

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2002

This clear and lucid primer fills an important need by providing a comprehensive account of the many new developments in the study of metaphor over the last twenty years and their impact on our understanding of language, culture, and the mind. Beginning with Lakoff and Johnson's seminal work in Metaphors We Live By, Kövecses outlines the development of "the cognitive linguistic theory of metaphor" by explaining key ideas on metaphor. He also explores primary metaphor, metaphor systems, the "invariance principle," mental-imagery experiments, the many-space blending theory, and the role of image schemas in metaphorical thought. He examines the applicability of these ideas to numerous related fields.

About the Author:

Zoltan Kovecses is at ELTE, Budapest.

Review:

"A firmly cognitive-linguistic introduction that presents all of the important findings of this approach to a student audience. It is the first book of its kind, and in giving a practical turn to the exposition, it has filled an obvious gap in the market."--Language and Literature

"Metaphor scholars and students have for years suffered from the lack of a comprehensive introduction to the topic of metaphor in language, thought, and culture. Fortunately, Zoltan Kovecses has written a wonderful book that provides a clear, systematic discussion of metaphor. His book is interesting to read, has many vivid examples, and outlines the major theoretical approach to metaphor in contemporary metaphor studies. I will use this book in many of the courses I teach and will refer to it frequently in pursuing my own research on metaphor."--Raymond W. Gibbs, Jr., University of California, Santa Cruz