Metaphor and multimodality
Metaphor and multimodality — How does the multimodality of the semantic representations in the human conceptual system affect the expression of metaphor in other codes than language, such as gestures, visuals, sounds, and music? And how does multimodal metaphor compare with verbal metaphor?
Metaphor research is nowadays strongly focused toward the study of its expression in language, and their relation to a monolithic conceptual system. However, a comprehensive theory cannot afford to leave aside: 1) other modalities of expression, such as the visual modality (including images, videos, and gestures), and audio (sounds and music), 2) the distinctions between modality-specific semantic representations in the conceptual system.
The present program aims at investigating: 1) how metaphor is expressed in codes other than language and how do different modality-specific expressions compare to one another with respect to the three dimensions of metaphor (conceptualization, expression, and communication); 2) how do such expressions relate and feed into modality-specific conceptual representations.
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Past projects