Metonymic matrix domains and multiple formations in indirect speech acts

The notion of matrix domain in metonymy needs further exploration in connection to its role in the unfolding of contextual elements in discourse. On the basis of different dialogues in Chinese, I examine the way shifts in indirect speech act meaning relate to changes in the metonymic source and target domains underlying such meaning. I claim that matrix domains can have different configurations within the same discourse: in some situations, one source domain can map onto more than one target domain, while in others several source domains can map onto only one target domain. I propose that speech acts sometimes change from one (sub)type to another as the speaker–hearer interaction develops, remodeling the initial configuration of the matrix domain