Metaphor and the Social World

Editors
ORCiD logo with linkSusan Nacey | Universitetet i Innlandet / University of Inland Norway
ORCiD logo with linkDennis Tay | Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Sarah Turner | Coventry University
Associate Editor
ORCiD logo with linkMolly Xie Pan | College of Professional and Continuing Education, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Founding Editors
Lynne Cameron | The Open University
Graham Low | University of York
Review Editor
David O’Reilly | University of York

Journal metrics

Impact Factor: 0.7 (5-year: 1.2)
Journal Citation Indicator: 0.52
CiteScore: 2.6
SNIP: 1.363 SJR: 0.798

This journal is peer reviewed and indexed in: CNKI Scholar ; Dimensions ; ERIH PLUS ; Glottolog ; IBR/IBZ ; Linguistic Bibliography/Bibliographie Linguistique ; Linguistics Abstracts Online ; Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA ) ; MLA International Bibliography ; Scopus ; WoS Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI )

The journal Metaphor and the Social World aims to provide a forum for researchers to share with each other, and with potential research users, work that explores aspects of metaphor and the social world. The term “social world” signals the importance given to context (of metaphor use), to connections (e.g. across social, cognitive and discourse dimensions of metaphor use), and to communication (between individuals or across social groups). The journal is not restricted to a single disciplinary or theoretical framework but welcomes papers based in a range of theoretical approaches to metaphor, including discourse and cognitive linguistic approaches, provided that the theory adequately supports the empirical work. Metaphor may be dealt with as either a matter of language or of thought, or of both; what matters is that consideration is given to the social and discourse contexts in which metaphor is found. Furthermore, “metaphor” is broadly interpreted and articles are welcomed on metonymy and other types of figurative language. A further aim is to encourage the development of high-quality research methodology using metaphor as an investigative tool, and for investigating the nature of metaphor use, for example multi-modal discourse analytic or corpus linguistic approaches to metaphor data. The journal publishes various types of articles, including reports of empirical studies, key articles accompanied by short responses, reviews and meta-analyses with commentaries. The Forum section publishes short responses to papers or current issues.

MSW publishes its articles Online First.

MSW invites submissions.
Please consult the Guidelines elsewhere on this page for instructions
or contact the editors: a.g.dorst@hum.leidenuniv.nl, susan.nacey@inn.no and dennis.tay@polyu.edu.hk.
JBE logo with link
Browse journal on John Benjamins e-Platform
ISSN: 2210-4070 | E-ISSN: 2210‑4097
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/msw
Latest articles

27 March 2026

  • R. Alejo-González. 2024. Metaphor and Corpus Linguistics: Building and Investigating an English as a Medium of Instruction Corpus
    Reviewed by Wanting Zhou | MSW 16:1 (2026) pp. 192–198

    • 24 March 2026

  • A. Beger & T. H. Smith (Eds.). 2020. How Metaphors Guide, Teach and Popularize Science
    Reviewed by Niamh A. O’Dowd | MSW 16:1 (2026) pp. 185–191

    • 2 March 2026

  • Metaphors of depression in Malay discourse: A cultural and affective analysis of clinical narratives
    Salihah binti Ab Patah, Norliza Jamaluddin & Ng Chong Guan

    • 29 January 2026

  • Like a coin spinning in the air: The effect of (non-)metaphorical explanations on comprehension and attitudes towards quantum technology
    Aletta Lucia Meinsma, W. Gudrun Reijnierse & Julia Cramer
  • Agency in metaphor and translation: A socio-cognitive approach to deliberate metaphor use in intercultural communication
    Sum Wong

    • 16 December 2025

  • Valence distribution and valence alignment in the metaphor być na świeczniku in the Polish language
    Tomasz Dyrmo | MSW 16:1 (2026) pp. 47–70

    • 25 November 2025

  • A corpus-assisted critical metaphor analysis of movement metaphors in university presidents’ responses to anti-black violence
    Victor Adedayo | MSW 16:1 (2026) pp. 1–23
  • ‘Climate cults’ and ‘climate sins’: Religion metaphors and the framing of climate change in American and Canadian newspapers
    Kimberly Grogan & Elise Stickles | MSW 16:1 (2026) p. 97
  • Ecology, responsibility, and moral accounting: Metaphorical footprints and traces in Polish online press
    Maciej Rosiński | MSW 16:1 (2026) pp. 126–149

    • 21 October 2025

  • Fear metonymy in Swedish and Japanese crime fiction: Literal, conventional, and creative expressions
    Annika Hillbom & Misuzu Shimotori | MSW 15:2 (2025) pp. 263–287
  • Moral metaphor, metonymic causation: An examination of the intertwined metaphoric/metonymic nature and social use of plet as an expression of social exposure and shame in Danish
    Thomas Wiben Jensen | MSW 15:2 (2025) pp. 242–262
  • A. Baicchi. 2020. Figurative meaning construction in thought and language
    Reviewed by Lorena Bort-Mir | MSW 15:2 (2025) pp. 329–335
  • A. Piata. 2018. The Poetics of Time — Metaphors and Blends in Language and Literature
    Reviewed by Alena Revutskaya | MSW 15:2 (2025) pp. 314–320

    • 17 October 2025

  • D. L Ritchie. 2022. Feeling, Thinking, and Talking How the Embodied Brain Shapes Everyday Communication
    Reviewed by Danyang Li | MSW 15:2 (2025) pp. 321–328
  • The metonymic body
    Raymond W. Gibbs, Jr. | MSW 15:2 (2025) pp. 196–204

    • 2 October 2025

  • Looking back on the metaphor-metonymy divide: Making peace with blurred boundaries and shape-shifters
    Niamh A. O’Dowd | MSW 15:2 (2025) pp. 205–217

    • 1 October 2025

  • From spatial to abstract and back again: The challenging case of hidden metonymies for metaphor identification scholars
    Marlene Johansson Falck & Lacey Okonski | MSW 15:2 (2025) pp. 218–241

    • 22 September 2025

  • Creative visual and multimodal metonymy in non-commercial advertisements on substance use
    Laura Hidalgo-Downing | MSW 15:2 (2025) pp. 288–313

    • 19 September 2025

  • Economy is living organism : Deliberate metaphors in Chinese economic editorials in the context of COVID-19
    Yuting Xu & Zaijiang Wei | MSW 16:1 (2026) pp. 150–171
  • Embodied, social, and creative dimensions of metonymy
    Marlene Johansson Falck & Thomas Wiben Jensen | MSW 15:2 (2025) pp. 185–195

    • 14 July 2025

  • Press, police, and protest: The framing effect of elemental metaphors in social unrest
    Alexander W. Chen | MSW 16:1 (2026) pp. 24–46

    • 2 June 2025

  • Metaphors in Stand Up 2 Cancer animations
    Charles Forceville | MSW 16:1 (2026) pp. 71–96

    • 19 May 2025

  • Peace talks as a card game: What can metaphor researchers do?
    Gerard J. Steen | MSW 16:1 (2026) pp. 172–178

    • 14 April 2025

  • The climate battle in America: War metaphors alarm Republicans but Democrats more likely to act
    Claudia Gaele, Lacey Okonski & Adan L. Martinez-Cruz | MSW 15:1 (2025) p. 77

    • 28 March 2025

  • E. Gironzetti. 2022. The Multimodal Performance of Conversational Humor
    Reviewed by Caroline Girardi Ferrari | MSW 15:1 (2025) pp. 169–176
  • M. Prandi & M. Rossi (Eds). 2022. Researching Metaphors: Towards a Comprehensive Account
    Reviewed by Jiao Han | MSW 15:1 (2025) pp. 177–183

    • 27 March 2025

  • J. Farkas & M. Maloney (Eds.). 2025. Digital Media Metaphors: A Critical Introduction
    Reviewed by Gaoqiang Lu | MSW 16:1 (2026) pp. 179–184

    • 13 March 2025

  • G. J. Steen. 2023. Slowing Metaphor Down. Elaborating Deliberate Metaphor Theory
    Reviewed by Bin Zhang | MSW 15:1 (2025) pp. 163–168

    • 10 February 2025

  • Cognitive analysis of gas pipeline discourse
    Craig Frayne | MSW 15:1 (2025) pp. 55–76

    • 27 January 2025

  • The role of metonymy in social identity
    Jane Dilkes | MSW 15:1 (2025) pp. 1–26

    • 16 December 2024

  • Falling, slipping, and stumbling backwards: Metaphors of dependence and recovery in online alcohol support materials
    Sinéad Jackson | MSW 15:1 (2025) pp. 107–134

    • 22 November 2024

  • China’s official use and translation of conflict metaphor over two decades: From statistical to behavioural variations and patterns
    Yang Wu | MSW 15:1 (2025) pp. 135–162

    • 21 November 2024

  • Multimodal metaphors, political activism and Anglophone nationalism in Cameroon
    Raymond Echitchi | MSW 15:1 (2025) pp. 27–54
    • IssuesOnline-first articles

    Volume 16 (2026)

    Issue 1

    Volume 15 (2025)

    Issue 2
    Embodied, Social, and Creative Dimensions of Metonymy
    Issue 1

    Volume 14 (2024)

    Issue 2
    Issue 1

    Volume 13 (2023)

    Issue 2
    Issue 1
    Current challenges in metaphor research

    Volume 12 (2022)

    Issue 2
    Issue 1

    Volume 11 (2021)

    Issue 2
    Metaphor in Education: A multilingual perspective
    Issue 1

    Volume 10 (2020)

    Issue 2
    Metaphor in Mental Healthcare
    Issue 1

    Volume 9 (2019)

    Issue 2
    Issue 1

    Volume 8 (2018)

    Issue 2
    Issue 1

    Volume 7 (2017)

    Issue 2
    Issue 1
    Metaphor in Religion and Spirituality

    Volume 6 (2016)

    Issue 2
    Issue 1

    Volume 5 (2015)

    Issue 2
    The political impact of metaphors
    Issue 1

    Volume 4 (2014)

    Issue 2
    Issue 1

    Volume 3 (2013)

    Issue 2
    Metaphorical creativity across modes
    Issue 1

    Volume 2 (2012)

    Issue 2
    Issue 1

    Volume 1 (2011)

    Issue 2
    Issue 1
    Editorial info
    Editors
    ORCiD logo with linkSusan Nacey | Universitetet i Innlandet / University of Inland Norway
    ORCiD logo with linkDennis Tay | Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
    Sarah Turner | Coventry University
    Associate Editor
    ORCiD logo with linkMolly Xie Pan | College of Professional and Continuing Education, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Founding Editors
    Lynne Cameron | The Open University
    Graham Low | University of York
    Review Editor
    David O’Reilly | University of York
    Editorial Board
    ORCiD logo with linkKathleen Ahrens | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    ORCiD logo with linkJohn Barnden | University of Birmingham, UK
    ORCiD logo with linkTony Berber Sardinha | Pontifical University of São Paulo
    ORCiD logo with linkRosario Caballero | Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
    Jonathan Charteris-Black | University of the West of England
    Alice Deignan | University of Leeds
    ORCiD logo with linkAletta G. Dorst | Leiden University
    ORCiD logo with linkRaymond W. Gibbs, Jr. | Independent Cognitive Scientist
    ORCiD logo with linkJanet Ho Nga Man | Lingnan University, Hong Kong
    ORCiD logo with linkVeronika Koller | Lancaster University
    ORCiD logo with linkJeannette Littlemore | University of Birmingham
    Fiona MacArthur | Universidad de Extremadura
    ORCiD logo with linkAndreas Musolff | University of East Anglia
    David Ritchie | Portland State University
    ORCiD logo with linkElena Semino | Lancaster University
    Gerard J. Steen | University of Amsterdam
    ORCiD logo with linkXu Wen | Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing
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    Metaphor and the Social World offers online submission. Manuscripts should be submitted electronically through the journal’s online submission and manuscript tracking site.

    Please consult the guidelines and the Short Guide to EM for Authors before you submit your paper.

    If you are not able to submit online, or for any other editorial correspondence, please contact the editors: a.g.dorst at hum.leidenuniv.nl, susan.nacey at inn.no and dennis.tay at polyu.edu.hk

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