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Article published In: Metaphor and the Social World
Vol. 7:2 (2017) ► pp.252–269

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Analysing metaphor in the family register through scripted sitcom conversations

 | Universitat Politècnica de València
 | Universitat de València
Published online: 20 November 2017
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https://doi.org/10.1075/msw.7.2.05sko
Abstract
This study looks into the patterns of metaphor use in the family register of scripted sitcom conversations. Previous studies of metaphor in conversation adopted different approaches to the concept of register, resulting in a rich but complex picture (Cameron, L. (2003). Metaphor in educational discourse. London: Continuum.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, (2007). Patterns of metaphor use in reconciliation talk. Discourse & Society, 18 (2), 197–222. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, (2008). Metaphor and talk. In R. W. Gibbs (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought (pp. 197–211). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Deignan, A., Littlemore, J., & Semino, E. (2013). Figurative language, genre and register. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Kaal, A. A. (2012). Metaphor in conversation. Doctoral dissertation. Oisterwijk: Uitgeverij BOXPress.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). This research attempts to reduce such complexity by using an approach to register based on closely defining communicative settings and the participants’ roles ( (2006). A new approach to register variation: The missing link. Ibérica, 12 1, 89–110.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). In this way, we were able to focus on the register used by family members and close friends and the contexts of private oral communication, as opposed to other possible registers characteristic of professional conversations or those between friends. The study provides data on the frequency, typology, grammatical form and function of the metaphors used in the fictional dialogues between family members and close friends from two British sitcoms, “Gavin & Stacey” and “The Royle Family”. The findings, in general, confirm the patterns of metaphor use in naturally-occurring (UK) conversation, but show lower frequency ranges than other more purpose-oriented contexts. The main contribution of this study is the evaluation of metaphor as an ‘appraisal resource’ (Martin, J. R., & White, P. R. R. (2005). The language of evaluation. Appraisal in English. Houndmills & New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) and its frequent use in assessing the participants’ attitudes. The study suggests that defining register in terms of communicative setting and participants’ roles can help to provide comparable data on metaphor variation.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Register in metaphor studies
  • 3.Metaphor in conversation
  • 4.Metaphor functions in conversation: expressing appraisal
  • 5.Corpus description and procedure
  • 6.Results and discussion
  • 7.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (52)
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