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Article published In: Pragmatics & Cognition
Vol. 30:2 (2023) ► pp.353–376

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The visibility of speech

An investigation into the relationship between metaphor and visual imagery

 | University of Parma
Published online: 11 July 2024
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https://doi.org/10.1075/pc.00034.gar
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between visual imagery and metaphor, highlighting the historical neglect of this relationship in philosophy and cognitive science and exploring the reasons behind this neglect in theoretical and empirical studies. After outlining influential philosophical theories on the relationship between metaphor and visual imagery, I provide a critical overview of empirical findings on this. Thus, I argue that experimental studies lack sufficient empirical evidence to make meaningful generalizations and fail to determine the true role of visual imagery in metaphor comprehension. Nevertheless, they do not allow us to rule out the involvement of imagery in the comprehension of at least certain metaphors. The present paper proposes that visual imagery might play different roles depending on the semantic features of the vehicle and the kind of meaning conveyed by different types of metaphors. I conclude this discussion by sketching a roadmap for further exploration of this fascinating and challenging relationship.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Metaphor and visual imagery: A troubled history
  • 3.Empirical findings on metaphor and visual imagery
  • 4.Towards two (or more) ways to metaphor comprehension
  • 5.Metaphor and visual imagery: A conclusive roadmap
  • Notes
  • References
References (92)
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Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Khatin-Zadeh, Omid, Jiehui Hu & Hassan Banaruee
2026. Metaphor as a process of propositional or imagistic source-target interaction: A review of five theories. New Ideas in Psychology 80 ► pp. 101217 ff. DOI logo
Garello, Stefana
2024. Metaphor and Mental Imagery: The “Visibility” of Figurative Language. In The Enigma of Metaphor [UNIPA Springer Series, ], ► pp. 129 ff. DOI logo

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