Metaphorical Concepts and Their Cognitive Functions in Medical Discourse: Research Papers vs. Press Articles

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to disclose linguistic evidence of the use and function of metaphors in medical discourse, by comparing their incidence in two genres, namely research papers and press articles. For that purpose, a sample of texts in both genres is analysed. Four types of conceptual metaphorical projections are identified according to Conceptual Metaphor Theory (i.e. structural, image, ontological, and orientational). Subsequently, the relation of these mappings with cognitive functions – categorization and conceptualization – is described. The purpose is to explore the role these functions play in knowledge construction and their implications for communicative aspects of metaphor usage. The results suggest a characterization of metaphorical concepts in the two medical genres. The conclusions show divergent tendencies in the use of metaphor and its cognitive and communicative functions in the genres analysed.