Subject: language as metaphor & metaphors for language - - session at aaa 98

i have volunteered to organize the following session for the next meeting of the society for linguistic anthropology at aaa 98 ( next winter in washington ) : language as metaphor and metaphors for language metaphor has been shown to be an integral component of the way we conceptualize experience and embody it in language . but metaphor can also be thought of as a specific tool that can be used in a variety of disciplines : a concrete image can summarize or illuminate the object of study , and sometimes even inform the direction of the discipline . new theories give rise to new metaphors , and the study of such metaphors can throw light on the development of theories . papers are invited from both linguists and non-linguists on two topics : 1 ) language used as metaphor : for a restricted communicative code used concurrently with language : e . g . the language of flowers ; but also for various characteristics of expressive or cognitive domains , e . g . the grammar / syntax / vocabulary of architecture , music , etc . ; what characteristics of language are used metaphorically ? to what do they correspond in other domains ? what is the usefulness of language metaphors for the domains in question ? 2 ) language as object of metaphor : what can language be compared to ? explicit ( e . g . neo-grammarian ' family tree ' ; saussure 's game of chess ; the city ) and implicit ( ? ) metaphors for language ; what do such metaphors reveal about language and how speakers view it ? how do metaphors for language relate to directions in linguistics ? please contact me : marie - lucie tarpent , mount st vincent u , halifax , n . s . b3m 2j6 canada ; 902-457 - 6172 ; marie-lucie . tarpent @ msvu . ca .
