metaphor
Let an agent recognise and explain metaphors, distinguish metaphor from simile, metonymy, analogy and parable, relay theories of metaphor with attribution, and support interpretation, writing and translation.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Concept What a metaphor is.
Definition
Definition.
Definition
Definition.
- What is a metaphor, and how do source and target domains relate? definition
- Is the figure a metaphor, a simile, a metonymy, an analogy or a parable? boundary
Kinds
Kinds.
Kinds
Kinds.
- What kinds of metaphor exist, from dead to creative and conceptual? definition
- Which entry fits the related figure? action
Interpret Reading metaphors.
Analysis
Analysing a metaphor.
Analysis
Analysis.
- How is a metaphor identified and analysed in a text? action
- What does the metaphor in question convey? measurement
Effects
Effects.
Effects
Effects.
- How do metaphors shape understanding and persuasion, with findings attributed? provenance
- Which entry fits rhetoric? action
Theory Theories of metaphor.
Theories
Theories.
Theories
Theories.
- What do rhetorical, cognitive and philosophical theories say about metaphor, with positions attributed? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Research
Research.
Research
Research.
- How is metaphor studied empirically in linguistics and psychology? provenance
- Which entry fits cognitive linguistics? action
Use Writing and translation.
Writing
Writing.
Writing
Writing.
- How are metaphors used well in writing, and what do style guides warn against? provenance
- Which entry fits style guides? action
Translation
Translation.
Translation
Translation.
- How are metaphors handled in translation across languages and cultures? action
- Which entry fits translation? action
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.KNW
- Other names and narrower kinds
- primary rock, parable, Quranic parable, spatial metaphor, copular metaphor, red line, Extended metaphor, Internet metaphors, conceptual metaphor, mitate, interface metaphor, elephant in the room
What it is Filled
A figure of speech in which one thing is described in terms of another to suggest a likeness without using like or as, as in time is a thief; metaphor pervades everyday language and thought as well as literature, and is studied in rhetoric, linguistics, cognitive science and philosophy as a way of understanding one domain through another.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent recognise and explain metaphors, distinguish metaphor from simile, metonymy, analogy and parable, relay theories of metaphor with attribution, and support interpretation, writing and translation.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Transfer of meaning between domains
- Implicit comparison
- Conventional and creative forms
- Cognitive as well as rhetorical
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Read a metaphor literally when reporting what a person said.
- Present a metaphor as established fact in science, medicine or policy.
- Use dehumanising metaphors, such as vermin or flood, to describe groups of people.
- Translate a metaphor word for word where its meaning is lost.
Only with a human decision
- Choosing the framing metaphors of a public health or policy message.
May
- Identify and explain metaphors in a text.
- Suggest clearer wording where a metaphor confuses or mixes images.
Moral aspects Filled
- Metaphors shape how people think about illness, migrants and conflict; some cause real harm.
Who is affected
- People described by metaphors
- Readers and listeners
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns the concept; it belongs to the speakers of each language.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q10690215 - registry parent class
- Q843227 - registry parent class
related
- figure of speech - a trope
- simile - an explicit comparison
- metonymy - a neighbouring trope
- cognitive linguistics - conceptual metaphor theory
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.metaphor
- Wikidata: Q18534 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18534)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Direct identification of one thing with another
- Source and target domains
- Simile uses like or as; metonymy substitutes an associated thing; parable is a narrative
- Not visible; words used in a transferred sense.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- identify metaphors in text
- explain how a metaphor works
- distinguish related figures
- relay theories with attribution
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Mixed and confusing metaphors
- Literal misreading of metaphors
- Metaphors that mislead in policy or science
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- No regulation; style guides advise on use
Context of use required Filled
- Understanding and expressing one thing in terms of another.
- conventional and dead metaphors
- creative and extended metaphors
- conceptual metaphors such as argument is war
- spatial and orientational metaphors
- mixed metaphors
- political metaphors such as red line
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q18534: metaphor - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Metaphor - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should conceptual metaphor be a separate entry?
- How should theories be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases for parables and a geological term; should they be split off?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q18534/spec.json