Review of Metaphors We Live By

王存娟

【Abstract】Metaphors We Live By firstly introduced different kinds of definitions of metaphor and development phases. Compared with the traditional opinions about metaphor， George Lakoff and Mark Johnson proposed different opinions about metaphor. In order to have a better understanding of the book Metaphors We Live By， there is a need for us to conduct a review of this book.

【Key words】Metaphors We Live By； Book Review； George Lakoff and Mark Johnson

1 Introduction

George Lakoff and Mark Johnson， American famous linguistic experts， the book Metaphors We Live By was published by The University of Chicago Press in 1980. Metaphors We Live By is of great importance in the field of cognitive metaphor. Firstly， Lakoff and Johnson put forward to three kinds of metaphors such as conceptual metaphor， orientational metaphors and ontological metaphors， and they explain it one by one in details with a lot of examples. Secondly， Lakoff and Johnson add that metaphors are metaphorical concept system which means that human conceptual system is metaphorically structured and defined. Thirdly， Lakoff and Johnson claim that metaphorical concepts of all types arise from physical and cultural experience. In this paper， the author will review the contents of this book and then give some expert commentaries on this book， finally， draw the conclusion of the significance and academic contribution.

2 Book Contents

The book Metaphors We Live By contains thirty chapters. It can be divided into 3 parts， chapter 1to 10 is the first part， chapter 11 to 23 is the second part， the last seven chapters is the third part.

The first part is the most important part in this whole book which explains Lakoff and Johnsons opinions of metaphors. Lakoff and Johnson illustrate that without concept we cannot explain metaphor and once a system of metaphor is formed， it brings us consequences. Metaphors are partially structured， In addition， metaphors are in accordance with culture， culture determines metaphors. The typical manifestation of ontological is containers， it explains the nature of such usage， and container metaphors play a significant role in determining how to use metaphor. Moreover， for metaphor， one thing can be compared with many things， one source domain to other target domains. The structure of metaphorical concepts is partial； in other words， metaphors highlight one aspect and hide some other aspects.

In second part， for traditional opinion， metaphor is a kind of figure of speech， metaphor is linguistic expression. Now we have Metaphors We Live By， Lakoff and Johnson propose different opinions of metaphor which are quite different from traditional ones. In this part， Lakoff and Johnson answer the question how was our conceptual system grounded. Based on physical and body experience， so the structure of the metaphorical concept is partial in nature. Furthermore， we are surrounded by a lot of things which is all about culture， different culture also provide different metaphors.

In third part， Lakoff and Johnson explain their opinion that cognitive structure， languages and culture are interactive. Due to the fact that metaphorical languages connect to the cognition of people， metaphors are conceptual in nature； metaphors not only exist commonly but also systemic. Since metaphors exist systemically in culture. Therefore， metaphors are systemic. From these characteristics we can clearly see that cognitive structure， languages and culture are interactive. In addition， Lakoff and Johnson deeply explained the limitations of objectivism metaphor and some inadequacies of subjectivism metaphor.

3 Expert Commentaries on the book

Metaphors We Live By has been highly praised by many scholars and experts. Zhao Yanfang （1995） is the first Chinese scholar who reviews this book from the perspective of cognitive structure. She claims that Lakoff and Johnsons opinions lay the solid foundation for the development of cognitive linguistics. Strang Barbara M. H. （1982） points out that Metaphors We Live By is a short but not unpretentious book on an important theme. Strang Barbara M. H. thinks highly of Lakoff and Johnsons great contributions to cognitive metaphor. Peter Norvig（1985）claims that Metaphors We Live By is an accessible and thought-provoking source of examples demonstrating the range of metaphor in everyday language and thought. After demonstrating the pervasiveness of metaphor， the second contribution of Lakoff and Johnson is in showing a small number of highly productive metaphor schemata that underly much of language understanding.

4 Conclusion

To Lakoff and Johnson， metaphors are not just matters of language， but are used extensively in reasoning and understanding. The book Metaphors We Live By itself is about understanding and cognition. It has laid the foundations of cognitive metaphor. Of course， there is no perfect theory； cognitive metaphor theory is no exception. Lakoff and Johnson only analyze English from the perspective of cognitive metaphor， they are lack of cross-language， cross-culture of cognitive research （Lan Chun， 2005）； in addition， Lakoff and Johnson do not deeply illustrate the change of internal structure in metaphorical mapping relationship. In general， Lakoff and Johnson pioneered the study of cognitive linguistics， this make us look at the world from a new perspective. In recent years， more and more postgraduates do their research from the perspective of cognitive metaphor， and it is really helpful for academic paper. Therefore， the author thinks that Metaphors We Live By is a significant book for the research of metaphors.

【References】

[1]George Lakoff ﹠ Mark Johnson. Metaphors We Live By[M]. The University of Chicago Press，1980.

[2]Strang， Barbara. M.H. George Lakoff and Mark Johnson， “Metaphors We Live By” （Book Review）[M]. Modern Language Review ，1982.

[3]Peter Norvig. Review of Metaphors We Live By[M]. Book Reviews，1985.

[4]赵艳芳.语言的隐喻认知结构——《我们赖以生存的隐喻》评介[M].外语教学与研究，1995.

[5]蓝纯.认知语言学与隐喻研究[M].北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2005.

[责任编辑：王伟平]