Context in Cultural Linguistics: The Case of Metaphor

Abstract

The issue I address in the paper is this: What is the nature of context in Cultural Linguistics? The particular cultural linguistic phenomenon I investigate here is that of the use of metaphor, especially the production (as opposed to the comprehension) of metaphor in discourse (see Kövecses 2015). In a way, this very question is controversial: Culture is often taken to be context. And if culture is identified with context for metaphor production (and comprehension), it does not make much sense to pose the question. But I will argue that there are several different ways of thinking about the nature of context in metaphor production that is not necessarily cultural. To clarify the nature and role of context in metaphor production as an eminently cultural linguistic phenomenon, I discuss various types of context, distinguish between global and local context, and examine how context is a motivating force in the use of metaphors.