Abstract

The "Conceptual Metaphor Theory" was welcomed as a radical break from previous approaches to metaphor and semantic theory. After sketching the main tenets of metaphor studies in the last century, the focus is placed on the relevant role that conceptual metaphor plays in semantic interpretation. Over the past thirty years, Cognitive Linguistics has devoted an impressive amount of research to conceptual metaphor in verbal and non-verbal domains. The article offers an overview of the main features of metaphor through the discussion of some language phenomena, ranging from morphology and the lexicon to syntax, pragmatics, and multimodality.The Conceptual Metaphor Theory was welcomed as a radical break from previous approaches to metaphor and semantic theory. After sketching the main tenets of metaphor studies in the last century, the focus is placed on the relevant role that conceptual metaphor plays in semantic interpretation. Over the past thirty years, Cognitive Linguistics has devoted an impressive amount of research to conceptual metaphor in verbal and non-verbal domains. The article offers an overview of the main features of metaphor through the discussion of some language phenomena, ranging from morphology and the lexicon to syntax, pragmatics, and multimodality.