Metaphor in Pragmatics: Literal Meaning, Metaphorical Meaning and Other Dangerous Things

This chapter responds to criticisms of Conceptual Metaphor Theory by offering an alternative framework for the construction of metaphorical meaning. It provides a comprehensive overview of how the pragmatic literature explores the interplay between literal and metaphorical meanings. The first paragraph discusses the traditional dichotomy between indirect and direct access hypotheses to metaphorical meaning. Then we will examine Giora’s Graded Salience Hypothesis, showing that these hypotheses describe different types of metaphor rather than mutually exclusive options. The third paragraph looks at the radical contextualist hypothesis within Relevance Theory, showcasing an effort to reintegrate the study of metaphor into a broader theory of language and to counter recent trends in Metaphor Studies that emphasize autonomy and independence.