Abstract
Deignan, Littlemore and Semino’s Figurative Language, Genre and Register is both a convincing attempt at developing a systematic for the analysis of figurative language – metaphoric and metonymic – and an exploration of how figurative language varies across the genres and registers that characterise discourse communities. Drawing on conceptual metaphor theory (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980), as well as on a theory of genre that incorporates elements from the frameworks of Swales (1990) and systemic functional grammar (e.g. Martin and Rose, 2003), the book investigates the use of figurative language in a number of fields, from academic writing to children’s literature and medical therapy.
The opening chapters present the general theoretical background of the project. Chapter 1 discusses the aims of the book and presents an overview of state-of-the-art research on figurative language and genre. Chapter 2 introduces an original framework for the systematic analysis of figurative language, its communicative purpose and its efficacy in conveying meaning to the audience. Although the presentation of the materials is clear, the chapter is likely to be difficult for readers unfamiliar with either metaphor theory or genre analysis; some key terms – such as metonymy, purpose and staging – are not properly defined, for example, compromising the ability of the novice to follow the details of subsequent analyses. Nevertheless, the combined framework provides numerous interesting insights. In Chapter 3, the authors illustrate its usefulness by applying it to re-analyse some of their previous work. The chapter also serves as a clear demonstration of all elements in the analytic framework, even if not all elements in it are obviously relevant for the selected example.
The following chapters present a range of case studies involving different fields, genres and participants – each focusing on a set of data to fully illustrate the aspects of the model which are relevant for the analysis, trading generalisability for detail. It is here that the framework shows its full potential. Chapters 4 and 5 deal with academic communication. Chapter 4 compares the metaphors used in one specialised and one popular scientific text, while Chapter 5 contrasts the spoken discourse of a lecturer with a student and with that of a colleague. The thorough analysis shows how genre and register influence the usage of metaphors, as well as their understanding. For example, tenor is an important factor here, such as when the lecturer signals the metaphors in her talk with the student and underlines them with gestures in order to make sure that the ‘outsider’ will understand them correctly – something she does not do in the communication with her colleague.
Chapters 6 to 8 deal with the usage of metaphors in speaking to or about children. In Chapter 6, the authors analyse nurses’ use of metaphors in communication with each other, with the children, with the parents and about the patients. Chapter 7 looks at metaphors used in football reports from a children’s football club, comparing it to the supporting talk of the coach to the children. Here, it is staging, purpose and position in the community that have a strong influence on how metaphors are used and how they are interpreted. In Chapter 8, the authors examine a child’s version of Romeo and Juliet, in which the Shakespearean metaphors had been thoroughly revised. The intention of these changes is again explained in terms of genre and in register: the communicative purpose differs between the original and the adapted versions, and so do the roles of writer and reader. For example, some metonymic expressions were paraphrased because their interpretation would require historically-specific background knowledge.
Chapter 9 looks at a fascinating project in which patients with chronic pain were asked to visualise their pain with the help of photos and to write about what they wanted to express in these pictures. The visual materials helped patients to create new metaphors, in turn enabling them to help the doctors understand their afflictions. Metaphors served to facilitate communication between the medical insiders and the service users.
Chapter 10 summarises the findings of the book. The authors’ results are doubtlessly convincing. The framework they present is persuasive, and of clear use in facilitating the comparison of research on figurative language in linguistics – as well as, ideally, literary studies. Last but not least, the framework offers great pedagogic potential for academic and professional writing, helping authors understand how best to employ figurative language to convey meaning. It would have been desirable to see a greater effort expended towards making the book directly accessible to these varied audiences. Particularly in the opening chapters, a significant amount of background knowledge of metaphor and genre research on the part of the reader is assumed. Nevertheless, the detailed descriptions given in the case studies often provide useful clarification, and the variety of fields covered makes the volume an insightful and interesting read – and not only for linguists.