Metaphors in the Mind

Jeannette Littlemore is Professor of Applied Linguistics in the Department of English Language and Linguistics at the University of Birmingham. She is author of multiple books including Metonymy: Hidden Shortcuts in Language, Thought and Communication (Cambridge, 2015) and Figurative Language, Genre and Register (with Alice Deignan and Elena Semino, Cambridge, 2013).

• 1. 'I am trying to climb Everest in flip-flops.' What is embodied metaphor and where does it come from?; 2. 'Would you prefer a pencil or an antiseptic wipe?' What evidence is there for embodied metaphor and why is it important to consider this variation?; 3. 'I'm running on this soapy conveyor belt with people throwing wet sponges at me.' Which metaphors are embodied and when? Variation according to type, function and context; 4. 'This one sounds like a bell and this one sounds like when you're dead.' Age, and the developmental nature of embodied metaphor; 5. 'I did not know where I started and where I ended.' Different bodies: different minds? How handedness, body shape and gender affect the way we experience the world through metaphor; 6. 'Those cookies tasted of regret and rotting flesh.' Sensory metaphor and associated impairments and conditions; 7. 'Things come out of my mouth that shouldn't be there.' 'Altered minds': the impact of depression and psychological disorders on the way people experience the world through metaphor; 8. 'This is my body which will be given up for you.' Individual differences in personality, thinking style, political stance and religious beliefs; 9. 'Malodorous blacksmiths and lazy livers.' Cross-linguistic and cross-cultural variation in embodied metaphor; 10. Conclusion.

'Lucidly written and well argued, the monograph successfully shows us why this project is worth pursuing.' Shengxi Jin, Journal of Pragmatics