Figurative Language, Chapter 1 (original) (raw)

It is well known that 'fi gurative language' is often used in speaking and writing to express ideas and emotions, and to affect the views and attitudes of others. However, there is increasing evidence that the use of fi gurative language varies depending on the nature of the communicative activity, or, more specifi cally, depending on factors such as topic, audience, mode of communication, situational context, and so on. In this book we propose a systematic approach to variation in the use of fi gurative language, and particularly metaphor and metonymy, in different 'genres' and 'registers', which we defi ne in Chapter 2 Rose, 2003, 2008). A central notion in our approach is that texts are produced by and for members of different 'discourse communities' -groups of people who 'have texts and practices in common' (Barton, 2007: 75). We show that the forms and functions of fi gurative language can differ signifi cantly from genre to genre and across registers. We argue that this both refl ects and shapes the discourse communities associated with different genres and, more specifi cally, the goals, conventions, expertise and ideologies of the members of the discourse communities that texts are produced by or meant for. We investigate the use of fi gurative language across a variety of genres and registers (both written and spoken), and consider a range of instances of communication that involve crossing the boundaries between different discourse communities.