It is hard to imagine how “dull”, “poor” and meager our language would be if it did not have such vivid figurative elements as paths, one of which is a metaphor. The definition of this concept in its most general form can be formulated as follows: metaphor - the figurative meaning of a word, any use of words in an indirect meaning. If formulated more figuratively, a metaphor is a dialogue of meanings, as a result of which a new meaning is born. Trails are a universal phenomenon, they are found in all languages of the world and at all times. Metaphorization is one of the main and inexhaustible sources of language development, thanks to which vivid images are created, since imagery lies at its core. The basic principle of creating a metaphor is a comparison, but not the usual one, but an analogy, i.e. Comparison of objects of fundamentally dissimilar, diverse.
Metaphor Functions
To compare little comparable objects and meanings, while creating vivid and capacious images that enrich speech, you need to have a special poetic gift. It is no coincidence that people capable of this are often called poets, even if they have no relation to writing poetry. Indeed, one of the main functions performed by the metaphor is to give speech a figuratively expressive coloring, combined with affectiveness, a pronounced emotional assessment.
Another metaphor function is nominative. It consists in replenishing the language with lexical and phraseological constructions. In the Russian language there are many, for example, a bend of a river, rain drumming, a mountain range and others.
A metaphor also has a conceptual function. A conceptual metaphor is the use of figurative meanings of words to express non-essential meanings in scientific and sociopolitical speech, for example, the field of experiment, the foundation of the state, and the circle of concepts.
In addition to the main functions, the metaphor performs many more: figuratively-visual, representative, predictive, ornamental, etc.
Types of Metaphors
It is customary to distinguish two main types of metaphors. The first - the erased metaphor - is such a commonly accepted and frequently used expression that its figurative meaning is not captured. For example, winter came, snow fell, it began to rain.
The second view is a sharp metaphor when clearly incompatible concepts are compared. This type is most often found in fiction and is a characteristic of the writer’s idiostyle.
Besides these two, there are other types of metaphors. For example, a metaphor is a formula that is close in appearance to an erased metaphor, but it is so stereotyped that it is already problematic to use the phrase in its direct meaning, for example, the wheel of fortune.
An expanded metaphor consists of a large text fragment, during which its metaphorical meaning unfolds. In fiction and poetry, the metaphor very often is a complete finished work, poem, parable, short story.
The role of metaphor in everyday life
The imagery and emotional coloring of the metaphor is so deep that it is often used to influence the human consciousness and subconscious. In their practice, psychologists and psychotherapists often use metaphorical techniques in order to influence the patient’s psyche and help him understand intrapersonal problems. The role of metaphor in advertising is widely known . Visual, sound and olfactory images created with its help awaken the imagination, develop imagination, helping the consumer to make a certain choice without visible pressure from the outside. Such techniques are called manipulative. In this connection, one should also mention the role of metaphor in the political sphere, where interest in the problem and methods of manipulating a person has grown, especially recently, and the metaphor plays a very effective role here.