Since Metaphors We Live By by Lakoff and Johnson was published [1980], studies adopting a cognitive approach to metaphor have proliferated and it is now generally acknowledged that metaphors have a cognitive function; they not only structure our language and discourse, but also our thought system, as they allow us to conceptualize a target domain thanks to a source domain. Cognitive linguistics, however, was frequently criticized for not considering the ornamental and rhetorical functions of metaphor. Other approaches were thus developed to take these functions into account, including Critical Metaphor Theory (Charteris-Black [2004]), which largely relies on Critical Discourse Analysis. Nevertheless, Charteris-Black based his studies on large corpora of political, religious, or journalistic texts and found that metaphor, because of its cognitive and affective appeal, remained the ultimate rhetorical tool in some genres.

The Linguistics Research Center (CEL - EA 1663) will host a Conference in English on "Metaphor and Manipulation" at University Jean Moulin (Lyon 3), on Friday, May 17th 2019.

Keynote speakers

• Prof. Jonathan Charteris-Black, University of the West of England - Bristol (England)
• Prof. Herbert Colston, University of Alberta (Canada)

Argument

Since Metaphors We Live By by Lakoff and Johnson was published [1980], studies adopting a cognitive approach to metaphor have proliferated and it is now generally acknowledged that metaphors have a cognitive function; they not only structure our language and discourse, but also our thought system, as they allow us to conceptualize a target domain thanks to a source domain. Cognitive linguistics, however, was frequently criticized for not considering the ornamental and rhetorical functions of metaphor. Other approaches were thus developed to take these functions into account, including Critical Metaphor Theory (Charteris-Black [2004]), which largely relies on Critical Discourse Analysis. Nevertheless, Charteris-Black based his studies on large corpora of political, religious, or journalistic texts and found that metaphor, because of its cognitive and affective appeal, remained the ultimate rhetorical tool in some genres. He reckoned that lexicalized metaphors in those texts not only allow us to persuade readers or co-speakers or to convey an ideology, but also to manipulate the reader or the co-speaker by remaining unnoticed, as “the subliminal potential of metaphor is central to the performance of leadership” (Charteris Black [2005: 2]). Yet, in Conceptual Metaphor Theory, metaphor largely relies on the principle of highlighting-hiding (Kövecses [2002: 80]); in other words, using one particular source domain allows the speaker to conceptualize one target domain in a particular way, that is to say to highlight some characteristics and to hide others. Metaphor thus allows speakers to manipulate the information by presenting it in a very specific way, as changing the source domain allows the way in which the information is presented to be changed. Consequently, it seems that metaphor allows speakers to manipulate the co-speaker(s) and the reader(s) by influencing their perception of a given reality. Therefore, wouldn’t it be possible to postulate that all metaphors have both cognitive and manipulative functions? Is this last function limited to a certain type of discourse? Following Charteris-Black’s work on the persuasive function of metaphor (“Metaphor can be manipulative but is more commonly persuasive”, Charteris-Black [2005: 44]), this conference will essentially focus on the manipulative aspects of metaphor – whether or not in combination with other rhetorical strategies, linguistic or non-linguistic devices, myths, etc.

Program

Friday 17 May 2019

• 8h15  Registration, Amphitheater Doucet Bon
• 8h45 Introduction Prof. Denis Jamet (University of Lyon (UJML3), France & University of Arizona, USA) & Adeline Terry (University of Lyon (UJML3), France)
• 9h-10h Plenary: “Good for the Mind, Body and Soul:  Cognitive, Embodied and Social Effects of Metaphor” Prof. Herbert L. Colston (University of Alberta, Canada)
• 10h-10h30  “Persuasion at hand:  speech, gesture and thought-control” Prof. Jean-Rémi Lapaire (University Montaigne Bordeaux 3, France)
• 10h30-11h  Coffee break
• 11h-11h30  “What Makes Metaphors Manipulative Tools?” Prof. Denis Jamet (University of Lyon (UJML3), France & University of Arizona, USA) & Adeline Terry (University of Lyon (UJML3), France)
• 11h30-12h “Characterising a ‘zero degree’ of manipulation through the reports of the International Panel on Climate Change” Dr. Marie-Hélène Fries (University Grenoble-Alpes, France)
• 12h-12h30 “Green is clean: the persuasive vs. manipulative power of multimodal metaphors in marketing discourse”Dr. Inesa Sahakyan (University Grenoble-Alpes, France)
• 12h30-14h  Lunch at the Rotonde (18 rue Chevreul, 6° étage)
• 14h-15h Plenary: “Family or Friend? Relationship Metaphors in the Discourse of Brexit” Prof. Jonathan Charteris-Black (University of the West of England – Bristol, England)
• 15h-15h30  “Make Britain Great Again: Brexit, Vote Leave and the Myth of Grandeur”Dr. Alma-Pierre Bonnet (Sciences Po Lyon, France)
• 15h30-16h  “Metaphor, Multimodality and Manipulation? Implicit vs. explicit product benefit and risk claims using multimodality and metaphor in direct-to-consumer television advertising of Alzheimer’s medication” Dr. Michael O’Mara Shimek (Boston University, USA)
• 16h-16h30  Coffee break
• 16h30-17h “Visual metaphor and manipulation:  The case of political cartoons on the migration crisis”Dr. Anna Piata (University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland) & Dr. Stavros Assimakopoulos (University of Malta, Malta)
• 17h-17h30 “The ‘war on drugs’ metaphor in the American political discourse: genesis, use and function in State of the Union addresses”Dr. Sarah Bourse (University Jean Jaurès Toulouse 2, France)
• 17h30-18h  “Metaphoric expression of ‘happycracy’ in feminine press. Individual frontiers, quests and strengths”Dr. Lucia Gomez (University Grenoble-Alpes, France)
• 18h30-19h  Concluding remarks