metaforyka

Metaforyka is the study of metaphor as a linguistic and cognitive phenomenon, examining how metaphorical expressions function, how they shape meaning and perception, and how metaphor permeates everyday language, literature, science, and media. It covers both the analysis of figurative language and the broader role of metaphor in thought and culture.

Historically, metaforyka traces to classical rhetoric and philosophy, with Aristotle’s discussion of metaphor as a rhetorical device. In the 20th century, figures such as I. A. Richards and M. Black contributed to treating metaphor as a source of meaning transformation rather than mere ornament. The emergence of cognitive linguistics introduced conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, arguing that many metaphors arise from embodied experience and map source domains onto target domains (for example, time as money). Polish and other traditions further developed cross-cultural analyses and theories by scholars such as Zoltán Kövecses, as well as philosophical investigations into metaphor’s role in interpretation and reasoning.

Metaforyka employs a range of methods, including linguistic analysis of metaphorical expressions, semantic mapping of source-to-target domains, corpus studies, and experimental approaches to cognitive representation. It investigates literary texts as well as ordinary speech, media discourse, science communication, and translation, emphasizing how metaphor shapes understanding and argument.

Applications of metaforyka span literary analysis, rhetoric, translation, education, political discourse, and branding. It also informs cognitive science and philosophy by exploring how metaphor underpins categorization, inference, and reasoning.

In Polish scholarship, metaforyka denotes the study of metaphor and figurative language within linguistic, literary, and cultural contexts, reflecting its interdisciplinary character and practical relevance for interpreting texts and communication.