YinYang Dynamics of Metaphoricity (YYDM) in Discourse

This paper presents the YinYang Dynamics of Metaphoricity (YYDM) in discourse, addressing several issues in the study of dynamic metaphor: (1) a lack of attention to gradable and/or dynamic metaphoricity of verbal metaphors in (written) texts, (2) biases toward focusing on either activation of a given source domain or on trajectory of vehicle terms in short conversations, and (3) insufficient elaboration and visualization of metaphoricity as a spectrum. Grounded on YinYang Dialectics from East Asia, YYDM zooms in on incremental and fundamental transformations of verbal metaphoricity in texts, which can be observed through metaphoricity indicators. Incremental transformation emphasizes vehicle development within the same activated experiential source domain, while fundamental transformation accentuates how metaphors are dynamically connected by the replacement of source domains and/or target domains. By testing YYDM against verbal metaphors in texts across languages, genres, and both short (e.g., seconds, minutes) and long timescales (months, years, etc.), the analyses reveal the dynamic stability of the metaphoricity system or spectrum within interconnected discourse systems. This dynamic stability is primarily evidenced by the gradable and dynamic activation of verbal metaphoricity to varying degrees over time.