The Lexicographical Object in Flux: Metaphoric Framings During the Public Dictionary Debate in Estonia (2020–2024)

Abstract This study explores how the shift from “closed version” to “extension” dictionaries (Engelberg Schröder, 1997) provokes contestation over authority, meaning, and legitimacy. Focusing on Estonia, we analyse metaphorical framings in public responses to the transformation of the Dictionary of Standard Estonian (DSE) into part of the EKI Combined Dictionary (CombiDic) on the Sõnaveeb (’Word Web’) language portal. Using conceptual metaphor theory and critical discourse analysis, we examine 94 public texts. The discourse, involving state representatives, reveals strong emotional investment in the lexicographical object. Metaphors clustered around Person, Container, place, oceanic space, law, building, tool, and Sacred object—with asymmetries: the DSE was often personified or framed as a Sacred object, while CombiDic/Sõnaveeb shifted from spatial terms to Tool and personification. These patterns indexed ideological divisions between institutional lexicographers promoting digital integration and professional users valuing normativity and stability. We argue that metaphor mediates both cognition and ideology in technological transitions and shapes public trust and resistance.