
Introduction: “Introduction: The Cognitive Theory of Metaphor And Metonymy” by Antonio Barcelona
“Introduction: The Cognitive Theory of Metaphor and Metonymy” by Antonio Barcelona first appeared in 2000 as the introductory chapter to the edited volume Metaphor and Metonymy at the Crossroads: A Cognitive Perspective, published by Mouton de Gruyter in the Topics in English Linguistics series. The chapter synthesizes developments in cognitive linguistics concerning metaphor and metonymy, presenting them as central cognitive mechanisms that structure human thought and language. Drawing from conferences held in 1997, the article situates metaphor and metonymy at a theoretical and applied “crossroads”—highlighting their evolving conceptualization, their frequent interaction, and their broadening applications in fields such as grammar, discourse, and literary analysis. Barcelona advances a unified cognitive approach (CTMM) wherein both metaphor and metonymy are conceptual mappings: metaphors involve mappings across distinct experiential domains (e.g., LOVE IS A JOURNEY), while metonymies operate within the same domain (e.g., FACE FOR PERSON). Significantly, the article argues that metonymy may often motivate metaphor—a claim that deepens our understanding of the cognitive roots of figurative language. Moreover, Barcelona emphasizes that these mappings are often unconscious, culturally grounded, and systematically embedded in complex conceptual hierarchies. The introduction also explores the innovative “blending theory” of Fauconnier and Turner, which extends metaphor theory to account for emergent meaning in discourse, literature, and mental modeling. In literary theory, this work is especially valuable for highlighting how everyday conceptual structures underlie poetic and narrative devices. Barcelona’s model shifts focus from isolated rhetorical figures to entrenched cognitive models, offering tools for interpreting texts as dynamic interactions of conceptual domains. The introduction thus serves as both a theoretical overview and a critical point of departure for cognitive literary studies.
Summary of “Introduction: The Cognitive Theory of Metaphor And Metonymy” by Antonio Barcelona
🔵 1. Context and Evolution of CTMM
- CTMM is evolving through integration of new ideas like blending theory, simple metaphors, and deeper attention to metonymy
➤ “CTMM is at present at a turning-point in its evolution as a theory” (Barcelona, p. 1)
➤ “Metaphor and metonymy often ‘meet’ at conceptual and linguistic crossroads” (Barcelona, p. 1)
🟢 2. Cognitive Linguistics Framework
- Language reflects general-purpose cognitive abilities, not an isolated “language module”
➤ “The so-called ‘language faculty’ is… a specialization of general-purpose cognitive abilities” (Barcelona, p. 2)
➤ Supported by research in neurology and cognitive psychology (e.g., Rosch, Edelman)
🟡 3. Definition of Metaphor in CTMM
- Metaphor is a partial mapping from a source domain to a target domain
➤ “The domain that is mapped is called the source… the domain onto which… is called the target” (Barcelona, p. 3)
➤ Example: LOVE IS A JOURNEY- “Our relationship is off the track” → travel obstacle maps to relationship problem (Barcelona, p. 3)
🔴 4. Definition of Metonymy in CTMM
- Metonymy is a conceptual projection within one domain, often activating one part to represent the whole
➤ “Metonymy… is a conceptual projection… within the same common experiential domain” (Barcelona, p. 4)
➤ Examples:- “She’s just a pretty face” → FACE FOR PERSON
- “The ham sandwich is waiting for his check” → CONSUMED GOODS FOR CUSTOMER (Barcelona, pp. 4–5)
🟣 5. Shared Traits of Metaphor and Metonymy
- Both are:
- Conventional, unconscious, and systematic in cognition
- Expressed beyond language – in gesture, behavior, reasoning
➤ “They are often not verbalized… and simply motivate our behavior” (Barcelona, p. 5)
➤ “Conceptual metaphors and metonymies are… stable elements of our system of categories” (Barcelona, p. 6)
🟠 6. Cultural and Bodily Basis
- Despite cultural variations, universal image schemas like UP–DOWN, CONTAINER, PATH, underlie many metaphors
➤ “Input or ‘source’ domains [are] universal physical notions… acquired… from bodily experiences” (Barcelona, p. 6)
🟤 7. Clarifying Metaphor vs. Metonymy
- Metaphor: mapping across consciously separated domains
- Metonymy: mapping within a single superordinate domain
➤ “Metaphor is… between domains… consciously classified as separate” (Barcelona, p. 9)
🔷 8. Interaction Between Metaphor and Metonymy
a) 🧩 Metonymy motivates metaphor
- e.g., SADNESS IS DOWN is motivated by body posture (drooping) → EFFECT FOR CAUSE
➤ “The metaphor SADNESS IS DOWN… is conceptually motivated by the metonymy” (Barcelona, p. 10)
b) 🔁 Metaphor motivates metonymy
- e.g., Caught the minister’s ear = ATTENTION IS A MOVING ENTITY + EAR FOR ATTENTION
➤ “This metonymy only takes place within metaphorical mappings involving attention” (Barcelona, p. 11)
⚪ 9. Blending Theory (Conceptual Integration)
- Blends combine elements from multiple spaces with emergent meaning
➤ “Mapped onto a ‘blended space’… whose conceptual structure is not wholly derivable” (Barcelona, p. 8)
➤ Unidirectionality remains—main inferences flow from blend → target (Barcelona, p. 8)
🔶 10. Conceptual Problems with Metonymy
- Ongoing debates:
- Is metonymy a mapping or activation?
- Does it need to be referential? ➤ “Metonymy… causes the mental activation of the target” (Barcelona, p. 4)
➤ “Metonymy need not be referential… John is a Picasso… not referential” (Barcelona, p. 13)
🌈 11. Typology and Conventionalization of Metonymy
- Conventional metonymy requires:
- Natural pattern (e.g., PART FOR WHOLE)
- Social sanctioning
➤ “A metonymy becomes conventional if it… follows natural patterns… and is socially sanctioned” (Barcelona, pp. 14–15)
💠 12. Continuum Perspective
- The boundary between metaphor and metonymy is scalar, not absolute
➤ “The distinction… should be regarded as scalar, rather than as absolute” (Barcelona, p. 10)
📘 13. Contributions in the Volume
- Grouped into:
- Theoretical explorations (e.g., Kövecses, Fauconnier, Radden)
- Applications in discourse, grammar, polysemy (e.g., Niemeier, Goossens, Freeman)
➤ “The contributions… are a fair reflection of the current state of the cognitive theory…” (Barcelona, p. 25)
Theoretical Terms/Concepts in “Introduction: The Cognitive Theory of Metaphor And Metonymy” by Antonio Barcelona
💡 Term | 🧠 Explanation | 📘 Usage in the Article (In-text Citation) |
🔵 Cognitive Theory of Metaphor and Metonymy (CTMM) | A theoretical approach in cognitive linguistics that sees metaphor and metonymy as conceptual, systematic, and bodily grounded mappings. | CTMM is presented as being at a theoretical crossroads due to new developments like blending and deeper metonymy analysis (Barcelona, p. 1). |
🟢 Experiential Domain | An area of lived human experience (e.g., love, travel) used as a conceptual space in metaphor/metonymy. | Metaphor involves mapping one experiential domain onto another (Barcelona, p. 3). |
🔴 Source Domain / Target Domain | In metaphor, the source is the conceptual origin (e.g., journey), and the target is the concept being understood (e.g., love). | In LOVE IS A JOURNEY: “journeys” = source; “love” = target (Barcelona, p. 3). |
🟡 Ontological / Epistemic Submappings | Ontological = mappings of entities and roles; Epistemic = mappings of knowledge or reasoning structures. | Submappings like “lovers = travelers” and “vehicle = relationship” are ontological (Barcelona, p. 3–4). |
🟣 Invariance Hypothesis | The metaphor cannot violate the internal structure of the target domain; only compatible properties are mapped. | Used to explain partial mappings like TIME IS MONEY, where not all features transfer (Barcelona, p. 4). |
🟠 Metonymy | A mapping within the same domain where one element activates another, such as part-for-whole. | Examples include “pretty face” (FACE FOR PERSON) and “ham sandwich” (FOOD FOR CUSTOMER) (Barcelona, p. 4–5). |
⚪ Image Schema | Basic recurring patterns in bodily experience (e.g., container, path, up-down) that underpin conceptual metaphors. | These universal physical schemas ground metaphors across cultures (Barcelona, p. 6). |
🔷 Blending / Conceptual Integration | A mental operation where two input spaces are merged into a blended space with emergent structure. | Proposed as an extension of CTMM, enriching understanding of metaphor in discourse (Barcelona, p. 8). |
🟤 Unidirectionality of Metaphor | Metaphors project only from source → target, not vice versa. | The claim distinguishes CTMM from interaction theories like Black’s (Barcelona, p. 7). |
🔶 Conceptual Activation | A mental triggering of a concept or domain, often without full mapping (debated in metonymy discussions). | Questioned whether metonymy is mapping or just activation (Barcelona, p. 13). |
🧡 Metaphor-Metonymy Interaction | Conceptual or textual interplay between metaphor and metonymy. | Types include metonymy motivating metaphor (e.g., SADNESS IS DOWN), and co-instantiation (Barcelona, pp. 10–12). |
💠 Conceptual Model / ICM | Idealized Cognitive Model: structured knowledge representations underlying our understanding of domains. | Metonymy occurs within a shared ICM, like “restaurant” or “emotion” (Barcelona, p. 4–5, 13). |
💙 Cultural Model | Socially shared conceptualizations that influence metaphor and metonymy. | Concepts like AUTHOR FOR WORK are conventional due to cultural salience (Barcelona, p. 15). |
🩵 Scalar Continuum of Metaphor-Metonymy | The view that metaphor and metonymy are not binary but exist along a conceptual scale. | Supported by Radden, Goossens, and others in this volume (Barcelona, p. 10). |
🧊 Typology of Metonymy | Classifying metonymies by pattern (e.g., PART FOR WHOLE, EFFECT FOR CAUSE). | Used to identify “natural” types of metonymy and explain conventionalization (Barcelona, pp. 14–15). |
Contribution of “Introduction: The Cognitive Theory of Metaphor And Metonymy” by Antonio Barcelona to Literary Theory/Theories
1. 🔍 Cognitive Literary Theory / Cognitive Poetics
- 💡 Contribution: Positions metaphor and metonymy as core conceptual mechanisms underlying literary language and interpretation.
- 📘 “Literary metaphors and metonymies are normally just creative extensions and elaborations of these conventional mappings.” (Barcelona, p. 6)
- 🌐 Supports the idea that literary texts are processed using the same mental tools as everyday language, grounding cognitive poetics.
- 🧠 Emphasizes systematic, unconscious mappings as foundational for literary meaning.
- 💬 Contribution: Highlights how metaphor/metonymy rely on entrenched cognitive models shaped by culture and individual experience.
- 📘 “The domains of experience are not necessarily the same in all cultures” (Barcelona, p. 6)
- 🎨 Readers interpret texts through their own cultural and bodily-based metaphoric networks, echoing reader-response emphasis on subjectivity.
3. 🧠 Embodied Cognition & Phenomenological Literary Theory
- 🦶 Contribution: Asserts that meaning arises from bodily interaction with the world; metaphors emerge from body-based experiences.
- 📘 “One of the major general cognitive abilities is imagination…to project concepts onto other concepts.” (Barcelona, p. 2)
- 🔄 Connects with phenomenological theories (e.g., Merleau-Ponty), which focus on the lived, bodily experience of reading and writing.
4. 🧬 Structuralism and Post-Structuralism (as a contrast)
- 🧨 Contribution: Critiques formalist focus on language structure by stressing meaning as culturally and experientially grounded.
- 📘 “Metaphors consist of fixed multiple simultaneous projections… metaphorical meaning is irreducible to literal meaning.” (Barcelona, p. 7)
- 🛑 Challenges rigid dichotomies like literal vs. figurative, opposing classical structuralist treatments of metaphor (e.g., Saussure).
5. 🧷 Semiotics
- 🔁 Contribution: Extends the semiotic range of signs to include non-verbal and behavioral metaphor/metonymy.
- 📘 “They are often not verbalized, but can be expressed through gestures or other non-verbal communicative devices.” (Barcelona, p. 6)
- 🪞 Encourages analysis of gestures, images, and performativity in literature as semiotic carriers of metaphor/metonymy.
6. 🎨 Stylistics and Literary Discourse Analysis
- 🧰 Contribution: Provides tools for analyzing polysemy, figurative language, and genre-specific expression in literary texts.
- 📘 “Literary metaphors are just creative extensions… of entrenched metaphoric networks” (Barcelona, p. 6)
- 🧱 Encourages layered textual analysis through conceptual blending and metaphor-mapping hierarchies.
7. 🔗 Critical Discourse Theory
- 🧭 Contribution: Metaphors/metonymies shape ideological positions, especially in journalistic, poetic, and political texts.
- 📘 “The book… includes the analysis of literary and journalistic discourse” (Barcelona, p. 2)
- 🔍 Enables a power-conscious reading of metaphorical constructions in texts, aligning with critical literary theory.
8. 🔄 Intertextuality / Conceptual Networks
- 🕸️ Contribution: Demonstrates how metaphors are connected through conceptual hierarchies and networks across texts.
- 📘 “LOVE IS A JOURNEY can be shown to be a specification of LIFE IS A JOURNEY… of the EVENT STRUCTURE metaphor” (Barcelona, p. 6)
- 🧠 Supports intertextual analysis through cognitive inheritance—metaphors in one text link to broader cultural metaphors.
9. 📜 Genre Theory
- 🧾 Contribution: Cognitive theory explains how genre conventions rely on stable metaphorical and metonymic expectations.
- 📘 “Blending… accounts not only for metaphor and metonymy, but also irony, counterfactuals, and grammar” (Barcelona, p. 8)
- 💡 Reveals how genres like satire or tragedy function through systematic metaphorical framing.
🎁 Summary: Antonio Barcelona’s article…
…transforms metaphor/metonymy from decorative literary tropes into core mental operations. It bridges cognitive science and literary theory, giving scholars tools to decode deep structure, stylistic nuance, and cultural meaning in literary texts.
Examples of Critiques Through “Introduction: The Cognitive Theory of Metaphor And Metonymy” by Antonio Barcelona
🌟 Literary Work | 🧠 CTMM-Based Critique | 🧩 Relevant CTMM Concept | 📘 Key Insight or Analysis |
1. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth | The imagery of “sleep” and “blood” reflects metonymic activation—blood stands for guilt, sleep for innocence. | 🔴 Metonymy as activation within a domain (Barcelona, p. 4–5) | “Sleep no more!” links SLEEP = INNOCENCE; when lost, it represents guilt. BLOOD = CONSEQUENCE OF MURDER = GUILT. This part-for-whole metonymy supports the tragedy’s moral decay. |
2. Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar | The “bell jar” metaphor illustrates conceptual blending: mental illness as a suffocating glass dome over reality. | 🟡 Conceptual Integration / Blending (Barcelona, p. 8) | The metaphor is built from domains of CONFINEMENT + CLARITY → creates a BLENDED SPACE where mental illness is both visible and suffocating. |
3. Emily Dickinson’s I felt a Funeral in my Brain | Emotion conceptualized through metaphors grounded in embodiment, e.g., MIND IS A ROOM, DEATH IS A JOURNEY. | 🟢 Image schemas & embodied metaphors (Barcelona, p. 6–7) | The “treading” of mourners suggests FORCE schemas (Lakoff & Johnson), mapping physical pressure onto emotional trauma. The coffin = metaphor for cognitive breakdown. |
4. Toni Morrison’s Beloved | Uses culturally rooted metonymy and metaphor: “milk” = motherhood, “Beloved” = memory incarnate. | 🔵 Cultural models & metonymic embodiment (Barcelona, p. 14–15) | “Milk” metonymically stands for maternal loss and identity. The ghost as memory = conceptual metaphor: TRAUMA IS A HAUNTING ENTITY. These are rooted in Black cultural schemas. |
Criticism Against “Introduction: The Cognitive Theory of Metaphor And Metonymy” by Antonio Barcelona
🔵 Over-Reliance on Metonymic Motivation
Barcelona proposes that every metaphor may be motivated by metonymy, a “radical hypothesis” (Barcelona, p. 17).
🟦 Critique: This overgeneralization could undermine metaphor’s distinct conceptual role, conflating two different cognitive operations.
🟣 Unstable Notion of ‘Cognitive Domains’
Cognitive domains are described as encyclopedic and variable across individuals (Barcelona, p. 9).
🟪 Critique: If domains lack clear boundaries, distinguishing between metaphor and metonymy becomes fuzzy and subjective, weakening analytical clarity.
🔴 Neglect of Linguistic Surface Realization
CTMM emphasizes conceptual projection over linguistic form (Barcelona, p. 6).
🟥 Critique: Critics argue this underplays syntax, pragmatics, and stylistic nuances, which are vital in literary and poetic texts.
🟢 Minimal Engagement with Competing Theories
Though Barcelona mentions Searle, Davidson, and Black (p. 6), CTMM largely avoids detailed debate with these views.
🟩 Critique: The lack of systematic theoretical contrast reduces the robustness of CTMM’s claims, especially concerning metaphor’s irreducibility to literal meaning.
🟡 Overextension of Blending Theory
The integration of Fauconnier and Turner’s blending is hailed as a refinement (Barcelona, p. 8).
🟨 Critique: Some scholars argue blending complicates rather than clarifies metaphor-metonymy relations by adding layers of abstraction not always empirically testable.
🟠 Cultural Generalizations
CTMM asserts image schemas like CONTAINER or VERTICALITY are universal (Barcelona, p. 7).
🟧 Critique: This may neglect culture-specific conceptualizations, especially in non-Western or oral traditions where metaphor systems may differ.
⚫ Limited Empirical Testing
While richly illustrated, the theory relies heavily on introspective linguistic examples (e.g., p. 3–5).
⚫ Critique: Critics from experimental linguistics and cognitive science demand more quantitative and neurocognitive evidence to support CTMM’s claims.
✅ Balanced View
While Antonio Barcelona’s introduction is seminal in mapping metaphor-metonymy interaction and integrating blending theory, its theoretical overreach and empirical fuzziness invite legitimate scholarly critique. Despite these, it remains foundational in cognitive stylistics and metaphor studies.
Representative Quotations from “Introduction: The Cognitive Theory of Metaphor And Metonymy” by Antonio Barcelona with Explanation
🌟 | Quotation | Explanation |
🔁 | “Metaphor is the cognitive mechanism whereby one experiential domain is partially ‘mapped’ onto a different experiential domain.” (p. 3) | This defines metaphor as a cross-domain mapping where understanding of one concept (target) is achieved via another (source). |
🧠 | “Metonymy is a conceptual projection whereby one experiential domain… is understood in terms of another… within the same common experiential domain.” (p. 4) | Barcelona distinguishes metonymy as intra-domain mapping, often based on contiguity, unlike metaphor. |
🔍 | “Both metaphor and metonymy are regarded… as conventional mental mechanisms, not to be confused with their expression.” (p. 5) | Emphasizes the conceptual, cognitive nature of metaphor/metonymy as mental phenomena, not just linguistic expressions. |
🔄 | “Metaphor and metonymy often interact… the metonymic basis of metaphor receives particular attention.” (p. 2) | Barcelona notes how metonymy can motivate metaphor, suggesting interdependent relationships between the two. |
🧱 | “LOVE IS A JOURNEY… The lovers correspond to the travelers; the love relationship corresponds to the vehicle.” (p. 3) | This is a classic conceptual metaphor, showing how metaphor structures our understanding of abstract experiences through image schemas. |
⚖️ | “The main constraint on metaphorical mappings seems to be the so-called Invariance Hypothesis.” (p. 4) | The Invariance Hypothesis restricts metaphors from violating the structure of the target domain—essential in maintaining cognitive coherence. |
💡 | “An important distinction exists… between metaphorical and metonymic conceptual projections and… expressions.” (p. 5) | Highlights the distinction between mental mappings and their linguistic instantiations—a key cognitive linguistics insight. |
🔬 | “Metonymy has received much less attention… although it is probably even more basic to language and cognition.” (p. 4) | A critical remark on scholarly neglect of metonymy, arguing for its primacy in cognitive processes. |
⚙️ | “Metaphors and metonymies are usually automatic, unconscious mappings, pervasive in everyday language.” (p. 6) | Suggests that both are deeply embedded in cognitive behavior, operating largely below conscious awareness. |
🌐 | “Metaphors and metonymies are to a large extent culture-specific… but overarching ones seem to have universal physical notions.” (p. 6) | Explains how universal schemas like container or verticality underpin metaphor across cultures, despite linguistic variation. |
Suggested Readings: “Introduction: The Cognitive Theory of Metaphor And Metonymy” by Antonio Barcelona
- Steen, Gerard. “Metonymy Goes Cognitive-Linguistic.” Style, vol. 39, no. 1, 2005, pp. 1–11. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/style.39.1.1. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
- Strack, Daniel C. “Who Are the Bridge-Builders? Metaphor, Metonymy, and the Architecture of Empire.” Style, vol. 39, no. 1, 2005, pp. 37–53. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/style.39.1.37. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
- Hetherington, Paul, and Cassandra Atherton. “Metaphor, Metonymy, and the Prose Poem.” Prose Poetry: An Introduction, Princeton University Press, 2020, pp. 177–98. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv10crd4v.11. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.