Domain-Specific Mappings as Conceptual Categorisers for Scientific and Technical Vocabularies

The analysis of metaphorical lexical units in science and technology provides evidence for their existence either as separate cases or as part of a corresponding conceptual metaphor. In conceptual metaphor, metaphorical expressions constitute productive patterns that unveil the mental mappings that support technical and scientific thought, proving to be a powerful device for conceptualization and a prolific driving force for language growth (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). Although conceptual metaphor cannot account for all types of linguistic metaphor (Evans, 2013), in this paper we have focused on the former because it implies a systematic set of correspondences between different domains of science and technology supporting the role of conceptual metaphor as a powerful theory constitutive element. The study is based on the qualitative analysis of the metaphorical lexical units included in eight widely accepted specific dictionaries, totalling over 790.000 entries. Attention is focused on domain-specific mappings, in which not only the target but also the source domain pertain to scientific fields, and where the corresponding linguistic expressions keep their univocal meaning in each field. Thus, providing examples from two apparently unrelated fields, earth sciences and telecommunications engineering, the role of domain-specific mappings as conceptual categorisers is studied, underlying the different degrees of categorization involved in the building of new theories (Boyd, 1993), in definitions, and in the expression of new concepts