Analyzing metaphors in Oncology texts

According to the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), metaphors are not just a matter of language but also a matter of thought (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). Thus, metaphors are used in order to understand certain abstract concepts (e.g. LOVE) in terms of more concrete domains of experience (e.g. JOURNEY). In this line, the aim of this dissertation is to identify the use and function of linguistic metaphors in medical texts, by finding their prevalence in four online press articles. For this reason, a series of oncological texts are analyzed. In order to achieve the aim, the MIP method (Pragglejaz, 2007), a procedure for finding metaphors was applied. After identifying the linguistic metaphors in the texts, their underlying conceptual metaphors have been explored in terms of the mappings between the SD and TD in each conceptual metaphor. Therefore, the analysis of the conceptual projections between cognitive domains and their adaptation in press articles has been addressed. Finally, the results of this study provide a detailed categorization of the main conceptual metaphors utilized to construe the concept of cancer in press articles