Raymond Gibbs: UC Santa Cruz Department of Psychology

Metaphor is traditionally viewed as a special use of language. But recent research from cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics suggests that metaphor is ubiquitous in language and a fundamental part of human conceptual systems. I will argue in this talk that metaphor is also deeply rooted in recurring aspects of embodied experience that serves as the grounding for significant parts of language, thought, and culture. Particular attention is given to recent experimental evidence showing that metaphor use arises from embodied simulations that people engage in during in-the-moment reasoning, speaking, and understanding.