The DH project I’ve analyzed is called “The Metaphor Map of English.” This project, known as Mapping Metaphor, unveils the metaphorical connections across diverse realms of meaning. Spanning from the seventh century to the present day, the map encapsulates 1300 years of the English language’s evolution. This extensive timeline provides a unique opportunity to trace the evolution of metaphorical expressions and cognitive patterns over more than a millennium.
Sources/Assets
Historical Thesaurus of English Online: The online version of the Historical Thesaurus of English serves as a foundational asset for the research. It provides access to a wide range of vocabulary and semantic categories, forming the basis for identifying metaphorical connections.
Oxford English Dictionary Online: This online dictionary is another key source, providing detailed information on word meanings, senses, and historical usage. Links to this dictionary enhance the transparency of the metaphorical connections presented.
Processes/Services
Semantic Categorization: The Historical Thesaurus was systematically divided into 415 distinct semantic areas, such as Light, Fear, Weapons and Armour, etc. This process facilitated the identification of areas that shared words.
Computational Mapping: The 415 semantic categories were mapped against each other computationally. Identical word forms were identified through queries, along with their sense and date information.
Manual Analysis: The overlapping vocabulary was manually analyzed by a member of the Mapping Metaphor team. The goal was to identify lexical evidence indicating that one area of meaning was being understood in terms of another, particularly focusing on metaphorical connections.
Identification of Metaphorical Connections: The team looked for evidence of metaphor within the identified connections. Clusters of metaphorical overlap were particularly sought, and the strength of the connection was labeled as either ‘Strong’ or ‘Weak’ based on systematic evidence.
Validation and Checking: The initial coding was checked by another team member, and each link was examined separately in each direction. The final stage involved deciding on a final code based on accumulated coding, comments from coders, and pinpointing evidence from specific word senses in the Historical Thesaurus.
Link to Historical Thesaurus and Oxford English Dictionary: The web resource ensures transparency by providing links to the Historical Thesaurus of English online for each ‘example of metaphor’ and from there into the Oxford English Dictionary online, allowing users to explore the evidence supporting the metaphorical connections presented.
Presentation/Display
The creators of the Metaphor Map of English presented their results and findings through various ways, allowing users to explore and understand the metaphorical connections in the English language. Here are the key ways in which they presented their results:
Circular Visualization
The main Metaphor Map of English page features a circular visualization representing all meanings in the English language. External World (green), Mental World (blue), and Social World (red) groupings are color-coded. The visualization breaks down concepts into more precise categories, creating a hierarchical relationship.
Metaphor Cards
Metaphor Cards are designed to provide a broad set of information on each metaphorical link. They show two categories linked by metaphor, indicate the direction (transfer of vocabulary), and specify whether the link is ‘Strong’ or ‘Weak.’ The cards include the number of lexemes in each category and highlight the start era of the metaphorical transfer.
Timeline View:
The Timeline view orders metaphorical connections on a timeline based on the first date of transfer between categories. Strong connections are represented as large points, and weak connections as smaller points. Users can click on points in the Timeline to access Metaphor Cards and explore connections further.
Tabular View
The Tabular View in Mapping Metaphor is the ideal method for exploring metaphorical connections. It presents structured data with columns like Category 1, Category 2, Direction, Strength, Start era, and Sample lexemes.
In Class Discussion Questions
Who is the target audience? (i.e. specialists? a broader public?)
The Mapping Metaphor project engages in conversation with fields such as linguistics, history, and literature.
Which academic fields (i.e history) do you see the project in conversation with?
The targeted audience could be scholars and specialists interested in language evolution and metaphor. However, its user-friendly views also make it accessible to a broader audience curious about language history and metaphorical connections.
New Questions
What was the driving question behind the Mapping Metaphor project, and what are the key takeaways from their research?
2 thoughts on “Analyzing Mapping Metaphor”
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Overall, I really liked your analysis on the Metaphor Map of English. The graphics were laid out really clearly and presented your information in a very unique way (tracing evolution) – everything was visually appealing. Additionally, I really liked how you separated each topic and you do a really good job explaining them!
Wow! I really appreciate your ability to lay out all of these fields of presentation and give us a view of what each one looked like! I really like your explanations, and overall, they helped me understand the DH project you were exploring. I think though some of these projects seem intimidating at first glance when we analyze and break them down into their parts, we can understand the uses and applications of this type of research and application to an array of subjects.