June 12, 2025 - June 14, 2025
https://sites.google.com/unibg.it/cerlis/conferences/cerlis2025?authuser=0
We are pleased to announce a call for abstracts for the CERLIS conference on "Metaphors in Specialized Discourse In and Across Cultures." This interdisciplinary conference aims to explore the intricate and multifaceted roles that metaphors play in specialized forms of discourse, encompassing scientific, technical, medical, legal, business, media, and political communication, across diverse cultural contexts.
As claimed by Semino (2008), metaphors are varied in their textual appearance, versatile in the functions they may perform, and central to many different types of communication, from informal interaction to political speeches. In this regard, Kövecses’ research (2005; 2008) on universality and variation in the use of metaphor has raised the question of whether and to what extent metaphorical thinking can contribute to the understanding of culture and society, and whether cognitive theories can account for both the universality and cultural specificity of metaphorical conceptualisation.
The conference will contribute to these themes by exploring metaphors as devices for understanding specialised fields of knowledge and research from various perspectives. Hence, we particularly welcome proposals focusing on new insights regarding how metaphors in specialized discourse vary across different languages and what these differences reveal about cultural cognition. Furthermore, we aim at understanding how metaphors facilitate complex specialized concepts and drive innovation and how cultural values and norms shape metaphor usage and interpretation in specialized discourse.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
Theoretical Approaches to Metaphor in Specialized Discourse
Metaphors in Specialised Communication
Metaphors in knowledge dissemination and popularization
Metaphors in Business, Legal, Medical, and Tourism Discourse(s)
Metaphors in Media and Political Discourse
Cultural and Intercultural Perspectives on Metaphor
Plenary speakers
Zsofia Demien (UCL)
Maria Luque Olalla Colmenero (Universidad de Granada)
ZOLTÁN KÖVECSES (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest)
Gerard Steen (Amsterdam University)
Günter Schmale (Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3)
Irma Taavistainen (University of Helsinki)
Submission instructions:
We invite scholars and researchers to submit abstracts that address any of the above themes. Abstracts (300 words) should be uploaded onto the easyabs platform (https://easyabs.linguistlist.org/submit/CERLIS2025/) and include the following:
• Title of the paper
• Author(s) name(s) and affiliation(s)
• Contact details (email and phone number)
• A brief bio (100-150 words)
Submissions open: Aug. 1, 2024 - Dec. 31, 2024
Abstract review period: Jan. 1, 2025 - Jan. 31, 2025