Electrifying Performances and Brains that Fuse: Metaphor and the Cognitive Function of Electricity

Abstract

In this paper, written within the framework of cognitive linguistics, metaphorical expressions involving electricity as a source domain are discussed. The majority of the expressions are from The Oxford English Dictionary, but there are also instances from Cambridge International Dictionary of English and 20th Century Words. As reflected by the material, correlations in experience between the discovery and various target domains have motivated a large number of metaphorical mappings. The overall aim of the study is to account for a number of different ways in which the discovery has helped speakers of English to structure their thoughts and given them new possibilities to express themselves. The study is important because it focuses on the use of “things” in the world around us as tools for working with experience, and for developing language. That being the case, it highlights the relationship between the structure of the world and the structure of our thoughts.