* Do we use metaphors that existed hundreds of years ago? * Why do some die out and do they ever come back? * Why are some metaphors only used by very few people? Richard Trim investigates such issues by examining which major aspects contribute towards the historical evolution of metaphor. He proposes that they include basic conceptualization processes in the form of sensory and physiological perception, universal trends in cognition, cultural features, the number of people who use a figurative expression, the subject involved, as well as their interface with language itself. By comparing very different fields such as the emotions, colour symbolism and political statements in the history of war rhetoric, the author suggests that all these aspects continuously forge paths within a global model of evolution.
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