Wearing, Catherine (2009). Metaphor and the Natural Semantic Metalanguage. Journal of Pragmatics, 41, 1017-1028. DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2009.01.004
Within the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) framework, it is claimed that metaphorical content is paraphrasable by means of explications based on semantic primes. This paper examines this account of metaphor, explores the importance of paraphrasing metaphors for the NSM approach, and argues that the prospects for successful paraphrases are less promising than has been claimed. It is then shown that the explications that have been proposed for the metaphors a soft wine and language is a mirror of the mind do not suffice to explain how these metaphors work, and it describes how NSM explications must be supplemented to generate a more adequate explanation.
No actual improvements to the explications themselves are proposed.
Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
