The invisible metaphors of everyday life
Intersemiotic translation methods of metaphors
Challenge
The use of metaphors helps people in interpersonal communication to better understand difficult issues, to emphasise and clarify statements, and to make abstract content more accessible. The targeted and conscious use of metaphors represents an extremely small proportion of the frequency with which they are used. Therefore, the actual dimension of the use of language images in everyday life and the influence on our thinking and acting is less part of the general awareness.
Goal
The aim of this work is to reveal the ubiquitous use and the structural value of metaphors. In addition, impulses are to be given to sharpen the perception for the hidden metaphors in everyday life in order to force a sensitive handling of this powerful tool of communication.
Solution
Since every term you use is always linked to different associations, no communication can exist without framing. If you recognize this as the basis of communication, it makes sense to reflect on dominant frames in your own communication. Furthermore, the visibility of metaphors plays a major role in how strongly one's own viewpoint can be influenced by targeted framing, especially in politics, where it is used as a tool to deliberately influence viewpoints and win votes. Through a sensitive approach and a more conscious experience of metaphors, manipulative intentions become more recognizable and can thus increase protection against indoctrination.
In order to better grasp the creative scope of an intersemiotic translation of metaphors, i.e. the transfer of linguistic signs into a non-verbal sign system, the focus was on the human perceptual capacity in order to experience the widest possible range of possibilities. In concrete terms, this means that we tried to develop an olfactory coding method for linguistic images, a transfer method for material substances and various possibilities for visual transfer.
There were several thematic focuses into which the metaphor designs can be categorized.
- The consequences of a consumer society
- The localization of one's own identity in the social system
- Climate change processes
- The sensitive use of language
