CORPUS THEORY AND METHODOLOGY IN METAPHOR RESEARCH

Abstract

This article examines the theoretical foundations and methodological procedures of corpus-based metaphor research. While metaphor was traditionally treated as a stylistic or rhetorical ornament, contemporary linguistic approaches—especially cognitive linguistics and corpus linguistics—have redefined it as a central mechanism of thought and meaning construction. The article explores how corpus theory contributes to metaphor analysis by enabling the study of metaphor in naturally occurring language data rather than isolated invented examples. Special attention is given to the relationship between Conceptual Metaphor Theory, corpus linguistics, and discourse analysis. The paper also discusses key methods used in corpus-based metaphor studies, including the Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP), MIPVU, collocational analysis, keyword analysis, concordance analysis, and critical metaphor analysis. It is argued that corpus methodology increases empirical validity, reproducibility, and contextual sensitivity in metaphor studies. At the same time, methodological challenges such as subjectivity in metaphor identification, contextual ambiguity, and the gap between linguistic and conceptual metaphor are critically addressed. The article concludes that corpus-based metaphor research provides a productive and reliable framework for investigating metaphor as a linguistic, cognitive, and socio-cultural phenomenon.