Mapping metaphors of wealth and want: a digital approach

Alexander, M. and Bramwell, E. (2014) Mapping metaphors of wealth and want: a digital approach. In: Mills, M., Pidd, M. and Ward, E. (eds.) Proceedings of the Digital Humanities Congress 2012. Series: Studies in the digital humanities. The University of Sheffield.

[img] Text
88963.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives.

232kB

Publisher's URL: http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/openbook/chapter/dhc2012-alexander

Abstract

The AHRC-funded Mapping Metaphor with the Historical Thesaurus project aims to provide data on the extent and development of metaphor across the history of English. It uses the full database of the Historical Thesaurus of English, which extensively categorises and classifies the recorded vocabulary of the English language from Old English to the present day. By using this database to map semantic categories onto one another, and thus showing lexical overlap in different conceptual fields, we aim in the project to provide results which will demonstrate the widespread, systematic and far-reaching impact of metaphor on English.<p></p> This paper outlines the digital and linguistic methodologies used by the project, and presents a case study of the semantic categories of wealth and poverty, demonstrating the metaphorical links between these categories and the rest of the language. In addition, we discuss the nature of lexical overlap as we use it in the project, and discuss both the quantitative and diachronic dimensions of the data we are manipulating and their implications for projects of this type.<p></p>

Item Type:Book Sections
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Alexander, Professor Marc and Bramwell, Dr Ellen
Authors: Alexander, M., and Bramwell, E.
Subjects:P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
P Language and Literature > PE English
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Language and Linguistics
Journal Name:Studies in the Digital Humanities
Publisher:The University of Sheffield
ISSN:2050-7224
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2014 The Authors
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record

Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
547001Mapping Metaphor with the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English DictionaryWendy AndersonArts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)AH/I02266X/1CRIT - ENGLISH LANGUAGE