Les métaphores conceptuelles dans la science médicale : outil cognitif et communicatif

Abstract

Within the theoretical framework of Cognitive Linguistics, this paper aims at exploring the nature and the function of conceptual metaphors as a cognitive and communicative instrument in science, especially in medical texts. After a general insight into the historical evolution of metaphor, we will look at the importance of metaphorical reasoning in the process of lexicalisation and formulation/understanding of scientific theories. Then, adopting Lakoff and Johnson’s conceptual approach and their typology of metaphors, we will analyse, through some examples taken from a corpus of articles published in three online medical journals, the kinds of metaphors used in medical language and the role which they play.