A communications model is presented and its elements are critically examined from theoretical and empirical perspectives. The argument is advanced that in everyday discourse and even current management textbooks, organizational communication frequently is explicated in terms of the conduit metaphor. In linguistics, the conduit metaphor is a dominant class of figurative expressions used when. Pdf the conduit metaphor a case of frame conflict in our. Communication is the act of sending and receiving a container. Conduit definition is a natural or artificial channel through which something such as a fluid is conveyed. This is the second attempt to compile in one place the results of metaphor research since the publication of reddysthe conduit metaphorand lakoffand johnsons metaphorswelive by. In defense of the conduit metaphor the conduit metaphor has been roundly condemned by language scholars, including scholars in rhetoric and. It is important to be able to recognize instances of the conduit metaphor, because many communicational. One such metaphor bounding the web the conduit metaphor is wonderfully described in this post, framing the net, from one of the authors of the cluetrain manifesto. The contemporary theory that metaphor is primarily conceptual, conventional, and part of the ordinary system of thought and language can be traced to michael reddys this volume now classic paper, the conduit metaphor, which first appeared in the first edition of this collection. Matt candler 9911 c205 conduit metaphor paper michael reddy, the jackofalltrades man, which includes him being a former professor at columbia university, brings to the attention of many the use of metaphor in our communication. Following the radical hypothesis presented by barcelona 2003 that every metaphor is motivated by conceptual metonymy.
Alaskas senator ted stevens famously brought this metaphor to the mainstream by referring to the internet as a series of tubes, part of a foggy diatribe jon. A theory stating that an investment firm that passes all capital gains, interest and dividends on to its customersshareholders shouldnt be levied at the corporate level like. In this section, i will discuss the movement aspect of the conduit metaphor and the container aspect of the conduit metaphor in this order. The conduit metaphor, a hypothesized cognitive association between communication and the process of sending and receiving packages, has played a central. Conduit metaphor article about conduit metaphor by the.
Conduit metaphor matt candler c205 conduit metaphor paper. Pdf metonymic motivation of the conduit metaphor celia. The aim of the present paper is to see how communication is metaphorized in japanese and to contrast this metaphorization with reddys 1979 conduit metaphor. Reddy i should like to respond to professor schons. Repeatable conduit bending bending conduit is best done with a partner. Reddy later declared that the way we speak about communication is like that of a conduit metaphor. Metaphor by ritchie is a stimulating book that gives an overview of current theories on metaphor and gives interesting insights about a widely studied topic. Boal examines the social, political and economic implications of language and its relationship to the conduit metaphor. A critical metaphor analysis of educational technology.
In accordance with this idea, the conduit metaphor develops out of a single metonymically structured domain of experience through a process of abstraction which is itself metonymic. What lies behind schons term frame restructuring, and. If the conduit metaphor doesnt clearly license references to opening, sealing, packages of specific sorts, couriers. Conduit metaphor ideas or meanings are objects linguistic expressions are containers communication is sending 1. In linguistics, the conduit metaphor is a dominant class of figurative expressions used when discussing communication itself metalanguage. The view of language as communication by conduit 1726 words 7 pages.
This is a preprint of a paper that was published in the. In other words, in structural metaphor, one concept is understood and expressed in terms of another structured, sharply defined concept. This theme is present in the vast majority of english expressions that refer to communication, speech, language, or meaning. A historical approach and a close reading of certain texts by warren weaver and. This article extends axleys recent discussion of the conduit metaphor of communication. A metaphor underlying everyday references to communication, identified in 1979 by michael reddy, an american linguist, reflecting the notions that. Reddy argues that it is almost impossible for an english speaker to discuss communication without committing to some form or other of that metaphor. I will claim that there is a strong tendency for japanese to conceptualize word as fluid and to fuse word and meaning. A metaphor underlying everyday references to communication, identified in 1979 by michael reddy, an american linguist, reflecting the. The conduit metaphor is socalled because it models communication processes as if they involved shuttling packages messages through pipelines or conduits. Metaphors are defined as, figures of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit.
The concept of the conduit metaphor was originally explored by michael ready in his 1979 article the conduit metaphor. The hypothesis advocated in this paper is that the metonymic motivation of the conduit metaphor corresponds to the second type described by barcelona 2003a. One of the most commonly cited examples of a metaphor in english. For him a metaphor has two terms, called topic and vehicle. Speakers are, most of the time, unaware of the conceptual metaphor underneath these expressions. Kurt fischer noted in passing, at a mind, brain, education institute that the conduit metaphor of learning is defunct. The conduit metaphor in the rhetoric of education reform. Linguistic conceptions regarding what calls the conduit metaphor are applied to the teaching and practice of organizational communication. The conduit metaphor, for instance, maps nicely to a discussion of literary interpretation.
The study of metaphors obtained from collo cations and supported by statistical evi dence becomes more reliable and less intuition based. A case of frame conflict in our language about language see below. Reddy calls it the conduit metaphor, because it implies that thoughts or ideas are transferred from actor a to actor b through some conduit or other. He speaks of it as if our ideas are formed in our head, manifested through a communication medium, and then grasped, felt, or seen by the receiver of the idea. It operates whenever people speak or write as if they insert their mental contents feelings, meanings, thoughts, concepts, etc. The view of language as communication by conduit in an interview with george lakoff, a linguistics professor at the university of california, berkeley, ian a. A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. A critical metaphor analysis of educational technology research in the social studies. Communication sending words container that is sent intended meaning thing put in the container received meaning thing extracted by the listener or. Concepts, thoughts, feelings, meanings, sense and ideas are objects. Contemporary issues in technology and teacher education, 183, 538555. It may provide or obscure clarity or identify hidden similarities between two ideas.
Metaphors are often compared with other types of figurative language, such as antithesis, hyperbole, metonymy and simile. Metaphor highlighting and hiding source may highlight certain aspects of target, hid others ex. Abstract the aim of this paper is to study the metonymic motivation of the conduit metaphor. One example of this application is hanslicks 18541957, p. This article examines information theory from the aspect of its conduit metaphor. A structural metaphor refers to a conceptual metaphor that is constructed from one conceptual structure to another. A conduit metaphor is a type of conceptual metaphor or figurative comparison commonly used in english to talk about the process of communication. Metaphor analysis of 6 semistructured interviews with laypersons about terrorism and the media showed how the conduit metaphor structures a subjective process. The conduit metaphor and the nature and politics of information studies 1 ronald e. A communication model based on the conduit metaphor. Also in conduit metaphor the failure is in communication, while in the toolmakers paradigm the partial miscommunications only lead to greater understandings and are not failures. Metonymic motivation of the conduit metaphor metaphorik. The conduit metaphor a very important metaphor theme in english is called the conduit metaphor.
The former focuses on the movement of mord, and the latter focuses on vord as a container. A perfect example of this is the conduit metaphor, which deals with electricity, still demonstrates remnants of the fluid metaphor used to explain the concept initiallyterminology such as flows, breakages, bottlenecks, et cetera. Conceptual metaphor theory and teaching of english and. I should like to respond to professor schons chapter. Possible motivations for some of these interpretations, involving additional metaphoric structure beyond the conduit metaphor, will be discussed below. Linguistic conceptions regarding what reddy 1979 calls the conduit metaphor are applied to the teaching and practice of organizational communication.
Furthermore, it is suggested that the conduit metaphor implicitly. When the conduit metaphor is applied to music, the composer places some intended meaning into a score, the orchestra brings the score to life exactly as instructed by the score, and the passive audience unpacks the delivered music to get the composers message. Managerial and organizational communication in terms of. This metaphor incorporates three interconnected metaphors.
The conduit metaphor transforms communication the act to commune, to fuse in a dual monologue between two senders. This list is a compilation taken from published books and papers, student papers at berkeleyand elsewhere, and research seminars. The conduit metaphora case of frame conflict in our language about language michael j reddy i should like to respond to professor schons chapter by replaying his theme several octaves lower. The book is agreeable to read and can be used both for study and reference. Reddy, the conduit metaphor a case of frame conflict in. A case of frame conflict in our language about language. When a reader retrieves the text the words are unpacked for meaning. The conduit metaphor a case of frame conflict in our language about languag. People turn to the conduit metaphor in 70 percent of all discussions about how we communicate through language, according to linguist michael reddy. In my opinion, he has struck exactly the right set of notes. The conduit metaphor structure objectifies source, receiver, and messages, which are talked of as objects or substances passed along a conduit to a receiver to be recovered. Reddys conduit metaphor can be divided into two parts. With the help of the structural metaphor, we can use the words concerning one concept to talk. This is the idea that education is essentially a kind of pipe whereby knowledge travels from the mouth or mind of a more to a lesslearned person.
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