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Part of
Producing Figurative Expression: Theoretical, experimental and practical perspectives
Edited by John Barnden and Andrew Gargett
[Figurative Thought and Language 10] 2020
► pp. 389–418

The production of time-related metaphors by people who have experienced pregnancy loss

| Coventry University
| University of Birmingham
| University of Alberta
| University of Cambridge
| University of Bristol

In this chapter we focus on the ways in which people who have experienced pregnancy loss use metaphor to describe the experience, with a particular focus on time-related metaphor. The data come from an ESRC-funded study that investigates the ways in which people who have experienced bereavement following pregnancy loss communicate their experiences. We use these data to explore the ways in which the bereaved (and those who support them) use time-related metaphors to talk about their experiences and suggest ways in which such an analysis can be used to provide insight into the experiences of the bereaved. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for friends, colleagues and relatives.

Keywords: metaphor, time, emotion, grief, bereavement, pregnancy loss
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Metaphors of time
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Data collection
    • 3.2Data analysis
      • 3.2.1A Wmatrix analysis of the key semantic fields
      • 3.2.2An analysis of uses of the word “time”
      • 3.2.3A qualitative analysis of the metaphors used to talk about people’s experiences of time
  • 4. Findings
    • 4.1Identification of the key semantic fields in Wmatrix
    • 4.2Analysis of the uses of the word “time”
    • 4.3Qualitative analysis of the metaphors used to talk about time
      • 4.3.1The reification of time and its entailments
      • 4.3.2Time displacement, expansion of time, and altered levels of awareness of time
        • 4.3.2.1Time displacement
        • 4.3.2.2The expansion of time
        • 4.3.2.3Increased and reduced levels of awareness of time
      • 4.3.3Personal relationships with time, with respect to the moving time versus moving ego perspective
      • 4.3.4Mixed metaphors
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 17 December 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ftl.10.14tur
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