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How metaphor affects grammatical coding: the Saxon genitive in computer manuals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2008

Ewa Dabrowska
Ewa Dabrowska
Affiliation:
Department of English Language and LinguisticsUniversity of SheffieldSheffield S10 2TNe.dabrowska@sheffield.ac.uk
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Extract

The distribution of the Saxon genitive and the of genitive in computer manuals is significantly different from their distribution in other texts. This is because the manuals contain a high proportion of computer nouns (nouns referring to computer hardware and software), which pattern like human nouns rather than like inanimate nouns. An analysis of the conventional metaphors used to talk about computers reveals that they are often construed as people, and the higher proportion of the Saxon genitive is a grammatical repercussion of this construal.

Type
Squibs
Information
English Language & Linguistics , Volume 2 , Issue 1 , May 1998 , pp. 121 - 127
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

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References

Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago: Chicago University Press.Google Scholar
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