
Exploring Grammatical Metaphor
Insights from Systemic Functional Linguistics
Zhong Yang(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 30. June 2025
Book
Hardback
184 pages
978-1-032-91674-3 (ISBN)
Description
This book explores the fascinating world of grammatical metaphor through the lens of systemic functional linguistics. It provides a valuable toolkit for understanding how grammatical metaphor can expand the potential for meaning and serve as a key resource for bridging linguistic and cultural gaps in different contexts.
Grammatical metaphor is presented not merely as a linguistic feature, but as a powerful tool that transforms meaning across grammatical categories. This book examines how this phenomenon of "transcategorisation" works, showing how it shifts and enriches the representation of meaning. Using the framework of systemic functional linguistics, the book emphasises the dynamic relationship between language systems and the texts they produce. Combining theory and practice, it investigates the wide-ranging applications of grammatical metaphor in fields such as contrastive linguistics, discourse analysis, and translation studies. Readers will discover how grammatical metaphor increases the flexibility and depth of language, enabling speakers and writers to achieve more nuanced and effective communication.
This book will be essential reading for linguists, language learners, translators, and intercultural communicators. Whether you're a researcher or a practitioner, this book will inspire new ways of thinking about language and communication.
Grammatical metaphor is presented not merely as a linguistic feature, but as a powerful tool that transforms meaning across grammatical categories. This book examines how this phenomenon of "transcategorisation" works, showing how it shifts and enriches the representation of meaning. Using the framework of systemic functional linguistics, the book emphasises the dynamic relationship between language systems and the texts they produce. Combining theory and practice, it investigates the wide-ranging applications of grammatical metaphor in fields such as contrastive linguistics, discourse analysis, and translation studies. Readers will discover how grammatical metaphor increases the flexibility and depth of language, enabling speakers and writers to achieve more nuanced and effective communication.
This book will be essential reading for linguists, language learners, translators, and intercultural communicators. Whether you're a researcher or a practitioner, this book will inspire new ways of thinking about language and communication.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Academic, Postgraduate, Undergraduate Advanced, and Undergraduate Core
Illustrations
3 s/w Zeichnungen, 6 s/w Tabellen, 3 s/w Abbildungen
6 Tables, black and white; 2 Line drawings, black and white; 2 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
461 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-032-91674-3 (9781032916743)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
06/2025
Routledge
€60.49
Available for download

E-Book
06/2025
Routledge
€60.49
Available for download
Person
Zhong Yang is a professor at Northeast Normal University, with research interests in systemic functional linguistics, cognitive linguistics, and language education. He has authored four books in collaboration: Text, Function and Cognition (2003), A Multi-Perspective Study of Language (2018), An Introduction to Linguistics (2022), and Pragmatics. Cognition. Communication (1998). Additionally, he has published over 100 articles on topics including language teaching, theoretical linguistics, and translation.
Content
1. Introduction 2. A Review of Grammatical Metaphor Research 3. The Theoretical Foundation of Functional Linguistics in the Study of Grammatical Metaphor 4. Definition and Classification of Grammatical Metaphor 5. Grammatical Metaphor and Lexical Metaphor 6. The Motivations of Grammatical Metaphor 7. Grammatical Metaphors in Political Discourse 8. A Contrastive Analysis of Grammatical Metaphor in English and Chinese 9. Grammatical Metaphor in English-Chinese Translation 10. Summary and Outlook