JRLS Nr. 43
link-ul articolului in JRLS nr 43 pag 277
CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR IN STEPHEN
HAWKING’S THEORIES
Cristina Rusu-Marian
PhD Student, UMFST ”G. E. Palade” of Târgu
Mureș
Abstract:
This study investigates the conceptual metaphor in Stephen Hawking’s texts,
with a focus on the volume ”The Universe in a Nutshell”. Starting from the
theory of conceptual metaphor formulated by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, we
investigate how structured conceptual metaphors (e.g., “the universe in a
nutshell / as a miniature space,” “time as form,” “curvatures of the space‑time,”
“black holes as gates”) make complex theoretical concepts accessible to the
general audience. The study identifies and classifies recurrent metaphors in
the text, maps them to conceptual frames (container, path, mechanism, entity),
and examines their discursive functions: conceptual modelling, establishment of
epistemic analogies, reduction of abstraction, and rhetorical persuasion. The
analysis combines qualitative methods of discourse analysis with tools from
cognitive linguistics to show how metaphors not only illustrate science but to
contribute to the formation of the reader’s mental representation of
cosmological theory. The conclusion highlights the productive tension between
scientific fidelity and communicative efficiency of metaphor, proposing
criteria for the responsible use of metaphoricity in science communication and
suggestions for further research on the pragmatics of metaphor in popular
science texts.
Keywords: conceptual metaphor, Stephen Hawking, Lakoff
& Johnson, scientific communication, cognitive linguistics.
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