The metaphor: Three theoretical approaches.

Abstract

This article provides a comparative analysis of three major theoretical approaches to metaphor—the pragmatic, the cognitive, and the functionalist—with the aim of clarifying what motivates the production of metaphorical expressions, how they are understood, and what functions they serve in communication. The central argument is that each approach captures different dimensions of the phenomenon: the pragmatic view, following Grice and Recanati, explains metaphor through inferential processes and pragmatic operations; the cognitive approach of Lakoff and Johnson conceptualizes metaphor as a structuring mechanism of reality and thought; and the functionalist perspective, drawing on Jakobson and Coseriu, shows that metaphor emerges from linguistic and metalinguistic operations oriented toward expressive and communicative purposes. Methodologically, the study conducts a critical review of key authors, examines experimental evidence on metaphor comprehension, and analyzes literary and colloquial examples to identify the strengths and limitations of each theory. The author argues that neither the semantic modularity proposed by pragmatism nor the conceptualist framework of cognitivism accounts for all cases, particularly those in which metaphor does not construct reality but instead intensifies expression, persuades, or plays creatively with language. The overarching objective is to demonstrate that metaphor results from dynamic operations involving speaker, hearer, and linguistic system, where creativity, context, and semantic knowledge interact.