In the following sections, we discuss three such specific uses of metaphor which

have been repeatedly

alluded to and re-used in different contexts: a metaphor used in a scientific paper
to introduce a new
theory of pain sensations; a metaphor used by a prominent Italian journalist to
support his views on
Silvio Berlusconi; and a metaphorical story that aims to convey the experience of
having and raising a
child with special needs. In order to capture the differences between different
contexts of use, we adopt
the approach to genre and register which Deignan, Littlemore & Semino (2013) apply
to the study of
variation in figurative language use. This approach combines Swales�s (1990) notion
of �genre� with
Halliday and Hasan�s (1985) approach to contexts of situation, which can be used to
account for
variation among �registers� (Martin and Rose 2003, Nunan 2008, Goatly 2011). From a
genre
perspective, texts are grouped according to their structural characteristics, their
communicative purposes
and their association with particular discourse communities � groups of people,
who, in Barton�s (2007:
75) terms, �have texts and practices in common� (Swales 1990: 24-7 proposes a more
stringent definition
of �discourse community�). For example, specialist academic articles have the
purpose of
communicating scientific advances, and are produced by and for the members of the
discourse
community of experts in a particular field. The distinctive characteristics
associated with genres can also
be explained as differences in �staging�, namely the series of identifiable steps
that speakers or writers
go through in order to achieve their goals (Bhatia 1993, Martin and Rose 2003).
In the following sections, we discuss three such specific uses of metaphor which
have been repeatedly
alluded to and re-used in different contexts: a metaphor used in a scientific paper
to introduce a new
theory of pain sensations; a metaphor used by a prominent Italian journalist to
support his views on
Silvio Berlusconi; and a metaphorical story that aims to convey the experience of
having and raising a
child with special needs. In order to capture the differences between different
contexts of use, we adopt
the approach to genre and register which Deignan, Littlemore & Semino (2013) apply
to the study of
variation in figurative language use. This approach combines Swales�s (1990) notion
of �genre� with
Halliday and Hasan�s (1985) approach to contexts of situation, which can be used to
account for
variation among �registers� (Martin and Rose 2003, Nunan 2008, Goatly 2011). From a
genre
perspective, texts are grouped according to their structural characteristics, their
communicative purposes
and their association with particular discourse communities � groups of people,
who, in Barton�s (2007:
75) terms, �have texts and practices in common� (Swales 1990: 24-7 proposes a more
stringent definition
of �discourse community�). For example, specialist academic articles have the
purpose of
communicating scientific advances, and are produced by and for the members of the
discourse
community of experts in a particular field. The distinctive characteristics
associated with genres can also
be explained as differences in �staging�, namely the series of identifiable steps
that speakers or writers
go through in order to achieve their goals (Bhatia 1993, Martin and Rose 2003).
In the following sections, we discuss three such specific uses of metaphor which
have been repeatedly
alluded to and re-used in different contexts: a metaphor used in a scientific paper
to introduce a new
theory of pain sensations; a metaphor used by a prominent Italian journalist to
support his views on
Silvio Berlusconi; and a metaphorical story that aims to convey the experience of
having and raising a
child with special needs. In order to capture the differences between different
contexts of use, we adopt
the approach to genre and register which Deignan, Littlemore & Semino (2013) apply
to the study of
variation in figurative language use. This approach combines Swales�s (1990) notion
of �genre� with
Halliday and Hasan�s (1985) approach to contexts of situation, which can be used to
account for
variation among �registers� (Martin and Rose 2003, Nunan 2008, Goatly 2011). From a
genre
perspective, texts are grouped according to their structural characteristics, their
communicative purposes
and their association with particular discourse communities � groups of people,
who, in Barton�s (2007:
75) terms, �have texts and practices in common� (Swales 1990: 24-7 proposes a more
stringent definition
of �discourse community�). For example, specialist academic articles have the
purpose of
communicating scientific advances, and are produced by and for the members of the
discourse
community of experts in a particular field. The distinctive characteristics
associated with genres can also
be explained as differences in �staging�, namely the series of identifiable steps
that speakers or writers
go through in order to achieve their goals (Bhatia 1993, Martin and Rose 2003).
In the following sections, we discuss three such specific uses of metaphor which
have been repeatedly
alluded to and re-used in different contexts: a metaphor used in a scientific paper
to introduce a new
theory of pain sensations; a metaphor used by a prominent Italian journalist to
support his views on
Silvio Berlusconi; and a metaphorical story that aims to convey the experience of
having and raising a
child with special needs. In order to capture the differences between different
contexts of use, we adopt
the approach to genre and register which Deignan, Littlemore & Semino (2013) apply
to the study of
variation in figurative language use. This approach combines Swales�s (1990) notion
of �genre� with
Halliday and Hasan�s (1985) approach to contexts of situation, which can be used to
account for
variation among �registers� (Martin and Rose 2003, Nunan 2008, Goatly 2011). From a
genre
perspective, texts are grouped according to their structural characteristics, their
communicative purposes
and their association with particular discourse communities � groups of people,
who, in Barton�s (2007:
75) terms, �have texts and practices in common� (Swales 1990: 24-7 proposes a more
stringent definition
of �discourse community�). For example, specialist academic articles have the
purpose of
communicating scientific advances, and are produced by and for the members of the
discourse
community of experts in a particular field. The distinctive characteristics
associated with genres can also
be explained as differences in �staging�, namely the series of identifiable steps
that speakers or writers
go through in order to achieve their goals (Bhatia 1993, Martin and Rose 2003).