The Role of Metaphoric Competence in Medical English Instruction
The Role of Metaphoric Competence in Medical English Instruction

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the growing need for developing greater metaphoric competence in Medical English courses, this need being addressed, in particular, by influencing the elaboration of the major didactic tool, the textbook. The paper examines conceptual metaphors in Medical English in accordance with the stipulations of the Cognitive Metaphor Theory of Lakoff and Johnson. It highlights the dichotomy of metaphor proper and metaphoric instance, which corresponds to the existence of metaphor in thought as opposed to its embodiment in language. We analyze Medical metaphors and highlight major umbrella metaphors. The issue of dead metaphors in Medical English is addressed. We conclude that hidden metaphors in Medical English must be elucidated, such resurrection of the original source mapping playing an important role in achieving metaphoric competence. We insist that this competence is, in fact, twofold: metaphoric competence at the level of lexis and metaphoric competence at the level of thought.

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