---
_id: '58109'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: The present study aims to understand how metaphors are used in explanations.
    According to many current theories, metaphors have a conceptual function for the
    understanding of abstract objects. From this theoretical assumption, we derived
    the hypothesis that the lower the expertise of the addressee of an explanation,
    the more metaphors should be used. We tested this hypothesis on a relatively natural
    data set of 24 published videos with close to 100,000 words overall in which experts
    explain abstract, mostly scientific concepts to persons of different expertise,
    varying from minimal (children) to profound (expert). Contrary to our expectations,
    the frequency of metaphors did not decrease with expertise, but actually increased.
    This increase could be statistically substantiated with higher differences in
    expertise. The study contributes to a better understanding of the use of metaphors
    in actual explanatory processes and how metaphor use depends on contextual factors.
    It thus supports the expansion of the conceptual and linguistic perspective on
    metaphors to include the aspect of how metaphors are used by speakers.
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Ingrid
  full_name: Scharlau, Ingrid
  id: '451'
  last_name: Scharlau
  orcid: 0000-0003-2364-9489
- first_name: Miriam
  full_name: Körber, Miriam
  last_name: Körber
- first_name: Meghdut
  full_name: Sengupta, Meghdut
  last_name: Sengupta
- first_name: Henning
  full_name: Wachsmuth, Henning
  last_name: Wachsmuth
citation:
  ama: 'Scharlau I, Körber M, Sengupta M, Wachsmuth H. When to use a metaphor: Metaphors
    in dialogical explanations with addressees of different expertise. <i>Frontiers
    in Language Sciences</i>. 2024;3:1474924.'
  apa: 'Scharlau, I., Körber, M., Sengupta, M., &#38; Wachsmuth, H. (2024). When to
    use a metaphor: Metaphors in dialogical explanations with addressees of different
    expertise. <i>Frontiers in Language Sciences</i>, <i>3</i>, 1474924.'
  bibtex: '@article{Scharlau_Körber_Sengupta_Wachsmuth_2024, title={When to use a
    metaphor: Metaphors in dialogical explanations with addressees of different expertise},
    volume={3}, journal={Frontiers in Language Sciences}, author={Scharlau, Ingrid
    and Körber, Miriam and Sengupta, Meghdut and Wachsmuth, Henning}, year={2024},
    pages={1474924} }'
  chicago: 'Scharlau, Ingrid, Miriam Körber, Meghdut Sengupta, and Henning Wachsmuth.
    “When to Use a Metaphor: Metaphors in Dialogical Explanations with Addressees
    of Different Expertise.” <i>Frontiers in Language Sciences</i> 3 (2024): 1474924.'
  ieee: 'I. Scharlau, M. Körber, M. Sengupta, and H. Wachsmuth, “When to use a metaphor:
    Metaphors in dialogical explanations with addressees of different expertise,”
    <i>Frontiers in Language Sciences</i>, vol. 3, p. 1474924, 2024.'
  mla: 'Scharlau, Ingrid, et al. “When to Use a Metaphor: Metaphors in Dialogical
    Explanations with Addressees of Different Expertise.” <i>Frontiers in Language
    Sciences</i>, vol. 3, 2024, p. 1474924.'
  short: I. Scharlau, M. Körber, M. Sengupta, H. Wachsmuth, Frontiers in Language
    Sciences 3 (2024) 1474924.
date_created: 2025-01-08T11:59:24Z
date_updated: 2025-01-08T11:59:34Z
department:
- _id: '660'
funded_apc: '1'
intvolume: '         3'
keyword:
- metaphor
- conceptual metaphor
- conceptual metaphor theory
- metaphor usage
- explaining
- explanation
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/language-sciences/articles/10.3389/flang.2024.1474924/full
oa: '1'
page: '1474924'
project:
- _id: '127'
  name: 'TRR 318 - C4: TRR 318 - Subproject C4 - Metaphern als Werkzeug des Erklärens'
publication: Frontiers in Language Sciences
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: 'When to use a metaphor: Metaphors in dialogical explanations with addressees
  of different expertise'
type: journal_article
user_id: '451'
volume: 3
year: '2024'
...