The Role of Metaphor in Technical Term-Formation

Abstract

Nowadays metaphor is not considered to be a solely literary expressive means. The human mind is both rational and emotional. In terms we both think and act, it is fundamentally metaphorical in nature. Today this idea has gained so wide an acknowledgement that it can be the basis of the contemporary approach to metaphor study. The aim of this article is to analyze the role of terminological metaphor in one specialized field of language, in the process of technical term-formation. The focus is on the field of computing and the respective conclusion that metaphorical transfer is a key process in the formation of technical terms in electronics and information teclmologies.