THE CLASSIFICATION OF METAPHOR IN ENGLISH FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS

INTERNATIONALSCIENCES, EDUCATION AND NEW LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 10 | 2025 https://internationalsciences.org/ | Social Sciences and Humanities | December, 2025 196 DOI: https://10.5281/zenodo.18048016 THE CLASSIFICATION OF METAPHOR IN ENGLISH FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS Kurbanboeva Anbarjon Otkir kizi The teacher at Maʼmun university, Khorezm, Uzbekistan Email: [email protected] Pulatova Maftuna Nodirovna The teacher at Ma’mun University, Khorezm, Uzbekistan Email: maftunaapola[email protected]om ABSTRACT Metaphor plays a central role in human language and cognition, enabling speakers to express abstract ideas through concrete and familiar experiences. This paper examines the classification of metaphor within the framework of English functional linguistics, with particular attention to source and target domains, structural characteristics, and social functions. The study explores conceptual, primary, and complex metaphors and highlights their persuasive role in discourse. By analyzing metaphorical language across different communicative contexts, the paper demonstrates how metaphors shape meaning, reflect cognitive processes, and convey cultural values. The findings emphasize that metaphors are not merely stylistic devices but fundamental mechanisms through which individuals conceptualize and interpret reality. Keywords: metaphor, functional linguistics, conceptual metaphor, source domain, target domain, primary metaphor, complex metaphor, discourse analysis, cognitive linguistics. INTRODUCTION Metaphors are an intrinsic part of human language and thought, serving as powerful tools for communication that bridge the gap between abstract concepts and tangible experiences. In functional linguistics, metaphors are not merely linguistic embellishments; they are fundamental to how we construct meaning and understand the world around us. Through the use of metaphorical language, speakers can convey nuanced ideas and emotions that might otherwise be challenging to articulate. INTERNATIONALSCIENCES, EDUCATION AND NEW LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 10 | 2025 https://internationalsciences.org/ | Social Sciences and Humanities | December, 2025 197 This paper aims to classify metaphors in English through the lens of functional linguistics, highlighting their diverse roles and implications in communication. By categorizing metaphors based on their source and target domains, as well as their structural features and social functions, we can gain a deeper understanding of how metaphors operate within various contexts. The exploration of conceptual metaphors— frameworks that shape our perceptions—and the distinction between primary and complex metaphors will reveal the cognitive underpinnings of metaphorical thinking. Furthermore, this study will examine the persuasive power of metaphors in different discourses, including political rhetoric and advertising, illustrating how metaphorical language reflects and reinforces cultural values and ideologies. Ultimately, this research seeks to contribute to the ongoing discourse on the significance of metaphor in language, cognition, and society, demonstrating that metaphors are not only linguistic constructs but also vital components of human experience. Metaphors are a fundamental aspect of language, allowing speakers to convey complex ideas and emotions through more relatable and vivid imagery. In functional linguistics, metaphors are classified based on their function, structure, and the domains they draw from. This classification helps in understanding how metaphors operate within communication and how they shape our perceptions of reality. One prominent classification is based on the source and target domains. The source domain is the familiar concept from which we draw metaphorical expressions, while the target domain is the abstract concept we aim to understand. For instance, in the metaphor "time is money," "time" (the target) is understood through the familiar concept of "money" (the source). This type of metaphor emphasizes the value of time in a society that prioritizes economic productivity. Another classification focuses on the structural features of metaphors. Conceptual metaphors, as proposed by Lakoff and Johnson, are underlying frameworks that shape our understanding of various concepts. For example, the conceptual metaphor "ARGUMENT IS WAR" suggests that we often discuss arguments using war-related language, such as "attacking a position" or "defending a viewpoint." This structural approach highlights how deeply ingrained metaphorical thinking influences our communication patterns. Moreover, metaphors can be classified into primary and complex metaphors. Primary metaphors are simple and arise from direct sensory experiences, such as "up is good" (e.g., "I’m feeling up today"). In contrast, complex metaphors combine multiple primary metaphors to create more intricate meanings. For example, "life is a journey" integrates various primary metaphors related to movement and progress. INTERNATIONALSCIENCES, EDUCATION AND NEW LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 10 | 2025 https://internationalsciences.org/ | Social Sciences and Humanities | December, 2025 198 Functional linguistics also examines the role of metaphors in social contexts. Metaphors can serve persuasive functions in political discourse, advertising, and everyday conversations. By analyzing the metaphors used in these contexts, researchers can uncover underlying ideologies and cultural values. Metaphors play a fundamental role in language by shaping how individuals conceptualize, organize, and communicate experience. Rather than functioning solely as decorative or literary devices, metaphors serve as core cognitive tools that enable speakers to understand abstract, complex, or unfamiliar concepts through more concrete and familiar domains. This cognitive function of metaphor allows language users to bridge the gap between thought and expression, making meaning more accessible and communicatively effective. From a functional linguistic perspective, metaphors contribute significantly to meaning construction in discourse. They allow speakers to encode attitudes, evaluations, and perspectives, thereby influencing how messages are interpreted by listeners or readers. Through metaphorical language, speakers can emphasize certain aspects of experience while downplaying others, guiding interpretation and shaping communicative intent. For example, describing an argument as a “battle” foregrounds conflict and opposition, while framing it as a “journey” highlights cooperation and progress. Metaphors also play a crucial role in emotional and expressive communication. They enable speakers to convey feelings, emotions, and subjective experiences that may be difficult to articulate using literal language alone. By evoking imagery and associations, metaphors enhance expressiveness and increase the persuasive and aesthetic impact of language across various contexts, including everyday conversation, literature, media, and political discourse. In addition, metaphors reflect and transmit cultural values and social norms. Many metaphorical expressions are culturally specific, revealing shared beliefs and worldviews within a linguistic community. As a result, the study of metaphors provides insight into how language encodes cultural knowledge and how social realities are constructed and maintained through discourse. CONCLUSION Overall, metaphors are indispensable to human language. They structure thought, enrich expression, support persuasion, and mediate the relationship between language, cognition, and culture. Understanding the role of metaphors in language is therefore essential for linguistic analysis, discourse studies, and cross-cultural communication. REFERENCES: 1. Fauconnier G., Sweester E. Cognitive Links and Domains: Basic Aspects of Mental Space Theory. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. – 42 p. INTERNATIONALSCIENCES, EDUCATION AND NEW LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 10 | 2025 https://internationalsciences.org/ | Social Sciences and Humanities | December, 2025 199 2. Lakoff G., Johnson M. Metaphors We Live by. - Chicago, London: The University of Chicago Press, 1980. – 242 p. 3. Searle J.R. Intentionality. An Essay in the Philosophy of Mind. – Cambridge, London, New York, Melbourne, Sydney. Camb. Univ. Press, 1983. – 270 p. 4. Алимурадов О.А., Лату М.Н. 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