The case of debating Israeli-Western propaganda regarding the outcome of the October War 1973. Conceptual metaphor: According to conceptual metaphor theorists or what may be also called "cognitive metaphor theorists" like Alice Deignan, the fundamental tenet of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) is that metaphor operates at the level of thinking. Metaphors link two conceptual domains, the source domain and the target domain. Deignan added: "…The poetic metaphors that had been analysed in the research in literature and philosophy for many years were of minor importance for conceptual metaphor theorists. If conceptual metaphors help people to understand abstract subjects of such central importance as life and communication, then the metaphorical expressions that should form the focus of study are the conventional, frequent ones. These will provide clues to the conceptual structures that both reflect and shape the thought patterns of the community. To describe these, a common technique is to identify the linguistic metaphors used to talk about a topic, and from these postulate underlying conceptual metaphors which are presumed to motivate them. The researcher can then consider which aspects of the target domain are highlighted and hidden by the metaphor." In their book titled “Metaphors We Live By”, George Lakoff & Mark Johnson, suggest that metaphors not only make our thoughts more vivid and interesting, but they actually structure our perception and understanding. They state: "…Metaphor is for most people device of the poetic imagination and the rhetorical flourish—a matter extraordinary rather than ordinary language. Moreover, metaphor is typically viewed as characteristic of language alone, a matter of words rather than thought or action. For this reason, most people think they can get along perfectly well without metaphor. We have found, on the contrary, that metaphor is pervasive in every day life, not just in language but in thought and action. Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature." According to an anonymous reader, "it is true that all of us, not just poets, speak in metaphor, whether we realise it or not." According to the same reader, this book (Metaphors We Live By), has led many readers to a new recognition of how profoundly metaphors not only shape our view of life in the past and the present, but set up the expectations that determine what life will be for us in the future. What about the conceptual metaphor-based theoretical model for managing protracted conflicts introduced in this study? The conceptual metaphor-based model introduced in this study is intended to seek a way of understanding the complex process of perceiving conflicts so as to manage such conflicts as effectively as possible. This preliminary model is a development of the basic taxonomic analysis of metaphors, as introduced by Xiaomao Min. The following continuum may simply describe Xiaomao Min taxonomic analysis: Figure #1: Metaphors for managing conflicts Xiaomao Min adopts the idea that: A- "Metaphors are not ornaments of discourse, but are direct expressions of evaluation and are bound to occur whenever we have strong feelings to express." B- "In the context of intractable conflicts, where extraordinary events often give rise to extraordinary human responses, the increased use of metaphor would come without surprise. Metaphors help disputants and observers understand and communicate with others about things that are occurring, framing events in a way that gives meaning in their own world view. These metaphors and the implied meanings can be positive or negative, constructive or destructive. As such, they can help frame the conflict in a way that will make it more likely to be transformed or in a way that will make it more likely to polarise and escalate…" To be continued next week Wageih is a professor of linguistics of negotiation, Chairman of the English Department, Faculty of Languages & Translation, Al-Azhar University, and a PhD holder from Georgetown University [email protected]
