Ibérica (Nov 2018)
Communicating with metaphors: A cross-cultural analysis of technology forums
Abstract
Metaphor is a cognitive tool that helps create intimacy (Bowles & Katz, 2015). Lately, big data methods have enabled text analysis on a large scale, especially relevant for investigating language use on the Internet. Although several text mining techniques have been used before, the use of big data allows the development of new text analysis methods, especially those capable of sentiment analysis and lemmatization. This paper explores recent changes in cross-cultural communication with regard to metaphor use and its function in communication on the Internet, specifically about mobile phone use. Big data methods were employed to search for selected phrases in cross-cultural communication, and a list of commonly used metaphors was made. Big data technologies used in the survey permitted the identification of the phrases and collocations employed by Internet users. Text mining methods were used, including extraction of the information from unstructured data sources. The survey addressed the users of social media and mobile phone technology forums. They were profiled regarding their country and language, limiting the detailed analysis to English and Polish examples. Results show the growing scale of the creation of new metaphors in cross-cultural communication, and the importance of the cognitive functions of metaphor in a culturally and linguistically diverse environment.
