Integrating Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Corpus-Based Data: A Stepwise Application of the Single-Lexeme Model of Analysis

This paper presents a stepwise methodological framework for integrating Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) with corpus-based data using a single-lexeme model of analysis. Building on Stefanowitsch’s Metaphorical Pattern Analysis (MPA), the approach begins with the selection of a target domain and a single denotative lexeme, from which metaphorical patterns are retrieved and interpreted within concordance lines. The process combines the empirical strengths of corpus linguistics with the interpretive depth of CMT by identifying recurring cross-domain mappings and subsuming them under conceptual metaphors. To address challenges of subjectivity in metaphor identification, the Pragglejaz Metaphor Identification Procedure is integrated into the analysis. Additionally, the digital platform Atlas.ti is employed to manage, code, visualise and synthesise metaphorical data, offering a robust environment for both qualitative and quantitative exploration. This methodological integration supports greater transparency, reproducibility and interpretive precision in metaphor research. The paper concludes by reflecting on epistemological tensions between data-driven linguistics and cognitively oriented metaphor theory, calling for careful justification of analytic decisions within such interdisciplinary research.