Metaphor and Semantic Multiplication in Multimodal Scientific Discourse

摘要

This paper aims to investigate the nature of multiplicative meaning (Lemke 1998) and suggest an analytical approach to semantic expansions across language and chemical symbolism in science education. To facilitate the current research, Ravelli's (2003) linguistic analytical framework is adapted to identify multiplicative meaning as the junction of different semantic choices created by the use of metaphor. This paper briefly reviews previous research on multiplicative meaning before analyzing grammatical metaphor (Halliday 1985) where semantic multiplication arises. Then the inter-semiotic mechanism of semiotic metaphor (O'Halloran 1999) is examined with the revised analytical model to demonstrate how language and symbolism interact with each other to produce expanded meaning. The present study concludes that metaphor is a powerful meaning making mechanism, which not only creates different semantic choices, but also transforms typological meaning into topological meaning (Lemke 1998).