Metaphor - A Key to Extensible Semantic Analysis

<p>Interpreting metaphors is an integral and inescapable process in human understanding of natural language. This paper discusses a method of analyzing metaphors based on the existence of a small number of generalized metaphor mappings. Each generalized metaphor contains a <em>recognition network, a basic mapping, </em>additional <em>transfer <em>mappings, </em>and an <em>implicit intention component. </em>It is argued that the method reduces metaphor interpretation from a reconstruction to a recognition task. Implications towards automating certain aspects of language learning are also discussed.</em></p>