“Then journeys are like life itself, rarely straight”: Towards a meta-metaphorical perspective on life–journey interactions

Abstract

The reversal of the deep-rooted life is a journey metaphor is not commonly heard in everyday language, and as a result has received little attention. This study addresses the phenomenon in which a journey is life appears to be embedded within, or co-exists with, life is a journey in text. This study argues that this phenomenon constitutes a meta-metaphor – a metaphor about a metaphor – which can set free and extend familiar metaphorical thought and instigate life–journey interactions in ways that the familiar metaphor alone cannot achieve. This paper proposes a multilevel view of the literal-metonymic-metaphorical continuum, which considers the possibility that literalness, metonymy and metaphor are located at different levels involving language, experience (physical action) and belief systems (faith and knowledge). This multilevel lens, underpinned by cognitive and socio-pragmatic forces, further explains why life–journey interactions can occur.