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Making Meaning Across Modes: A Review of Theories and Multimodal Metaphor in Media Discourse
PENG Xiaoyu
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DOI:10.17265/1539-8080/2026.01.003
South-Central Minzu University, Wuhan, China
Multimodal metaphor has become a key topic in cognitive and discourse studies, extending Conceptual Metaphor Theory from purely verbal data to coordinated uses of language, image, sound, and gesture. This article argues that rigorous multimodal metaphor analysis lies on three methodological commitments—explicit identification criteria that distinguish multimodal metaphor, cross-domain mapping operationalization that makes cues, and meaning construction through different modes. In this context, the review further argues that the central explanatory payoff lies at the discourse level, where mappings are orchestrated into coherent evaluative trajectories. By linking criteria, operationalization, and reliability to mapping dynamics and discourse effects, the article outlines a process-oriented framework for future multimodal metaphor research. Overall, the review shows a shift from theory-driven discussion to richer empirical and interdisciplinary work, and argues that multimodal metaphors are powerful semiotic resources for constructing stance, emotion, and ideology in contemporary communication.
multimodal metaphor, Conceptual Metaphor Theory, cross-domain mapping; meaning construction
PENG Xiaoyu, Making Meaning Across Modes: A Review of Theories and Multimodal Metaphor in Media Discourse. US-China Foreign Language, January 2026, Vol. 24,
No. 1, 23-29 doi:10.17265/1539-8080/2026.01.003
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