The Correlation Between Metaphor Density and the Message Persuasive Power

Abstract

The article considers the problem of the communicative power of a metaphor, namely, how the density of metaphors in a message affects the persuasiveness of a given message. The author analyzes the research in the field of the speech impact of metaphorical messages, as well as studies that are aimed at analyzing the density of metaphors in the text. An empirical study based on the original technique checks the hypothesis that a larger number of metaphors in the text increases the power of speech exposure. In this case, the relationship of speech exposure with the metaphor perceived aptness is also investigated. As a research methodology, a survey of 80 respondents is used, who, after reading high-metaphorical, low-metaphorical and non-metaphorical texts, should have made a choice. An important feature of the methodology is the fact that the texts used in the experiment were almost identical in content, but at the same time they were distinguished by metaphor density and perceived aptness. The results showed that metaphorical expressions in all cases were more persistent than non-metaphorical ones. The correlation coefficient between the number of metaphors and the persistence of the message was 0.69, and taking into account perceived aptness - 0.73. The main conclusion of the study is that the higher the density of metaphors in the text, the higher the persuasiveness of a given speech message. However, to achieve a high level of speech exposure, the number of metaphors in the text should be consistent with the perceived aptness, that is, the specific density of metaphors in the text is determined by the genre and style features of the speech message. If the level of perceived aptness of metaphors is low, then increasing the number of metaphors has the opposite effect on persuasiveness. Communication with a low level of metaphor aptness becomes less pervasive, despite the number of metaphors.