Abstract

In the paper, I propose an extended version of conceptual metaphor theory (CMT). The extended version of CMT consists of a number of distinctions relating to meaning, conceptual structure, memory, ontological level (or realm), and context. In discussing the relevant distinctions each of these categories involve, I also indicate how they are related to one another. Finally, I describe the various types of context, together with the particular contextual factors they subsume. I suggest that the contextual factors prompt or prime, singly or jointly, the linguistic metaphors in metaphorical conceptualization in natural discourse.