Metaphor has been studied as a linguistic and a cognitive phenomenon, but its communicative side has been relatively neglected. This claim can be thrown into relief by considering the question when metaphor is experienced as deliberate (Steen, 2008). In this talk I will address this question by considering the structures, functions, and processes that can be related to metaphor when it is used deliberately, in production, reception, or interaction.

As for structure, I will claim that the deliberate use of metaphor is independent of its degree of conceptual conventionality and linguistic expression as a simile or a metaphor.

The function of deliberate metaphor, I will argue, is to cause a shift in perspective on a particular referent and topic in a discourse, from the dominant frame of reference to an alien frame of reference.

The process related to this structure and function of deliberate metaphor can then be shown to involve cross-domain mapping by comparison, possibly accompanied by a sense of awareness of the rhetorical goals of the producer.

There are several possible implications of this view of metaphor, which have to do with the general model for metaphor, the relation between metaphor and rhetoric, and the relation between metaphor and intentions and consciousness.