Lo status della metafora : terminologia e distinzioni

The status of the metaphor: terminology and categorizations The article is divided into two parts. In the first one, the author reflects on the metaphorical terminology born according to various classifications, especially along the usual/unusual axis based on the criterion of frequency of use and the evocation of original image. In the second part of the article, on the basis of previous reflections, the author proposes to focus on the partial nature of the metaphorical structuring in the cognitive theory of metaphor developed by Lakoff and Johnson. That concept is the classifying criterion to distinguish between the original metaphor and the filling one (metafora riempitiva). In addition, the author lays special emphasis on the status of the so-called sleeping metaphor, oscillating between the category of the metaphor conventional and the unconventional one.