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Conduit metaphor

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A metaphor of transmission, e.g., language as a pipe for thoughts

Detailed Definition
A conduit metaphor frames language as a pipe transferring thoughts directly from mind to mind, ignoring interpretive gaps; poets often subvert this model by highlighting miscommunication, opacity, or the materiality of words, revealing language as construction, not transmission.
Example
Example in poetry:
Conduit metaphor: “My words are pipes carrying truth from heart to ear”; Shakespeare’s “Let me pour my spirits in thine ear” (Macbeth); Adrienne Rich’s “The Burning of Paper Instead of Children” treats language as a channel; Digital poets use “data streams” as modern conduits of meaning
Additional Notes
Conduit metaphor treats language as a pipe transferring thoughts directly from mind to mind; poets often subvert this by highlighting language’s instability, ambiguity, or materiality.
Also Known As
Channel metaphor transmission figure pipeline comparison vessel metaphor
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