Home › Glossary › Letter G

Grammatical metaphor

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 figurative device where words shift grammatical roles (e.g., noun used as verb) to create fresh, unexpected meanings or effects.

Detailed Definition
Grammatical metaphor is a linguistic phenomenon where grammatical structures (e.g., nominalization, passivization) are used to transform processes into things or agents into abstractions, altering perception of reality; in poetry, this allows complex ideas to be condensed—“the giving of thanks” instead of “we thank”—creating density and objectivity, as in bureaucratic or scientific diction repurposed lyrically to explore alienation or systemic power.
Example
Example in poetry:
Grammatical metaphor: “The committee decided” (personification as agency); “Inflation eroded trust” (economic as natural force); “Time devoured the hours” (abstract as predator); “Her silence screamed” (sensory transference)
Additional Notes
Using one grammatical structure to express another's meaning. Linguistic term—nominalization example. Related: grammatical metaphor, syntax. Study: how grammar shapes thought in poetry.
Also Known As
category shift grammatical transformation
Skip to main content