Ego-centered motion metaphors of time across methods: a comparative analysis of introspective, corpus-based, and psycholinguistic studies

Abstract

This paper benefits two audiences: researchers studying time metaphors and those employing introspective, corpus-based, and psycholinguistic methods. It is well-suited for methodology courses and for scholars exploring how these approaches intersect. Using a case study on Ego-centered Motion Metaphors of Time (EMTs), the paper examines the methodological and ontological challenges of shifting between these paradigms. It outlines the often-implicit tenets of introspective frameworks, defines linguistic illustrations, and distinguishes among encountered, prompted, and intuited examples. It also presents an analysis of commonly cited EMTs and shows how introspective definitions converge on similar prototypical illustrations. It then compares corpus retrieval strategies across eight studies. The findings show how introspective definitions are confronted with corpus data, particularly when translating introspective input into search prompts, and how data cleansing fosters new classifications. Finally, the paper identifies the limitations of corpus-based methods and highlights the types of questions that are better addressed through psycholinguistic data.