Metaphorical Internet terms: A conceptual and structural analysis

Although metaphors are often associated with literary language, they also play an important role in scientific and technical texts and hence in terminology work. In this paper, we explore the terminology of the Internet, a domain in which metaphors are particularly striking. We first examine English metaphorical terms from a conceptual viewpoint, noting the dominant metaphorical themes. We then analyze metaphorical terms from a structural viewpoint, observing basic word-formation patterns as well as phonological aspects. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this research for terminology work, in particular concept analysis and standardization efforts.