Multimodal transcription as a tool of understanding visual metaphors

Abstract

The articles presents an ongoing study of visual metaphors in terms of cognitive approach. Visual metaphor is viewed by the authors as a cognitive tool that structures the perception of the world. The perception of visual metaphors is analysed by means of multimodal transcription that allows to decipher the semiotic codes that produce the meaning. Multimodal transcript is made applying the system of 14 semiotic codes represented by verbal and non-verbal elements of the visual metaphor. The metaphors are divided into motionless and motion ones depending on the type of channel that is engaged for perceiving and processing the information. Depending on the type of the visual metaphor different semiotic codes are transcribed in the structure of the metaphor.