Cognitive metaphors of love among speakers of English as a foreign language

Abstract

This study examines how

is metaphorically represented by non‑native English speakers, focusing on German learners of English as a second language. Drawing on interviews conducted in 2024, the research investigates the metaphorical linguistic features and conceptualizations used by 96 bachelor’s degree students when expressing in English. Participants were asked to describe situations in which they would express and to provide examples of how they would formulate such expressions. As the interviews took place in English used as a lingua franca, the dataset reflects communicative practices characteristic of ELF interactions, including creative or non‑standard metaphor use. Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) serves as the analytical framework for identifying and interpreting the metaphorical patterns in the data. By relying on naturally occurring language rather than introspective intuition, the study addresses critiques of CMT, including its dependence on researcher interpretation and limited empirical grounding. The findings show how socio‑cultural background, L1 conceptual structures and L2 proficiency shape metaphorical expressions of , contributing to a deeper understanding of emotional metaphor use in second language contexts.