Cognitive linguistics is a relatively new discipline which is rapidly becoming mainstream and influential, particularly in the area of second language teaching. This book looks at how cognitive linguistics can inform our teaching, and lead to intriguing suggestions for alternative ways of presenting grammar and vocabulary in the language classroom.

'Metonymy' is a type of figurative language used in everyday conversation, a form of shorthand that allows us to use our shared knowledge to communicate with fewer words than we would otherwise need. 'I'll pencil you in' and 'let me give you a hand' are both examples of metonymic language. Metonymy serves a wide range of communicative functions such as textual cohesion, humour, irony, euphemism and hyperbole - all of which play a key role in the development of language and discourse communities. Using authentic data throughout, this book shows how metonymy operates, not just in language, but...