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Johnson (1980). An example may be head (also combined head or read/
write head), with its specialized sense of ‘a transducer that can read or
write data from the surface of a magnetic storage medium, such as a hard
disk, rewriteable CD-ROM, etc.’,^28 as well as – possibly – memory (as in
computer memory, disk memory, flash memory, random access memory,
and so on), etc.
Arguably, a number of what Johnson (1994) calls anthropomorphic
metaphors should be referred to, more generally, as personifications,
because, strictly speaking, anthropomorphic metaphors – in a narrow sense
- would involve mappings based on the resemblance only to a human
form, rather than human behaviour, attitudes or other characteristics.^29
Hence, a more general metaphor may be posited, namely: COMPUTER
(HARDWARE/SOFTWARE) IS HUMAN BEING. An instantiation of this
conceptual metaphor is the frame or scenario^30 of INTERPERSONAL
CONTACTS, emerging from the expressions provided by James (2001:
12),^31 who refers to disk servers that police their clients, and allow such
clients access to the disk if they trust them. Compatible with this complex
metaphor^32 is the term handshaking (also handshake, as in handshake I/O
control), which refers to ‘standardized signals between two devices
applied to make sure that the system is working correctly, the equipment is
compatible, and data transfer is correct’.^33 Analogously, INTERPERSONAL
CONTACTS may involve parents (as in parent directory, i.e. ‘a directory
that contains the current directory’) and children (otherwise child
processes or child programs), i.e. ‘sub-processes of the main parent
process which remains active until the child process is completed’).^34
Another illustrative case is reader, which may refer either to computer
hardware (‘a device which reads data stored on one medium and converts
it into another form’),^35 computer software (e.g. news reader or
newsreader – ‘a piece of software, or a plug-in for existing software, that
(^28) See the DPCI.
(^29) In his classic subdivision, Paul (1891) differentiates between metaphors based
on the similarity of shape, position, function or behaviour, as well as colour. For
more on the classifications and types of metaphor, see e.g. Grygiel and Kleparski
(2007: 100ff.), as well as Cymbalista and Kleparski (2013: 80ff. and 139ff.).
(^30) As in Fillmore (1977 or 1982), as well as his subsequent publications.
(^31) Also, see Johnson (1994: 100).
(^32) And, possibly, with the above-mentioned COMPUTER HARDWARE/SOFTWARE IS
HUMAN BODY/BODY PART metaphor.
(^33) See the DPCI.
(^34) See the CTDG and the DPCI.
(^35) See the DPCI.