Metaphors in didactics

The authors proceed from the constructivist thesis of cognitive linguistics proclaiming that metaphors do not only serve as a rhetorical ornament,but rather represent an important instrument for dealing with reality-not only in everyday life but also within the framework of scientific concepts This thesis is further developed and concretized for the technical language of e ducational science. A detailed analysis of different central texts shows th at, even where metaphors do not serve the mediation of a theory but merely make the text more attractive, this approach allows for interesting stateme nts as to which aspects of didactic mediation are of special significance i n a text. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate that the reflection on the m etaphorical language of a discipline also contributes to the latter's self- reflection and to the definition of its position.