Six-Dimensional Norms for Metaphorical Expressions in European Portuguese: The ME6D-PT Database
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Conceptual metaphors structure abstract domains through concrete, perceptual, affective, or bodily experience, but they are accessed through metaphorical expressions. Controlled experimental work requires normed materials characterizing expressions, not only the conceptual mappings they instantiate. This is particularly relevant for European Portuguese, where research on metaphors lacks multidimensional normative resources for everyday metaphorical expressions. We introduce ME6D-PT, a database of 213 European Portuguese metaphorical expressions instantiating 20 conceptual metaphors and accompanied by English counterparts. Portuguese native speakers rated the expressions on six dimensions relevant to language processing: familiarity, concreteness, valence, arousal, embodiment, and transparency. Items were presented individually without context, organized in seven lists in a within-subject design. Aggregated item-level reliability ranged from moderate to excellent across dimensions. Descriptive results showed that the expressions were generally familiar and transparent while varying substantially in concreteness, valence, arousal, and embodiment. Further analyses showed strong positive associations among familiarity, transparency, and concreteness, whereas embodiment was weakly related to experiential and semantic dimensions. Exploratory quadratic models revealed nonlinear patterns involving valence, including the expected U-shaped association with arousal, and a decelerating positive association between transparency and familiarity. ME6D-PT provides a controlled resource for stimulus selection and research on metaphors, abstract language, embodiment, and future cross-linguistic research.
Source: Data
DOI: 10.3390/data11090224
Institutions: University of Minho, University of Birmingham
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,930
Awards: Centro de Investigação em Psicologia (CIPsi), Metaphoring in a Second Language: Evidence on Conceptual Metaphors Processing in Portuguese-English Early and Late Bilinguals, G412981979, Promovendo a aprendizagem de línguas estrangeiras em programas pré-escolares de baixa exposição através de uma abordagem colaborativa: Evidências comportamentais e neurais num ensaio aleatório controlado
OpenAlex ID: W7208718269