Assessment method of conventionality of metaphoric expressions: from intuition to operational criteria

The paper presents a new classification for metaphorically used lexical items based on the degree of their conventionality. The novelty of the approach lies in its consistent avoidance of reference to intuitive and introspective criteria, which are widely used in metaphor studies, in lexicographical and corpus-based data. The proposed classification is based on the verifiable algorithmic procedure for identification of metaphor type.