How metaphors facilitate intercultural health communication : insights from traditional Chinese medicine doctors in UK clinics

Guenier, Amily Wang and Wang, Binhua and Li, Min and Xing, Minjie (2025) How metaphors facilitate intercultural health communication : insights from traditional Chinese medicine doctors in UK clinics. Journal of World Languages. ISSN 2169-8260

Abstract

This study examines the use of metaphors in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) within the context of health communication in the United Kingdom (UK). By analyzing the narratives collected through interviews with eleven TCM practitioners in UK clinics, this research investigates how metaphors facilitate the expression of complex medical concepts and bridge cultural gaps between Chinese medicine and Western medicine. The metaphors employed in describing conditions such as pain, emotion, infertility, cancer, and obesity in both Chinese and English are analyzed, and the findings suggest that the use of metaphors can enhance the description of medical conditions and improve health communication. This result is encouraging in that it highlights the importance of metaphorical language in mediating health experiences, improving diagnosis, support, self-management, and overall patient empowerment. The study also underscores the need for healthcare practitioners to be aware of their metaphor use and the cultural implications of their communication strategies. It can also enrich the repertoire of metaphorical language available to Western healthcare professionals and patients, fostering a more holistic and culturally sensitive approach to medical treatment.