The phenomenon of metaphor in Russian language studies: from the past to the future

The article analyzes the tendencies in scientific views on metaphor in Russian language studies in the past and present with a forecast for the future. Different stages in the study of metaphor, starting from traditional rhetorical approach, going back to ancient rhetorics, to the recognition of the interdisciplinary status of metaphor as one of the universals of language and thinking, the mechanism of generating meanings in the continuum from word to text are identified and described. The author uses methods of explanatory analytical description, critical analysis, generalization, systematization and classification basing on works of leading representatives of traditional and modern Russian language studies (M.V. Lomonosov, A.A. Potebnya, A.N. Baranov, O.N. Laguta, V.A. Maslova, A.P. Chudinov, etc.). The prospects of linguometaphorology (linguistic study of metaphor) as an independent direction of modern linguistics interacting with text/discourse linguistics, cognitive linguistics, psycholinguistics, cultural linguistics and other relevant branches of modern linguistics are noted in the article.