Abstract

Sarah Goeth: Fortpflanzung – Verpflanzung. Vegetabile Metaphern in den Wissenskulturen des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts In times of globalization terms of›transplantation‹ and ›reproduction‹ became ubiquitous describing diverse forms of cultural contact and exchange. The literal botanical meanings of thewords ›transplant‹ and ›reproduce‹ (German: verpflanzen/fortpflanzen) have inspired various figural and metaphorical conceptualizations thatemerged parallel to the botanical discoveries in the 18th and 19th century. The article examines this surprising phenomenon with references to the botanical writings and theoretical discourses in the areas of education, early linguistics and philology at that time.It aims to explore to what extent thesemetaphors have stimulated innovative notions of transmission and circulation. Besides, it is shown how the metaphorical concepts of ›transplantation‹ and›reproduction‹ describe the structure of metaphors itself.