A theoretical framework is an inventory of theoretical concepts and propositions that tells you where the elements of the theory and the model come from. In a very broad sense, the theoretical framework of DMT starts with everything included about metaphor in the recent handbooks on metaphor and thought (The Cambridge Handbook of Metaphor and Thought) and metaphor and language (The Routledge Handbook of Metaphor and Language | Elena Semino, Zsófia). But DMT, at this moment, is especially concerned with metaphorical language comprehension in discourse, which entails having a position in the wide domain of cognitive science, the more specific domain of language and discourse comprehension, and hence the domains of language and discourse themselves. This leads to other components of the theoretical framework than the ones covered by the handbooks mentioned above.

The theoretical framework for cognitive science is immense. For DMT, it would primarily include selections from psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology, social psychology, but this is just what is most prominent at this moment. These disciplines provide room for relevant theories of language and discourse processing that are mentioned under theory, including the Construction-Integration approach to utterance comprehension in discourse. What is especially important in this broad area of cognitive science for its role in DMT’s theoretical framework is Daniel Kahneman’s dual processing theory about fast and slow thinking, and Michael Tomasello’s theory of individual, shared, and collective intentionality: they motivate DMT’s focus on the role of speed of processing and the role of intentions for metaphor. A third general area of interest is the work done on analogy by cognitive scientists like Dedre Genter, Keith Holyoak, and Douglas Hofstadter.

The complex theoretical framework for the study of metaphor as part of language structures and functions may be understood from the perspective of Chris Butler’s overview of three major theories of structural-functional linguistics (Structure and Function – A Guide to Three Major Structural-Functional Theories: Part 1: Approaches to the simplex clause | Christopher S. Butler). The equally complex theoretical framework for the interaction between language use and discourse (Structure and Function – A Guide to Three Major Structural-Functional Theories: Part 2: From clause to discourse and beyond | Christopher S. Butler) may be further constructed with the help of Teun van Djik’s updated overview of discourse studies ([PDF] Discourse Studies by Teun A Van Dijk, 2nd edition | 9781446242223).