The paper offers a cognitive linguistic analysis of metaphors supporting the conceptualization of SENTENCE STRUCTURE. In line with the tenets of cognitive linguistics, it is assumed that the construal of this highly abstract conceptual domain necessarily has a metaphorical basis. Accordingly, it is argued that differences between syntactic theories can be traced back to the metaphorical choices they make. In constituency analysis, THE SENTENCE IS A BULDING appears to be the core metaphor

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... syntactic analysis, whereas dependency grammar seems to rely especially heavily on THE SENTENCE IS A FAMILY metaphor. The second part of the paper offers a detailed discussion of two instructive metaphors invented by the Transylvanian polymath Sámuel Brassai, both supporting a dependency grammatical understanding of sentences, namely THE SENTENCE IS A FEUDAL SOCIETY and THE SENTENCE IS A SOLAR SYSTEM. Using conceptual integration theory, the author spells out the key implications of these two metaphors, arguing that each has its share of advantages.