scholarly journals Metaphors We May Not Live By

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lowell Hoover
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Random Samples ◽  
Metaphor Theory

Metaphors We Live By created an immediate stir in 1980, and it continues to spur interest in cognitive linguistics, cognitive stylistics, and metaphor theory. This article uses both collocations and random samples of words used in conceptual metaphors to search for corpus evidence of the pervasiveness of conceptual metaphor that was unavailable to Lakoff and Johnson. Some metaphors, such as TIME IS MONEY, are pervasive in giant natural language corpora. Others, such as MORE IS UP, are frequent in clearly and consciously metaphorical forms, but relatively rare in the basic forms that would clearly show that we use metaphor to understand more abstract concepts in terms of concrete ones. Some, including ARGUMENT IS WAR, that Lakoff and Johnson discuss throughout their book, are poorly represented. Some gaps in evidence probably result from multiple ways of expressing a complex conceptual metaphors, but others suggest that intuitive plausibility is an insecure basis for argument.

The structure of our concepts: A critical assessment of Conceptual Metaphor Theory as a theory of concepts

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peer F. Bundgaard
Keyword(s):  
Meaning Making ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Specific Domain ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Cross Domain ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
George Lakoff ◽  
Experimental Findings

Abstract George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s Conceptual Metaphor Theory is by and large a theory of what (abstract) concepts are, how they are structured, and how this structure is acquired — i.e., by mapping of structure from one more concrete or sensory-motor specific domain to another more abstract domain. Conceptual metaphors therefore rest on “cross-domain mappings.” The claims to the effect that our abstract concepts are metaphorically structured and that cross-domain mappings constitute one of the fundamental cognitive meaning-making processes are empirical and can therefore be put to the test. In this paper, I will critically assess Conceptual Metaphor Theory as a theory of concepts in light of recent experimental findings. Many such findings provide evidence for the psychological reality of cross-domain mappings, i.e., that structure activated in one domain actually can perform cognitive tasks carried out in another domain. They do not, however, support the claim that the structure of our (abstract) concepts is still metaphorical, as Lakoff and Johnson claim — that is to say, that our mind actually does perform cross-domain mappings when we process conventional conceptual metaphors such as “Death is Rest” or “Love is a Journey.” Two conclusions can be drawn from this: (1) it is necessary to distinguish between cross-domain mappings (which are psychologically real) and the metaphoric structure of our concepts (which is not, in the sense that such concepts do not any longer activate cross-domain mappings when processed); (2) Conceptual Metaphor Theory is not an adequate theory of concepts. I will therefore sketch another more viable theory of concepts where the structure of our concepts is defined as the full ecology of their situations of use, which includes the kind of situations (objects, agents, interactions) they apply to and the kind of emotional, cognitive, bodily, and behavioral responses they elicit. On this view, the contents of our concepts are to be considered as vague predicates, with vague extensions, which take on a specific form in their situation of use.

scholarly journals CONSTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS OF GERMAN AND HUNGARIAN IDIOMS

2021 ◽  
pp. 58-66
Author(s):  
Ilona Lechner
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Cognitive Tools ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Mental Strain ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Figurative Meaning ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
The Subject

The subject of the study is the examination of figurative meaning in Hungarian and German. In the present study, I present the interpretation of figurative meaning within the theoretical framework of cognitive linguistics by analysing idiomatic expressions in Hungarian and German on the example of the concept of ‘time’. In this contrastive research, I primarily look for the answer to how ordinary people use cognitive tools to grasp intangible abstract concepts such as ‘time’ and what connections can be observed between literal and figurative meaning. The examined Hungarian and German idioms are the linguistic manifestations of the conceptual metaphor time is money (valuable resource). The study aims to support the assumption that in any language an abstract meaning can only be expressed with a figurative meaning. Time is an abstract concept that is present in the everyday language use of all people. The expressions time passes, the time is here, my time has come, it takes a lot of time – to mention just a few, have become so conventionalized in our language that we take their meaning literally. Nonetheless, they are based on conventional conceptual metaphors that we use to make the concept of time more tangible to ourselves. The linguistic manifestations of these conceptual metaphors are created and understood without any mental strain. In the first stage of the research, I searched for possible German equivalents of Hungarian expressions, and then I used Internet search engines and idiom and monolingual dictionaries to select the most frequently used equivalent in German. As a next step, I examined 1) the word form, 2) the literal meaning, 3) the figurative meaning, and 4) the conceptual metaphor of idioms in both languages, which were either been identical or different. Because they are different languages, the word forms are inherently different. At the end of the study, I compared the formed patterns from which I drew conclusions, which support that figurative meaning is figurative in another language as well.

scholarly journals Didactic potential of metaphors used in medical discourse

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 102-116
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Karska ◽  
Ewelina Prażmo
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Medical Discourse ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Cognitive Faculties ◽  
Multimodal Representations ◽  
The Impact

Specialist languages should be straightforward and unambiguous. In areas such as law, business or medicine precision and to-the-point wording is required. However, in order to facilitate the description of complicated matters, and especially in expert to non-expert communication, unexpected strategies, e.g. metaphorisation, are used. Conceptual metaphor theory, as initially introduced by Lakoff and Johnson (cf. Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) states that human beings tend to think in metaphors, i.e. we are engaged in constant search of similarities between concepts. This drive for pattern recognition helps us understand the unknown in terms of the familiar, the abstract in terms of the concrete. Most conceptual metaphors are grounded in our physical experience of the world, which means that we draw from this familiar experience while creating metaphorical mappings to the complex, abstract concepts. Controversial as it may seem, the same process applies to understanding professional terms and scientific notions, and as a result the language of law, business, medicine, etc. is heavily metaphorical in nature. In our presentation we focus on medicine alone and analyse a corpus of medical text in search of conceptual metaphors. We claim, that rather than obscuring the message, metaphors actually make it clearer and more precise. They enrich conceptualisation, structure the semantics of the message and serve a number of pragmatic functions, esp. in doctor to patient communication. By choosing a certain metaphor, the message may e.g. be softened in order to lessen the impact it has on the recipient. Moreover, it may be more easily understood if it is built on an adequate conceptual metaphor. Many metaphors used in the medical discourse are based on multimodal representations e.g. descriptions of diseases often invoke the imagery of food including its shape, colour, texture, and smell. Such multimodality of representation (cf. Forceville, 2009 and online) engages a number of cognitive faculties for the construction of a complex conceptualisation and in this way helps us gain better understanding of the concepts described. We claim that conceptual metaphor and esp. pictorial metaphor is a very effective tool used in didactics and its use is perfectly justified in scientific discourses, including the medical discourse. Therefore, in our presentation we analyse pictorial metaphors found in medical discourse and in the field of radiology in particular.

The conceptual metaphor of joy

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-150
Author(s):  
Oana-Maria Păstae ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Cognitive Model ◽  
Conceptual System ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Basic Premise ◽  
Metaphor Theory

The purpose of this paper is to study how ‘joy’, an emotional concept, is metaphorised in English from a cognitive perspective. It introduces the theoretical framework of Cognitive Linguistics, then briefly touches upon the definition of metaphor, the different types of conceptual metaphors and, finally, the conceptual metaphors of ‘joy’. We think in metaphors, which we learn very early. Our conceptual system, in terms of what we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature (Lakoff, & Johnson 2003: 8). Lakoff and Johnson’s book Metaphors we live by changed the way linguists thought about metaphor. Conceptual Metaphor Theory was one of the earliest theoretical frameworks identified as part of the cognitive semantics enterprise and provided much of the early theoretical impetus for the cognitive approach. The basic premise of Conceptual Metaphor Theory is that metaphor is not simply a stylistic feature of language, but that thought itself is fundamentally metaphorical in nature. The cognitive model of joy can be described using the example of Lakoff for anger: JOY IS A FLUID IN A CONTAINER: She was bursting with joy; JOY IS HEAT/FIRE: Fires of joy were kindled by the birth of her son; joy is a natural force: I was overwhelmed by joy; JOY IS A SOCIAL SUPERIOR: If I ruled the world by joy; JOY IS AN OPPONENT: She was seized by joy; joy is a captive animal: All joy broke loose as the kids opened their presents; JOY IS INSANITY: The crowd went crazy with joy; JOY IS A FORCE DISLOCATING THE SELF: He was beside himself with joy.

scholarly journals Dressing for Spiritual Battle and Other Challenges: Translating Passages with Underlying Conceptual Metaphors

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-34
Author(s):  
Christy Hemphill
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Conceptual Domain ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Literary Devices

Traditionally, the approach to translating metaphor in Scripture assumed that metaphors are descriptive literary devices with an underlying “literal meaning.” Research in cognitive linguistics has challenged this idea, and a new field of study, conceptual metaphor theory, has emerged. Conceptual metaphor theory draws a distinction between image metaphors, where a target is described in comparison to a source, and conceptual metaphors, where an abstract or complex conceptual domain is actually understood in terms of a more concrete or familiar conceptual domain drawn from embodied human experience. This paper examines the importance of identifying conceptual metaphors and analyzing their accessibility when translating Scripture. Translators who encounter figurative language derived from underlying conceptual metaphors that are not culturally conventional may try to convert the mapped elements of the source domain into a series of descriptive image metaphors. This skewing of meaning could be mitigated if translators were trained to identify conceptual metaphors licensing figurative language and consider making them explicit. As a case study, a translation of Ephesian 6:13–17 in Tlacoapa Meꞌphaa (tpl) produced by a translator guided by Paratext notes and trained in the traditional approach to the translation of metaphors (Larson 1984) is compared with a second translation produced after encouragement to make the underlying conceptual metaphor PREPARATION IS GETTING DRESSED explicit at the beginning of the passage.

Metaphor, Cognition, Culture

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoltán Kövecses
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
The Other ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Culture And Cognition ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
The One ◽  
Cultural Reality ◽  
Metaphor And Metonymy

The chapter reports on work concerned with the issue of how conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) functions as a link between culture and cognition. Three large areas are investigated to this effect. First, work on the interaction between conceptual metaphors, on the one hand, and folk and expert theories of emotion, on the other, is surveyed. Second, the issue of metaphorical universality and variation is addressed, together with that of the function of embodiment in metaphor. Third, a contextualist view of conceptual metaphors is proposed. The discussion of these issues leads to a new and integrated understanding of the role of metaphor and metonymy in creating cultural reality and that of metaphorical variation across and within cultures, as well as individuals.

Once Upon a Time in the Realm of Notions : The Conceptualisation of Novak Djokovic-Inspired Personality Shifts

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Nenad Blaženović ◽  
Emir Muhić
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
The Other ◽  
Tennis Player ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Metaphor Theory

An analysis was carried out with two interviews given by the tennis-player Novak Djokovic, one of which was in English and the other in his native Serbian. In both instances, Novak Djokovic used many conceptual metaphors throughout his speech, some of which were analysed in more detail. The main premise of the research was that people’s personalities change in accordance with language they speak at any given time and that they use different conceptual metaphors to describe the same events in different languages. The aim of the paper was to investigate whether personality shift in bilingual speakers can be observed through the speaker’s use of conceptual metaphors in different languages. Through the framework of conceptual metaphor theory, it was shown that Djokovic’s personality does change with the language he speaks. This change was shown through the conceptual metaphors, i.e., source and target domains that Djokovic used during the interviews. He does indeed use different source domains to conceptualise the same target domains in different languages.

What Time Does in Language: a Cross-Linguistic Cognitive Study of Source Related Variation in Verbal Time Metaphors in American English, Finnish and Hungarian

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-238
Author(s):  
Zsuzsa Máthé
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
American English ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Source Domain ◽  
Metaphorical Language ◽  
Related Variation ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Cognitive Study

"What Time Does in Language: a Cross-Linguistic Cognitive Study of Source Related Variation in Verbal Time Metaphors in American English, Finnish and Hungarian. Such a universal yet abstract concept as time shows variation in metaphorical language. This research focuses on metaphorical language within the framework of the cognitive metaphor theory, investigating time through a contrastive cross-linguistic approach in three satellite-framed languages. By combining qualitative and quantitative methods, this study attempts to identify what time does in language in a metaphorical context, with a focus on verbs in causative constructions (e.g. time heals) as well as manner of motion verbs (e.g. time rushes), through an empirical corpus-based study complemented by the lexical approach. The two main conceptual metaphors that are investigated in this study are TIME IS A CHANGER and TIME IS A MOVING ENTITY. While these two conceptual metaphors are expected to be frequent in all three languages, differences such as negative/positive asymmetry or preference of a type of motion over another are expected to be found. The primary objective is to explore such differences and see how they manifest and why. The hypothesis is that variations among the three languages related to the source domain (CHANGER and MOVING ENTITY), are more likely to be internal and not external. The purpose is to investigate these variations and to determine what cognitive underpinnings they can be traced back to, with a focus on image schemas. The study reveals that source internal variation does prevail over source external variation. The results show that cross-linguistic differences of such a relevant concept as time do exist but more often through unique characteristics of the same source domain rather than new, distinctive domains. Keywords: cognitive linguistics, corpus linguistics, conceptual metaphor theory, metaphorical entailments, source domain "

scholarly journals Conceptual Metaphor of Eliot’s Waste Land Versus Al-Sayyab’s Rain Song

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Ayed Ibrahim Ayassrah ◽  
Mohd Nazri Latiff Azmi
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Modern Poetry ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
The Waste Land ◽  
Waste Land ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Arabic And English ◽  
Logical Mapping ◽  
Modern Arabic

Of the rhetorical tools, metaphor still has insufficient interest, primarily as a crosscultural phenomenon though it is an attractive and vivid area, so it should be studied and highlighted (Suhadi, 2018) and (Barton, 2017). This comparative study investigated the conceptual metaphor in modern Arabic versus English poetry with reference to Al-Sayyab and T. S. Eliot as two poles of modern poetry in Arabic and English. This study tried to shed light on the frequency of the conceptual metaphors in Al-Sayyab’s The Rain Song versus Eliot’s The Waste Land. Besides, it aimed to explore the similarities and differences between the two poems in using the CMT orientational ’Up’ and ’Down’ strategy. However, to accomplish its aims, this study adopted Lakoff and Jonson’s Conceptual Metaphor Theory ’CMT’ (1980); this theory asserted that metaphor is an inborn mental system in which we understand a certain concept in terms of another by drawing a logical mapping between the source domain and the target one. Finally, the study found that modern poetry was wealthy of conceptual metaphors. It also discovered that The Rain Song involved 65.29% conceptual metaphors of its total lines, so it exceeded The Waste Land which comprised only 39.40%. Furthermore, the study revealed that the two poems were generally pessimistic in which the ’Down’ domain exceeded the ’Up’ one in each poem. Also, it detected that Eliot was more pessimistic than Al Sayyab who was more optimistic.

scholarly journals Konseptualisasi Citra Hara ‘Perut’ dalam Idiom Bahasa Jepang

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-78
Author(s):  
Akhmad Saifudin
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
The Body ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Japanese People ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Cognitive Experience

 Hara simply means belly, but for Japanese people it means more than physical. Hara is a concept, an important concept related to Japanese human life. This paper discusses the conceptualization of hara image for Japanese people. The study utilizes 25 idioms that contain hara ‘belly’ word that are obtained from several dictionaries of Japanese idioms. This paper is firmly grounded in cognitive linguistics, which relates linguistic expressions to human cognitive experience. The tool for analysis employed in this paper is the “conceptual metaphor theory” pioneered by Lakoff and Johnson. This theory considers human perception, parts of the body, and people’s worldview as the basis for the structure of human language. The analysis of this paper results that metaphorically, hara ‘belly’ is an entity and a container, which contains important elements for humans, such as life, mind, feeling, mentality, and physical. The concept of hara 'belly' for Japanese people is to have a spiritual, psychological, social and cultural, biological, and physical image. Keywords: conceptualization, conceptual metaphor, hara ‘belly’,  idioms, imagee.

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