The conceptual metaphor theory and the development of alternative theories within the cognitive approach to metaphor (a review of European and American metaphor studies)

A review of literature on pop songs reveals that composers use metaphors to communicate their feelings. In particular, the meaning of the metaphors in EkeGusii pop songs needs to be interpreted to reveal the message of the composers. The EkeGusii pop singer Christopher Mosioma’s (Embarambamba) songs have gained fame in Kenya because of their richness in the usage of metaphors. One of Christopher Mosioma’s songs, amasomo (education) which was launched in 2015 has gained acclaim from Kenyans. The song amasomo (education) is basically presented as a piece of advice to students to embrace education in order to optimally reap from its benefits. The study identified 10 metaphors in the song amasomo (education) through the Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit. In order to interpret the metaphors in the EkeGusii pop song amasomo (education), the Conceptual Metaphor Theory complemented by the folk conception of the generic Great Chain of Being Metaphor were employed. The study employed four coders (including the researchers) in the identification of the metaphors. The study found that, inter alia, animal, plant and object metaphors are used in the song amasomo (education). The study concludes that the metaphors in the EkeGusii pop songs belong inherently to different levels of the generic Great Chain of Being Metaphor.

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Recent developments in metaphor theory

Review of Cognitive Linguistics ◽

10.1075/rcl.9.1.02kov ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 11-25 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Zoltán Kövecses

Keyword(s):

Conceptual Metaphor ◽

Relevance Theory ◽

Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽

Metaphor Theory ◽

Recent Developments ◽

Stage Process ◽

Input Hypothesis ◽

Alternative Theories

Several scholars have proposed alternative views to conceptual metaphor theory (see, for example, Ortony, 1993; Barnden, 2006; Wilson and Carston, 2006, 2008; Vega, 2007; Gibbs, 2008). How are the modified, refined, and alternative theories related to each other and standard conceptual metaphor theory, and which theory provides the best account of the phenomenon of metaphor? The particular approaches I will consider in this paper include the theory of metaphor as categorization, standard conceptual metaphor theory, blending theory, the neural theory of metaphor, conceptual metaphor theory as based on the idea of main meaning focus, and relevance theory. I will present the various theories through the analysis of a single metaphorical sentence: This surgeon is a butcher. I will propose that conceptual metaphor theory as based on the idea of the main meaning focus gives us a good way of characterizing the emergence of the sentence’s meaning. This characterization consists of a four-stage process. First, there exist two independent conceptual categories: BUTCHERY and SURGERY. Second, due to the similarity between the two, a metaphorical relationship is established between them. Third, the property of incompetence emerges in the concept of BUTCHERY in light of and against the background of the concept of SURGERY. Fourth, this property is projected into the blend, in which the property will now characterize the surgeon. I will point out that this approach is compatible with several other views, such as Ruiz de Mendoza’s Combined Input Hypothesis and with aspects of relevance theory.

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The conceptual metaphor of joy

Journal of Linguistic and Intercultural Education ◽

10.29302/jolie.2019.12.1.10 ◽

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.

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‘The explosive devices of memory’: trauma and the construction of identity in narrative

Language and Literature ◽

10.1177/0963947006060557 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 91-106 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Sean McAlister

Keyword(s):

Textual Analysis ◽

Conceptual Metaphor ◽

The Other ◽

Conceptual Blending ◽

Cognitive Approach ◽

Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽

Construction Of Identity ◽

Other Hand ◽

Metaphor Theory ◽

Explosive Devices

This article attempts to show how a cognitive approach to textual analysis can function alongside other critical methodologies. Helen Weinzweig's novel Basic Black with Pearlsis an examination of the effects of trauma on the psyche, and in particular on its construction and maintenance of a sense of identity. As Shirley, the novel's narrator, struggles to locate the various aspects of her own identity, so too is the reader forced to experience this struggle in the act of attempting to construct for Shirley an identity out of her fragmented and discontinuous narrative. I approach this interpretational problem from two perspectives. Making use primarily of the work by Caruth, I demonstrate how Weinzweig's text might be read according to a canonical trauma paradigm. On the other hand, I consider Weinzweig's text within a cognitive stylistic framework, making use of Turner and Fauconnier's theory of conceptual blending and its various incarnations, as well as Lakoff's conceptual metaphor theory. With these methodologies, the article proposes an account of the specific stylistic differences between the narrative representation of identity and that of identity in trauma.

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Beyond Predator and Prey: Figuring Corruption through Animal Metaphoric Scenarios in the Jordanian Context

English Language and Literature Studies ◽

10.5539/ells.v7n2p110 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 110

Author(s):

Mohammad Abedltif Albtoush ◽

Sakina Suffian Sahuri

Keyword(s):

Conceptual Metaphor ◽

Pragmatic Approach ◽

Metaphor Analysis ◽

Cognitive Approach ◽

Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽

Cultural Implications ◽

Metaphor Theory ◽

Critical Metaphor Analysis

Combining a cognitive approach based on Lakoff’s Conceptual Metaphor Theory and a pragmatic approach based on Critical Metaphor Analysis, this study investigates the use of ANIMAL metaphoric scenarios to figure corruption as a relationship between predators and prey and the cultural implications in the Jordanian context. It also seeks to identify the diverse functions performed by the use of ANIMAL metaphors. Data for the study consist of 10 excerpts taken from a satire-genre discourse “sawalief.com”. My argument is that all animal metaphors in the corpus promote the contrast between the ACTIVITY of corrupters and the PASSIVITY of the citizenry and that the goal of this rhetoric is to move the PASSIVE citizenry into ACTION by shaming them into fighting corruption. This is clearly illustrated through the use of two types of ANIMAL metaphoric scenarios: ACTIVE ANIMALS representing corrupters and politicians, and PASSIVE ANIMALS representing the citizens. In addition, the use of these metaphors performs diverse functions: ideological, cognitive, and rhetorical.

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The Conceptualization of Immigration in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake

International Journal of Linguistics Literature & Translation ◽

10.32996/ijllt.2021.4.1.8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 71-78

Author(s):

Jahida Nuradin Yousif ◽

Yasir Allawi Al-Jumaili

Keyword(s):

Conceptual Metaphor ◽

The Novel ◽

Target Domain ◽

Cognitive Approach ◽

Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽

Immigration Process ◽

Metaphor Theory ◽

George Lakoff ◽

Mapping Process ◽

The Way

This paper attempts to analyse the metaphorical representation of immigration in Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel The Namesake (2003). It aims to explore the way in which the process of immigration is conceptualized in terms of experiences from other domains. Lahiri as the second generation of immigrants is brought up in the family that experienced the process of immigration. However, the notion of immigration among Lahiri’s critics is explored, but a few number of researches approached its metaphorical language, whereas the current paper investigates immigration in terms of the stylistic investigation of immigration metaphors in the light of cognitive approach. This study also examines the mapping process, which is used to conceptualize immigration in the novel. It applies insights from Conceptual Metaphor Theory by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson to the linguistic expression that underlie conceptual metaphors that are selected from the novel. In addition, it identifies all the source domains that are used in the selected expressions to represent the target domain of immigration, through the mapping process. The immigration process in Lahiri’s The Namesake is compared to ‘ sort of lifelong pregnancy’, ‘perpetual wait’, ‘ constant burden’, ‘free’, and ‘ packing a pillow and a blanket’. The selection of the conceptual metaphor theory provides a deeper understanding of the way the process of immigration is represented.

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A Cognitive Approach to the Metaphors of Postpartum Depression in Elif Shafak’s Black Milk

Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences ◽

10.14500/kujhss.v4n1y2021.pp35-44 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 35-44

Author(s):

Yasir A. Al-Jumaili ◽

Shaymaa F. Hasan ◽

Safeen N. Arif

Keyword(s):

Postpartum Depression ◽

Conceptual Metaphor ◽

Target Domain ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Cognitive Approach ◽

Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽

Conceptual Structures ◽

Metaphor Theory ◽

George Lakoff ◽

Domain Mapping

Despite the fact that postpartum depression has been explicitly referred to in Elif Shafak’s novel Black Milk (2007), there are many implicit references to this negative mental state. This paper aims to examine the metaphorical representations which are used to conceptualize the experience of postpartum depression. The study attempts to understand how the experience of postpartum depression is metaphorically constructed and conveyed via the use of conceptual metaphors. This study differs from previous studies which examined Shafak’s Black Milk; the current study attempts a cognitive approach to its metaphorical language. The study applies insights from Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (1980; 2003) to selected metaphors from Shafak’s novel Black Milk. The study is the first of its kind; it offers a stylistic examination of the metaphors of postpartum. The application of conceptual metaphor theory, in our opinion, serves as a useful tool that allows better understanding of how the abstract state of postpartum depression is understood and communicated through the course of the novel. The study also discusses the cross-domain mapping process to see how conceptual structures are selected from different source domains and mapped onto the target domain of postpartum depression to unveil the negative effects of this distressing experience.

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A cognitive approach to the conceptual metaphors in Shi Jing (The Book of Poetry)

Applied Linguistics Review ◽

10.1515/applirev-2020-0076 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Chun Lan ◽

Zichong Yin

Keyword(s):

Conceptual Metaphor ◽

Comprehensive Analysis ◽

Chinese History ◽

Cognitive Approach ◽

Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽

Aesthetic Object ◽

Conceptual Metaphors ◽

Linguistic Study ◽

Metaphor Theory ◽

Cognition And Culture

AbstractThis is a cognitive linguistic study of Shi Jing (The Book of Poetry), the first collection of poems in Chinese history dated from the 11th to the 6th century B.C. Adopting the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory, we carry out a comprehensive analysis of all the metaphorical expressions in the collection, with the aim of investigating the underlying conceptual metaphors and exploring the interrelationships between metaphor, cognition and culture. The main findings are: 1) Altogether 476 metaphorical expressions have been identified, not only in those poems traditionally associated with bĭ (comparison) or xìng (affective image), but also in those poems traditionally associated with fù (narration). 2) Most of the metaphorical expressions identified belong to the Great Chain of Being Metaphor and can be further divided into downward ones and upward ones, with the former outnumbering the latter. 3) From the underlying conceptual metaphors, it can be observed that the conceptualization pattern of the Zhou Dynasty is rather anthropocentric and anthropomorphic, with a certain tendency towards animism. It is also patriarchal in regarding men as aesthetic subject and women as aesthetic object. 4) The Zhou people also showed remarkable figurative creativity. All the four devices summarized by Lakoff and Turner (1989) for creating novel language from conventional materials (extending, elaborating, questioning and composing) have been skillfully employed by the Zhou people to sing for their love and lament the miseries of life.

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Metaphor, Cognition, Culture

10.1093/oso/9780190879228.003.0002 ◽

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.

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Conceptualizations of the Heart in Jordanian Arabic: A Cognitive Perspective

International Journal of Linguistics ◽

10.5296/ijl.v12i4.17360 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 65

Author(s):

Omar Bani Mofarrej ◽

Ghaleb Rabab'ah

Keyword(s):

Human Body ◽

Human Heart ◽

Conceptual Metaphor ◽

Cognitive Mechanisms ◽

Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽

Cognitive Perspective ◽

Jordanian Arabic ◽

Metaphor Theory ◽

Idiomatic Expressions ◽

Levantine Arabic

The present paper examines the metaphorical and metonymical conceptualizations of the heart in Jordanian Arabic (JA) within the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory developed by Lakoff and Johnson (1980). The main aim is to explore how the human heart is conceptualized in JA, and to test the applicability of the different general cognitive mechanisms proposed by Niemeier (2003 and 2008) to those found in JA. The data were extracted from Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions in Levantine Arabic: Jordanian Dialect (Alzoubi, 2020), and other resources including articles, dissertations and books of Arabic proverbs. The findings revealed that all the four general cognitive mechanisms suggested by Niemeier (2003 and 2008) are applicable to JA. The findings also showed that the similarity derives from the universal aspects of the human body, which lends tremendous support to the embodiment hypothesis proposed by cognitive linguists.

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