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 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.

scholarly journals Semantic-discursive functions of linguistic expression that materialize conceptual metaphor in discurse genres

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (spe) ◽  
pp. 571-585
Author(s):  
Lucienne C. Espíndola
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Linguistic Expression ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
The Everyday

This work aims at presenting some results of the research developed in the Project named Metaphor, Discursive Genre and Argumentation (MGDA) which has the purpose of describing linguistic expressions that materialize conceptual metaphors in several discursive genres, searching for the identification of the semantic-discursive function(s) of such expressions. The researches were done by my students and me and the present results reveal some discursive functions not seen in the literature so far: the presence of metaphorical expressions that materialize conceptual metaphors with the function of approaching the advertiser to the interlocutor in publicity and linguistic expressions that literalize the everyday life conceptual metaphor, producing laughter in humor, among other semantic-discursive functions.

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 Cognitive Function of Conceptual Metaphors in “The Raw Shark Texts” by Steven Hall

2019 ◽  
pp. 58-71
Author(s):  
Aliona Matiychak
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Memory Storage ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Visual Metaphors ◽  
Narrative Structures ◽  
Dissociative Amnesia ◽  
On Line ◽  
Split Personality

From the perspective of modern cognitive science the conceptual metaphor reflects the mental aspect of cognition and creation of a new conception of the world. Therefore, numerous researchers in the area of conceptual metaphor explored it as the understanding of one conceptual domain in terms of another, paying little attention to the role of fiction diegesis. Thus, the objective of the article is to gain a better understanding of conceptual metaphor perception in the diegesis of Steven Hall's fiction. In “The Raw Shark Texts” the conceptual worldview helps the protagonist to recreate the chronicle of his self-identification after the posttraumatic loss of memory. Human knowledge, experience and communication as well as his individual mind, ideas and thoughts are perceived by the protagonist’s split personality as an aquatic space inhabited by conceptual fish. His fear of the conceptual shark, feeding on his memory, generates distinctive psychedelic hydro-text in the form of specific narrative structures. The state of fear also extends to increased human dependence on technology, digital databases (on-line memory storage and loss). The discreteness of narrative diegesis emphasizes the protagonist’s frustrations and is used by the author as a literary imitation of dissociative amnesia. Besides peculiar metaphorical expressions, in the author’s visual metaphors, owing to the simultaneous implementation of the first and second planes of the metaphor content, a third plane (a new reality) arises. Comprehension of conceptual metaphors as intimately interconnected in the narrative diegesis reveals the way of creating layered, intertwined conceptual reality exemplified by the First / the Second Eric Sanderson’s narrative structures. Consequently, metaphorical expressions and visual metaphors in Steven Hall's novel are merely a manifestation of the conceptual metaphors underlying them. Reproducing the features of perception mechanisms in their interaction with psychological, the author was able to catch the common between tangible things and abstract concepts, matter and idea, to compare the incomparable. This approach allows us to consider the conceptual metaphor as a structural component of meta-fiction and to emphasize the cognition specificity of metaphor in creation of new realities in it.

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.

scholarly journals Women’s representations in advertisements: conceptual explorations / As representações das mulheres em propagandas: explorações conceptuais

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 747
Author(s):  
Amanda Maria Bicudo de Souza
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Women's Magazines ◽  
Social Representation ◽  
Literary Language ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The Creation

Abstract: Unlike traditional visions show, metaphors are present not only in literary language, but also in everyday, scientific and philosophical languages. It is through the metaphors that we conceptualize the world and understand the most abstract concepts that we have. Based on this premise, this study investigates the conceptual metaphors found in advertisements of women’s magazines, based on the theories: the theory of conceptual metaphor proposed by Lakoff and Johnson (2002), considerations of Kovecses (2002) about this theory and particular character of metaphors in advertisements, as proposed by Velasco-Sacristán (2010) and Ungerer (2003). The purposes of this research are to examine how the metaphors conceptualize the product advertised and how they reveal the social representation of women. The research was done through analysis of four advertisements taken from the magazines: Nova (Dec. 2008), Marie Claire (Oct. 2008), Cláudia (July 2009) and one advertisement taken from a website, published in 2020. The results show that conceptual metaphors are tools used by propagandists in the creation of advertisements based on stereotypes, representations and ideologies of particular group to which the advertisement is intended. Such resources tend to persuade the reader to purchase the product released.Keywords: metaphor; conceptual metaphor; advertisements.Resumo: Ao contrário do que mostram visões tradicionais, a metáfora não está presente somente na linguagem literária, mas também nas linguagens: cotidiana, científica e filosófica. É por meio das metáforas que nós conceptualizamos o mundo e compreendemos a maioria dos conceitos abstratos que temos. Com base nesse postulado, o presente estudo investiga as metáforas conceptuais presentes em propagandas de revistas femininas, tendo como pressupostos teóricos: a teoria da Metáfora Conceptual, proposta por Lakoff e Johnson (2002), as considerações de Kovecses (2002) acerca dessa teoria e o caráter particular das metáforas em propagandas, como proposto por Velasco-Sacristán (2010) e Ungerer (2003). Os objetivos dessa investigação são verificar o modo como as metáforas conceptualizam o produto divulgado e em que medida elas revelam a representação social da mulher. A pesquisa foi realizada através da análise de duas propagandas, retiradas das revistas: Nova (dez. 2008) e Marie Claire (out. 2008). Os resultados mostram que as metáforas conceptuais são ferramentas utilizadas pelos propagandistas na elaboração das propagandas, com base em estereótipos, representações e ideologias de determinado público-alvo ao qual a propaganda é destinada. Tais recursos tendem a persuadir o leitor a adquirir o produto divulgado.Palavras-chave: metáfora; metáfora conceptual; propagandas.

scholarly journals ROUND SHAPES ARE FOR DATING, SQUARE SHAPES ARE FOR BUSINESS: PRIMING THE CONCEPT OF WARMTH AND COMPETENCE ACTIVATES THE REPRESENTATION OF SHAPES

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
Yasuto Okamura ◽  
Mitsuhiro Ura
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Social Judgments ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Round Shape ◽  
Consistent Manner ◽  
Business Condition ◽  
Concrete Concepts

Research in cognitive linguistics suggests that individuals understand abstract concepts by using knowledge of the superficially dissimilar, and more concrete concepts through conceptual metaphors. Previous studies have reported round-warm and square-competent associations: such that curved shapes (e.g., rounds) increase the perception of warmth and angular shapes (e.g., squares) enhance the perception of competence in a metaphor-consistent manner. The study investigated whether manipulating abstract concepts (e.g., social judgments) influenced the processing of concrete concepts (e.g., shapes). Participants were asked to select round or square ornaments in a restaurant in a dating (warm) or a business (competent) situation. Results indicated that participants in the dating condition selected more round ornaments whereas those in the business condition selected more square ornaments, revealing that the representations of a round shape were activated in the dating condition, whereas the representations of a square shape were activated in the business situation. The theoretical implications of this finding are discussed. Keywords: cognitive linguistics, metaphor-consistent effects, round and square, social judgments.

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.

Enrichment Programs and Counselling at the Budapest Centre for the Gifted

2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-85
Author(s):  
Maria Herskovits
Keyword(s):  
Gifted Education ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Natural Phenomena ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Enrichment Programs ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Highly Able ◽  
Precocious Development

The age group which is the subject of our work, is mostly not taken in to consideration when speaking about Science education, and definitely is not the traditional target for it. Young children are interested in natural phenomena, but they are mostly satisfied with superficial explanations fitting to their age. At this developmental stage it is not required, and most children are really not able to use the necessary mental operations safely: (Persistent attention, reasoning and drawing consequences from many steps, and particularly the use of abstract concepts). However highly able children show often a deep interest, they want to understand the everyday phenomena in their depth. Due the precocious development of their thinking they are able to elaborate their experiences in a more scientific way than is usual for their age, if they get some proper help. The Centre for Gifted in Budapest provides these kinds of programs, helping these children to maintain their interests, developing their science minded way of thinking and preparing them for later scientific work -whatever would be the chosen field. We would like to place our work in broader context, in the field of gifted education in Hungary.

scholarly journals Metafory konceptualne w niemieckich związkach frazeologicznych odnoszących się do ludzkich procesów poznawczych

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-210
Author(s):  
Kamil Iwaniak ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Abstract Thinking ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Everyday Language ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
The Way

Conceptual metaphors in selected German phraseological units referring to human cognition. The aim of the paper is to elaborate on conceptual metaphors as a fundamental scheme of human cognition and conceptualization of abstract thinking. The article describes the way they are created and how they exist in the everyday language. Attention has been predominantly directed to phraseological units that often are used to capture the metaphors and express the underlying concepts in the language. The analysis included phrasological units referring to the sphere of human mind. Keywords: cognitive linguistics, conceptual metaphors, phraseology, human cognition, German

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