scholarly journals Metaphors in Political Discourse in Kenya: Unifying or Divisive?

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Raphael Francis Otieno
Keyword(s):  
Political Discourse ◽  
Target Domain ◽  
National Unity ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Human Thought ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Thought Patterns ◽  
Critical Metaphor Analysis ◽  
Political Actions ◽  
Political Decisions

Metaphor has been viewed as a tool that is used in political discourse to structure human thought. In the structuring function of metaphor, it is assumed that there is a similarity between the source and the target domains. However, the similar structure in the target domain does not always exist before the metaphor is coined (Lakoff & Turner, 1989). Rather, the metaphor can create the similar structure in the target domain. The politicians’ reference to war, religion, business and animals among others, therefore, serves to structure and limit the thought of the electorates to view politics from certain perspectives. The basic argument in this study is, therefore, that metaphors are ingrained in our conceptual faculties and play a significant role in structuring our thought patterns in politics. The structuring through metaphor can, however, either be positive and/or negative. In other words, the structuring could either be unifying or divisive. As Rozina (2001:12) asserts, ‘…political discourse is primarily focused on persuading people to take specified political actions or to make crucial political decisions.’ Using the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA), this study investigated the extent to which metaphors in political discourse in Kenya create, reflect or symbolize the values of national unity and inclusiveness enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya. The study found that both positive and negative axiological values are present in metaphors in political discourse in Kenya. However, the negative axiological value overrides the positive value.

scholarly journals Pristupi pojmovnoj metafori

Forum ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 27-41
Author(s):  
Tatjana Grujic
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Target Category ◽  
Class Inclusion ◽  
Human Thought ◽  
Cognitive Metaphor ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Critical Metaphor Analysis ◽  
Source Category ◽  
Single Approach

This paper presents a set of possible contemporary approaches to the study of metaphor. Although undoubtedly most propulsive, Lakoff and Johnson’s conceptual (or cognitive) metaphor theory is only one of several metaphor models. Conceptual metaphor theory postulates that metaphor is a phenomenon of thought which is manifest in language. According to this approach, metaphor is understanding abstract conceptual domains (where domain is any coherent organization of human experience) in terms of more concrete source domains. In Fauconnier and Turner’s blending theory meaning is constructed through building of a number of mental spaces and establishment of mappings between them. Contrary to these two approaches, in Glucksberg’s class-inclusion model of metaphor, properties of the source category are attributed to the target category not by means of mappings but through class inclusion. Bowdle and Gentner’s ‘career of metaphor’ theory highlights the importance of metaphor conventionality. In Cameron’s ‘discourse dynamics’ approach metaphor is explored through analysis of discourse. It is perceived and used as a tool which helps uncover attitudes and values. Relevance theorists, on the other end of the spectrum, see metaphor as ‘loose talk’ understood via pragmatic inferential processes. Critical metaphor analysis explores how metaphors shape not only human thought and language, but also our beliefs, values and actions. The range of available approaches to metaphor suggests that no single approach can exhaustively capture this multifaceted phenomenon.

scholarly journals The Role of the “Path” and the “Container” Image Schemas in Political Discourse in Kenya

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. p123
Author(s):  
Dr. Raphael Francis Otieno
Keyword(s):  
Political Discourse ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Schema Theory ◽  
Target Domain ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Image Schemas ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Image Schema

The study of conceptual interaction has attracted the attention of many scholars in Cognitive Linguistics. Primarily, the analysis has focused on the role of image-schemas in the construction of metaphors. This study explores the PATH and the CONTAINER image-schemas and the role they play in conceptual formation of metaphors in political discourse in Kenya. The study presents the PATH and its subsidiary image schemas of Verticality, Process and Force-Motion and the CONTAINER image-schema and the subsidiary image-schemas of Excess and In-Out. The analysis reveals that both the PATH and the CONTAINER image-schemas structure the relationship between the source domains (journey and container) and the target domain (politics) by activating subsidiary image-schemas in metaphors of politics in Kenya. The study further reveals that image-schemas provide the axiological value (positive or negative) of metaphorical expressions in political discourse. A positive political environment is a key ingredient for green growth and knowledge economy. The study contributes to the field of metaphor in political discourse by examining the politicians’ conceptualization of politics as a journey, which consists of four structural elements (a source, a destination, contiguous locations which connect the source and the destination and a direction) and as a container, which consists of an interior, an exterior and a boundary. The study used the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) as a tool to establish conceptual metaphors used during the 2005 Draft Constitution referendum campaigns in Kenya and the Image-Schema Theory to account for the presence of image-schemas in political discourse in Kenya. Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) Conceptual Metaphor Theory is the locus classicus of the image schema theory.

scholarly journals METAPHORIC REPRESENTATION OF THE CONCEPTS OF CRIME AND INVESTIGATION IN DETECTIVE STORIES

2021 ◽  
pp. 24-35
Author(s):  
Doichyk O.Ya. ◽  
Tomash Ya.Z.
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Mental Activity ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Target Domain ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Basic Frame ◽  
Detective Stories ◽  
A Chain

Purpose. The article dwells upon the range of conceptual metaphors with the target domains CRIME and INVESTIGATION verbalized in Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective stories. The research aims at tracing the cognitive mechanisms of conceptual metaphoric mappings which objectify the key concepts of the detective text: CRIME and INVESTIGATION. The analysis is done on the basis of the theoretical points of cognitive linguistic schools, namely the conceptual metaphor theory. The aim is achieved by completing the following tasks: singling out the key concepts of a detective story and tracing their conceptual correlations; schematic representing the basic frame of CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION; analyzing the cognitive mechanisms behind the metaphoric interpretations of CRIME and INVESTIGATION concepts; and describing metaphoric correlations of the basic frame slots (CRIME, CRIMINAL, DETECTIVE, INVESTIGATION).Methods, applied in the research, include contextual and descriptive analysis, conceptual analysis. The range of metaphors with the target domains CRIME and INVESTIGATION is analyzed according to the conceptual metaphor theory methodology.Results. In the detective stories under study the key concepts CRIME, CRIMINAL, DETECTIVE, and INVESTIGATION are represented by a certain set of metaphoric models. The metaphoric expressions that verbalize the concepts of CRIME and INVESTIGATION reveal their conceptual correlations with the concepts of DETECTIVE і CRIMINAL, which obtain further metaphoric interpretation according to these mappings.Conclusions. The research has revealed that the concepts of CRIME and INVESTIGATION have high capacity to be metaphorically interpreted due to their abstract nature. The target domain CRIME is associated with the following set of source domains: PERFORMANCE, GAME, A TANGLE / A PUZZLE / A CHAIN / A RIDDLE / MYSTERY / A LOCKED DOOR, BUSINESS, OCCUPATION, ENTERTAINMENT, MENTAL ACTIVITY, STORY, and PHENOMENON. The range of source domains which correlate with the target domain INVESTIGATION includes: JOURNEY, ROLEPLAY, HUNTING, CHASE, COMPLETING LINKS TO A CHAIN, MAKING VISIBLE, UNTANGLING, and ENTERTAINING ACTIVITY.Key words: frame, conceptual metaphor, range of metaphor, target domain, metaphoric mapping. Статтю присвячено дослідженню діапазону концептуальних метафор для референтів ЗЛОЧИН / CRIME та РОЗСЛІДУВАННЯ / INVESTIGATION у текстах детективних оповідань А. Конан Дойла. Метою статті є простеження когнітивних механізмів творення концептуальних метафор, що об’єктивують ключові концепти оповідань детективного жанру, – ЗЛОЧИН / CRIME та РОЗСЛІДУВАННЯ / INVESTIGATION. Аналіз здійснюється з опертям на положення провідних шкіл когнітивної лінгвістики, зокрема теорії концептуальної метафори. Реалізація поставленої мети відбувається шляхом виокремлення ключових концептів детективної розповіді та з’ясування їхніх концептуальних зв’язків; схематичного моделювання фрейму ДЕТЕКТИВНЕ РОЗСЛІДУВАННЯ / CRIMINAL INVES-TIGATION; аналізу механізмів творення концептуальних метафор, які об’єктивують концепти CRIME та INVESTIGATION і виявляють концептуальні зв’язки між слотами фрейму (CRIME, CRIMINAL, DETECTIVE, INVESTIGATION).Методи, застосовані в дослідженні, включають контекстуальний і концептуальний аналізи, метод суцільної вибірки, описовий метод. Визначення діапазону метафор концептів CRIME та INVESTIGATION здійснюється відповідно до положень теорії концептуальної метафори.Результати. У досліджуваних оповіданнях концепти CRIME, CRIMINAL, DETECTIVE, INVESTIGATION об’єктивовані певним набором метафоричних моделей. У метафоричних висловах, що об’єктивують концепти CRIME та INVESTIGATION у текстах оповідань, відображено їхні зв’язки з концептами DETECTIVE і CRIMINAL, які також отримують своє метафоричне осмислення в межах цих концептуальних метафор.Висновки. Дослідження показує, що високий ступінь метафоризації концептів CRIME та INVESTI-GATION зумовлений абстрактністю референтів. Концептуальний референт CRIME корелює з доменами PERFORMANCE, GAME, A TANGLE / A PUZZLE / A CHAIN / A RIDDLE / MYSTERY / A LOCKED DOOR, BUSINESS, OCCUPATION, ENTERTAINMENT, MENTAL ACTIVITY, STORY, PHENOMENON. Діапазон корелятивних доменів, які проєктуються на референтний домен INVESTIGATION, включає такі кореляти, як JOURNEY, ROLEPLAY, HUNTING, CHASE, COMPLETING LINKS TO A CHAIN, MAKING VISIBLE, UNTANGLING, ENTERTAINING ACTIVITY.Ключові слова: фрейм, концептуальна метафора, діапазон метафори, домен цілі, метафоричне мапування.

scholarly journals Le metafore di intensificazione in russo: la realizzazione linguistica del concetto di COMPLETEZZA

2018 ◽  
pp. 95-106
Author(s):  
Valentina Benigni
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Target Domain ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Source Domain ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Round Form

Adopting a data based approach, the study explores Russian intensifying metaphors of COMPLETENESS. A wide range of instantiations of the metaphor of COMPLETENESS is analyzed within the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff & Johnson 1980), comprising achievement of a result (soveršennyj idiot), filled container (nabityj durak) and round form (kruglyj otličnik). The contrastive perspective (Russian-English-Italian) provides new insights on the mapping of the source domain of COMPLETENESS onto the target domain of INTENSITY in different languages and cultures.

scholarly journals A Cognitive Linguistic Approach to Life Metaphor in Tetralogy Laskar Pelangi

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Merry Lapasau ◽  
Sulis Setiawati
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Living Organism ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Target Domain ◽  
Research Support ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Rhetorical Devices ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
The World ◽  
Linguistic Approach

This study aims at finding the use of life metaphors in tetralogy Laskar Pelangi (hereinafter TLP). Data were analyzed in the framework of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) by using a descriptive qualitative approach. We found 21 life metaphors in TLP and the finding shows that the conceptual metaphor of life as a target domain is mapped into several diverse source domains, and they are: life is a fluid in a container, life is a journey, life is a living organism, life is a precious possession, life is dedication to others, life is a struggle,life is guidance, life is war, and life is hard work. It can be concluded that TLP is rich with the use of metaphors in describing the cultural events of the Malays in detail. The way how the Malay master the problems in their lives, how they see and understand the world, is made clear by their language, which is reflected in conceptual metaphors. The results of this research support the idea that metaphors are not just rhetorical devices to say something more stylistically but they are conceptual in nature and its existence can be different in each culture.

On learning to draw the distinction between physical and metaphorical motion: is metaphor an early emerging cognitive and linguistic capacity?

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
ŞEYDA ÖZÇALIŞKAN
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Story Comprehension ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Target Domain ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Metaphorical Mapping ◽  
Pass Through

Situated within the framework of the conceptual metaphor theory (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999), this study investigated young children's understanding of metaphorical extensions of spatial motion. Metaphor was defined as a conceptual-linguistic mapping between a source and a target domain. The study focused on metaphors that are structured by the source domain of motion in space (e.g. time flies by, ideas pass through one's mind, sickness crawls through one's body). The study investigated whether metaphor comprehension varied by the age of the participant, target domain of the metaphorical mapping, and the conventionality of the linguistic form with which the metaphor was conveyed. Data were gathered using a story comprehension task and a semi-structured interview from 60 monolingual Turkish-speaking children, at the mean ages 3;6, 4;5 and 5;5 (20 participants per age group), and 20 adult native speakers of Turkish. The results showed metaphor understanding to be an early emerging cognitive and linguistic capacity.

scholarly journals Fight metaphors in Spain’s presidential speeches: J.L. Rodríguez Zapatero (2004-2007)

2009 ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Josefa Hellín García
Keyword(s):  
Political Ideology ◽  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Critical Metaphor Analysis ◽  
Political Speeches ◽  
Research Questions

This article investigates the metaphorical conceptualization of terrorism by president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who came into power soon after the biggest terrorist attack in Spain on March 11th, 2004. Specifically, it examines how terrorism is conceptualized via metaphors through the notion of fight, and their conceptual implication in discourse. I will refer to these as Fight Metaphors. The research questions addressed are as follows: 1. What Fight Metaphors are used in the discursive construction of terrorism? 2. How do Fight Metaphors contribute to support Zapatero’s anti-terrorism political agenda? I follow a combination of a cognitive and a pragmatic approach from a corpus-based analysis perspective. The cognitive approach is based on Lakoff’s Conceptual Metaphor Theory (1993), and the pragmatic one is based on Charteris-Back’s Critical Metaphor Analysis (2004). The corpus of investigation comprises 58 Spanish political speeches over a three-year period (2004-2007). Findings reveal that Fight Metaphors constitute the pivotal node that simultaneously performs various functions at several levels: cognitive, rhetorical, and ideological in order to promote his anti-terrorism political ideology.

scholarly journals The Metaphor in the Conceptualization of Innovation in Lim Kok Wing's Writings

2022 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-13
Author(s):  
Nor Asiah Razali ◽  
Sabariah Md Rashid
Keyword(s):  
Education System ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Target Domain ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Careful Planning ◽  
Innovation In Education ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Education Innovation

The concept of innovation is prevalent and has been discussed in varied disciplines and published in various documents, such as educational magazines, books, and blogs. One example of such documentation is the writing on innovation by the late Tan Sri Dr Lim Kok Wing, compiled in a book titled "The Future is Coming". In education, innovation is required to transform the education system to prepare future generations for an innovation-driven economy. This study examined the concept of innovation using metaphorical expressions in writing on innovation in education. Specifically, it aimed to unravel the metaphor in the writings and to examine how the unravelled metaphors reflect the conceptions of innovation in education. In total, 42 written texts on innovation were included as data of the study. The data were analyzed based on Lakoff and Johnson's Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The findings of the study revealed seven salient conceptual metaphors underlying the expressions related to innovation in education. These metaphors involve the mappings of the source domains of JOURNEY, WAR, OBJECT, HUMAN BEING, SPORT, BUILDING, and FORCE to the target domain of INNOVATION. The unravelled metaphors underlying the writings on innovation suggest that innovation is conceived as a long process, which requires careful planning. The findings of the study provide insights into how innovation is conceived using metaphor, reflecting the ideas of a renowned brainchild of innovation in education in Malaysia, Lim Kok Wing.

A cross-linguistic study of metaphors of death

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moses Gatambuki Gathigia ◽  
Ruiming Wang ◽  
Manqiong Shen ◽  
Carlos Tirado ◽  
Oksana Tsaregorodtseva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Embodied Cognition ◽  
Age Factors ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Target Domain ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽  
Conceptual Mapping ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Linguistic Groups

Abstract The avoidance of directly addressing human mortality indicates fear of death. This fear elicits psychological, social and religious interdictions in language such that people resort to the use of metaphors to avoid confronting death. Under the premise that metaphor is a conceptual mapping from a concrete source to an abstract target domain, this study aims to identify and categorize euphemistic metaphors of death in six languages: Chinese, Farsi, Gĩkũyũ, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish. Those metaphors are interpreted via the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT). In doing so, 40 speakers in each of the languages were asked to complete a short questionnaire. Various metaphors of death were identified in each language and categorized into four conceptual metaphors: death is a journey; death is the end; death is a rest; and death is a summons. The key finding is that the most common metaphor of death is death is a journey. This holds across linguistic groups regardless of gender and age factors. This study also discusses the role of embodied cognition theories in accounting for how metaphors of death are created and their role within cognition in general.

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