scholarly journals From Simple Metaphors to Conceptual Blending: The Mapping of Analogical Concepts and the Praxis of Translation

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-81
Author(s):  
Kenneth A. McElhanon
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Conceptual Blending ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Image Schemas ◽  
Optimality Principles

I have five goals for this paper. First, I will demonstrate the influence that the understanding of metaphor has had on the praxis of translation. Second, I will introduce and apply more recent insights in human conceptual processes, in particular those of image-schemas, conceptual metaphors and conceptual blends. Third, I will introduce optimality principles and relate them to the suggested conceptual blends. Fourth, I will present some translations of conceptual blends and then suggest optimality principles for translating conceptual blends and evaluate the translations by them. Finally, I will suggest areas that require further research. This study is exploratory and suggestive. Hopefully, readers will wish to broaden their understanding of cognitive linguistics and refine what is presented here.

scholarly journals Image Schemas and Conceptual Blending in Diagrammatic Reasoning: The Case of Hasse Diagrams

2021 ◽  
pp. 297-314
Author(s):  
Dimitra Bourou ◽  
Marco Schorlemmer ◽  
Enric Plaza
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Spatial Reasoning ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Diagrammatic Reasoning ◽  
Order Logic ◽  
Qualitative Spatial Reasoning ◽  
Conceptual Blending ◽  
Hasse Diagrams ◽  
Image Schemas ◽  
Diagram Design

AbstractIn this work, we propose a formal, computational model of the sense-making of diagrams by using the theories of image schemas and conceptual blending, stemming from cognitive linguistics. We illustrate our model here for the case of a Hasse diagram, using typed first-order logic to formalise the image schemas and to represent the geometry of a diagram. The latter additionally requires the use of some qualitative spatial reasoning formalisms. We show that, by blending image schemas with the geometrical configuration of a diagram, we can formally describe the way our cognition structures the understanding of, and the reasoning with, diagrams. In addition to a theoretical interest for diagrammatic reasoning, we also briefly discuss the cognitive underpinnings of good practice in diagram design, which are important for fields such as human-computer interaction and data visualization.

scholarly journals Choosing the Right Path: Image Schema Theory as a Foundation for Concept Invention

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria M. Hedblom ◽  
Oliver Kutz ◽  
Fabian Neuhaus
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Path Following ◽  
Schema Theory ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Conceptual Blending ◽  
Creative Thought ◽  
Image Schemas ◽  
Image Schema ◽  
The Right

AbstractImage schemas are recognised as a fundamental ingredient in human cognition and creative thought. They have been studied extensively in areas such as cognitive linguistics. With the goal of exploring their potential role in computational creative systems, we here study the viability of the idea to formalise image schemas as a set of interlinked theories. We discuss in particular a selection of image schemas related to the notion of ‘path’, and show how they can be mapped to a formalised family of microtheories reflecting the different aspects of path following. Finally, we illustrate the potential of this approach in the area of concept invention, namely by providing several examples illustrating in detail in what way formalised image schema families support the computational modelling of conceptual blending.

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 "

Conceptual tools for the description and acquisition of the German posture verb sitzen

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine De Knop
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Spatial Relation ◽  
Semantic Networks ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
Cloze Test

AbstractThe study of German posture verbs has attracted the interest of many linguists, e.g. Berthele (2004 and 2006), Fagan (1991), Kutscher-Schultze-Berndt (2007) and Serra-Borneto (1996). It is surprising that most studies disregard the posture verbThe study aims at making up for these deficits. With examples from the German corpora from the Digitales Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (DWDS), it first describes the different uses of the verbIn the framework of Cognitive Linguistics the study also proposes some ‘conceptual tools’ to facilitate the learning of the more abstract uses of the verb sitzen. These tools are semantic networks, visuals, and conceptual metaphors. Spatial distinctions such as those between container and contact are extended to more abstract areas of experience, especially in the context of situations describing abstract states. Here one of the main issues for the learner is to find out whether the abstract goal is conceptualized as a container, a contact or still another basic spatial relation. The efficiency of these conceptual tools is tested with a cloze test conducted with French-speaking students.

scholarly journals The embodied and the cultural in the conceptualization of pitch space in Croatian

Jezikoslovlje ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-219
Author(s):  
Sanja Kiš Žuvela ◽  
Ana Ostroški Anić
Keyword(s):  
Human Perception ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Space Thickness ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Image Schemas ◽  
Musical Pitch ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Linguistic Influences ◽  
Pitch Space

Most conceptual metaphors that conceptualize musical pitch rely heavily on human perception, images and experience structured through spatial and orientation image schemas such as the schema of verticality. The paper analyses conceptual metaphors that structure pitch relations in terms of vertical space, thickness and size as they appear in the Croatian musical terminology. The image schemas of verticality and size are analysed within the conceptual metaphors pitch relations are relations in vertical space and pitch relations are relations in size in order to define to what extent their motivation is embodied and universal, and what can be attributed to cross-cultural and cross-linguistic influences present in the creation and understanding of music terminology in Croatia.

Implied narratives of medical practice in learning-for-doing texts: a simulation semantics approach to rhetorical analysis

2005 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd Oakley
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Rhetorical Analysis ◽  
Meaning Construction ◽  
Linguistic Meaning ◽  
Conceptual Blending ◽  
Semantic Approach ◽  
Conceptual Integration ◽  
Print Advertisements ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Simulation Semantics

The functional interdependence of word, image, narration, and reason is recognized as a fundamental condition of modern-day persuasion, yet a substantial gap still exists in our understanding of how static textual elements interact to generate dynamic, persuasive narratives. This article attempts to narrow that gap in understanding through the development of a simulation semantics approach to rhetorical analysis as applied to print advertisements in medical journals. Located within the broader field of cognitive linguistics, simulation semantics is a theory of linguistic meaning based on the hypothesis that language users run mental simulations of perceptual and motor content of experiences which distribute inferences from these simulations during language comprehension and production. Using the perspectives and methods of conceptual blending, a programmatic model of meaning construction developed by Fauconnier and Turner (2002) and elaborated by many associates (e.g. Brandt and Brandt, 2002; Coulson and Oakley, 2000), the article attempts to show how a simulation semantic approach can lead to cognitively plausible explanations of how persuasion works in a genre of print advertisements aimed at physicians and medical practitioners I call learning-for-doing. In addition, I seek to further refine conceptual blending theory as an interpretive framework by arguing for the need to incorporate the notion of a grounding space as well as the need to distinguish between conceptual blending and conceptual integration.

Cultural conceptualizations of gender and homosexuality in BrE, IndE, and NigE

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Finzel ◽  
Hans-Georg Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Indian English ◽  
Local Varieties ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
British English ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
The World ◽  
Cultural Linguistics

Abstract With the spread of English in many parts of the world, numerous local varieties have emerged, shaped by the sociocultural contexts in which they are embedded. Hence, although English is a unifying element, these varieties express different conceptualizations that are deeply rooted in culture. For the most part, these conceptualizations come in the form of conceptual metaphors, which not only influence our perception of the world (Lakoff & Johnson 1980), but also reveal cultural specifics of a particular society. One of the latest approaches in the field of conceptual metaphor research suggests that conceptual metaphors are actually multimodal, i.e., that they are expressed not only in language, but also, e.g., in gestures, facial expressions, sounds or images (Forceville 2009). Films are an ideal source of data for such multimodal metaphors. In the form of a pilot study, this paper applies this novel approach to metaphor to the field of World Englishes. While adding to the range of research that has already used the methodological toolbox of Cognitive Linguistics or its cognate discipline Cultural Linguistics in the investigation of the cultural dimension of varieties of English (e.g., Kövecses 1995; Liu 2002; Malcolm & Rochecouste 2000; Sharifian 2006; Wolf 2001; Wolf & Polzenhagen 2009), we provide a new exploratory angle to that investigation by using cinematic material for the analysis. Specifically, this study focuses on conceptualizations pertaining to the target domains woman and homosexuality. The data we have selected are from Great Britain, India and Nigeria, because these countries have important film industries, and British English, Indian English and Nigerian English constitute culturally distinct varieties.

Beethoven’s Prosthesis

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan De Souza
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Music Theory ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Ecological Psychology ◽  
The Body ◽  
Culturally Specific ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors

This chapter takes performances by the deaf Beethoven as an instance of body-instrument interaction. Prior research in music theory, drawing on cognitive linguistics, suggests that Beethoven’s music was shaped by conceptual metaphors, which are both culturally specific and grounded in the body. Yet this chapter shows that players’ experience is not simply embodied but also technical. To that end, the chapter explores cognitive neuroscience, ecological psychology, and phenomenology. Patterns of auditory-motor coactivation in players’ brains are made possible by the stable affordances of an instrument. These auditory-motor connections support performative habits, and they may be reactivated and recombined in perception and imagination—supporting Beethoven’s auditory simulations after hearing loss, for example.

Image schemas and mimetic schemas in cognitive linguistics and gesture studies

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Cienki
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Theoretical Development ◽  
Embodied Experience ◽  
Image Schemas ◽  
Language Structure ◽  
Linguistic Research ◽  
Gesture Studies ◽  
Recent Theoretical Development ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Logical Extension

Image schemas have been a fundamental construct in cognitive linguistics, providing grounds for psychological, philosophical, as well as linguistic research. Given the focus in cognitive linguistics on embodied experience as a fundamental basis for language structure and meaning, the employment of image schemas in the analysis of gesture with speech is a logical extension. However, given their level of abstraction, to what degree do image schemas provide a useful explanatory tool for researching the concrete, physically embodied details of gestures? This article considers the answer to this question and then turns to a more recent theoretical development that complements the picture by encompassing a different realm of cognitive and linguistic phenomena. This research, on ‘mimetic schemas’, is shown to have great potential for thinking about some known phenomena of gesture in a new way. Schema research on these different levels thus provides a useful means to analyze behavior in another modality involved in spoken language use, namely the visual.

‘Man the hunter’: a critical reading of hunt-based conceptual metaphors of love and sexual desire

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
María D. López Maestre
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Sexual Desire ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Critical Reading ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Source Domain ◽  
Critical Attention

AbstractWithin the cognitive linguistics literature, many publications have dealt with conceptual metaphors about love and sexual desire (Lakoff 1987; Kövecses 2003; Barcelona 1992, 1995; Emanatian 1995, 1996.) However, a source domain that has not received the attention it merits is that of the hunt. This source domain deserves to be studied not only because of the interest in the conceptual metaphors it generates, but primarily because of the ideology and cultural values behind it. For this reason, applying a combined methodology based on cognitive linguistics and critical discourse analysis (Charteris-Black 2004; Goatly 2007), this article explores the use of the source domain of the hunt for the expression of love and sexual desire in metaphorical linguistic expressions with male hunters and female prey, paying critical attention to discourse and the ideologies about gender that are conveyed.

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