Metonymy and Croatian adverbial clauses

In this article I examine some metonymic aspects of the semantics of Croatian connectives introducing adverbial clauses of cause, condition, purpose, and concession. The analysis leans on the theory of conceptual metaphor and metonymy and, to a lesser extent, on cognitive grammar. It is also informed by grammaticalization scholarship within typological functionalism. I explore metonymic mappings between the categories of time and cause, manner and cause, cause and condition, purpose, cause and concession, condition and concession, time and condition, and metonymic mappings operating at the level of speech acts. The goal is to contribute to the growing, though still arguably small, body of cognitive linguistic research into the relevance of metonymy for the semantics of complex sentences, specifically the role it plays in subordination, and to expand this analysis to subordinate constructions in Croatian. Some attention is given to grammaticalization studies, where metaphor and metonymy are seen as two types of pragmatic inferencing facilitating interactions between the mentioned semantic categories in complex sentences.

Socio-pragmatic potential of (verbo)-visual metaphtonymy in Internet memes featuring Donald Trump

The present study explores (verbo)-visual metaphtonymy in Twitter-based Internet memes featuring Donald Trump, focusing both on the patterns of conceptual interaction of metaphor and metonymy and their socio-pragmatic potential to influence Internet users. The results of the study reveal four types of (verbo)-visual metaphtonymy employed in the analyzed Internet memes. The types are differentiated in accordance with the complexity of the metaphoric source: metaphtonymy with a simple metaphoric source, metaphtonymy with a metaphoric source structured by simple metonymy, metaphtonymy with a metaphoric source structured by metonymic chain, and metaphtonymy with a metaphoric source structured by radial metonymy. In all the four types, the metaphoric target is structured by metonymic amalgam – a metonymic complex in which metonymies that are based on different ICMs merge due to the association of contiguity that is relevant in the current communicative and social/political context. Besides metonymic amalgam, the study introduces the notion of radial metonymy – a metonymic complex that emerges when one metonymic source gives access to several metonymic targets. We argue that the analyzed metaphtonymies rest on conceptual incongruity created to trigger negative evaluative inferences and emotional responses to shape Trump’s image.

Modèles sémantico-syntaxiques des prédicats dans la conception de la grammaire à base sémantique de Stanisław Karolak — quelques problèmes et solutions

The author examines semantic-syntactic models of predicates according to Stanislaw Karolak’s conception of semantic-based grammar. From the list of first-order bivalent predicates provided by S. Karolak, the author analyses some of them from the point of view of the number and quality of the implied argument positions. During the analysis it often turns out that more than one model refers to one form of predicate (one signifiant). This phenomenon is due to the polysemous nature of words in natural language and, therefore, to the ambiguity of uses of predicates in different contexts (more than one signifié). In order to determine the number and type of arguments semantically implied by a given predicate, the author applies the test of negation, contraposition, and paraphrase leading to a semantic decomposition and emphasises the role of the metaphor and metonymy in their interpretation.

The Sino–US trade war in political cartoons: A synthesis of semiotic, cognitive, and cultural perspectives

Economic globalization has resulted in more frequent trading frictions, some of which have escalated into trade wars such as the one between China and the US. Drawing on the same corpus built by Zhang and Forceville (Zhang, Cun & Charles Forceville. 2020. Metaphor and metonymy in Chinese and American political cartoons (2018–2019) about the Sino–US trade conflict. Pragmatics and Cognition 27(2). 476–501), and complementing insights of that paper, this paper investigates how the Sino–US trade war is metaphorically and metonymically constructed in 129 Chinese and American political cartoons respectively from a synthesized perspective. Based on comparative analyses, cross-cultural similarity and uniqueness in the semiotic, cognitive, and cultural aspects can be concluded as follows: (a) at the expression level, the shared dominant mode configuration pattern of metaphor and metonymy requires extra-textual knowledge to identify the target domain/concept while the source domain/vehicle concept is pinpointed through pictorial resources; (b) at the cognition level, “us” and “them” are distinctively evaluated by using the metonymy BODILY REACTION FOR EMOTION, cultural symbols, and the Great Chain metaphor. The Chinese cartoons converge on disapproving of “them” while the American cartoons converge on disapproving of “us” and diverge on conceptualizing “them”; (c) a variety of cross-cultural default scenarios are employed in the Chinese cartoons whereas the American cartoons utilize non-default scenarios influenced by only American cultures. Both aim for persuasiveness by employing emotionally charged source domains/vehicle concepts, but to different audiences.

ENGLISH PREFIXAL VERBS: SEMANTIC TRANSFORMATIONS AND COGNITIVE MECHANISMS

The article analyzes the phenomenon of semantic transformations and cognitive mechanisms of creating English prefixal verbs’ meanings on the material of English explanatory dictionaries. It is noted that modern English prefixal verbs show a productive semantic potential for the creation of meanings, and therefore are an effective means of nomination, a verbalized way of thinking and reflecting the linguistic picture of the world. The influence of the studied phenomena on the associative perception of recipients has been clarified and the peculiarities of the expressive emotional potential of prefixal meaning-making, their implicit filling revealed. It is claimed that in the process of semantic transformations of the prefix verb new numerous sendes are actualized, new deep semantic layers are opened, which fill the prefix verb with extraordinary meaning. It is revealed that there is a generalized, core meaning of the prefix verb (invariant, common to all), and others are its variants, id. est. numerous variable senses. The article emphasizes that in practical application, as a derivative and cognitive-semantic mechanism, metaphor and metonymy play the role of simplifying, saving and highlighting the generalized invariant meaning of the English prefix verb. Semantic transformations in metaphor and metonymy, which are part of prefixal verbs, are interpreted as a cognitive mechanism that forms new senses on the basis of associative implications. The idea is put forward that before the basis, the prefix does not merge into a single phonetic-morphological complex with formative inflections, but has its own autonomous (invariant) meaning with its inherent meaning-making paradigm. The article reveals new meanings of prefixal verbs and their senses, which arose as a result of semantic transformation or rethinking of existing nominations. It is proved that the essence of the process of metaphorization, metonymization of English prefixal verbs is to change the primary meaning of the word by including in its semantics new differential semes that modify senses. It is concluded that the prefix derivation of a verb preserves and transmits the same semantic load as common vocabulary, because the prefix always includes a word or term in a certain matrix of the scheme, so its semantic load is specific and clear.Key words: prefixal verbs, semantic transformations, cognitive mechanisms, meanings, metaphor and metonymy, lexical-semantic load, expressive-emotional potential. У статті проаналізовано феномен семантичних трансформацій і когнітивних механізмів творення смислів англійських префіксальних дієслів на матеріалі англомовних тлумачних словників. Зазначено, що сучасні англійські префіксальні дієслова виявляють продуктивний семантичний потенціал творення смислів, отже, є ефек-тивним засобом номінації, вербалізованим способом мислення та відбиття мовної картини світу. З’ясовано вплив досліджуваних явищ на асоціативне сприйняття реципієнтів і розкрито особливості експресивно емоційного потенціалу префіксального смислотворення, їх імпліцитного наповнення. Стверджується, що в процесі семантичних трансформацій префіксального дієслова актуалізуються нові численні смисли, відкриваються нові глибинні семантичні пласти, що наповнюють префіксальне дієслово неординарним змістом. Виявлено, що існує узагальнене, стрижневе значення префіксального дієслова (інваріант, спільне для всіх), а інші – його варіанти, тобто численні змінні смисли. У статті акцентується на тому, що в практичному застосуванні як дерива-тивний і когнітивно-семантичний механізм метафора й метонімія виконують роль спрощення, економії та виділення узагальненого інваріантного значення англійського префіксального дієслова. Семантичні трансформації в метафорі й метонімії, що входять до складу префіксальних дієслів, трактуються як когнітивний механізм, що формує нові смисли на основі асоціативних імплікацій. Висунуто ідею, що, передуючи основі, префікс не зливається в єдиний фонетико-морфологічний комплекс із формоутворювальними флексіями, а має своє автономне (інваріантне) значення з притаманною йому смислотвірною парадигмою. У статті розкрито нові значення префіксальних дієслів та їх смислів, що виникли в результаті семантичної трансформації чи переосмислення наявних номінацій. Доведено, що сутність процесу метафоризації, метонімізації англійських префіксальних дієслів полягає в зміні первинного значення слова шляхом включення до його семантики нових диференційних сем, які модифікують смисли. Зроблено висновок, що префіксальна деривація дієслова зберігає та передає те саме семантичне навантаження що й загальновживана лексика, адже префікс завжди включає слово чи термін у певну матрицю схеми, тому його семантичне навантаження конкретне й чітке.Ключові слова: префіксальні дієслова, семантичні трансформації, когнітивні механізми, значення, метафора й метонімія, лексико-семантичне навантаження, експресивно-емоційний потенціал.

Szpitalna terminologia medyczna w niestandardowych użyciach osób hospitalizowanych

The article presents non-standard terms of hospital medical terminology used by hospitalized person. The material was collected over one year by a nurse who watched patients. Patients commit conversions and errors while naming the treatment methods, diseases, medicines, medical equipment and staff. The most frequent conversions apply to phonetic transformations of difficult names, confusing similar names or using metaphor and metonymy. Less common is the formation of new words, syntactic transformation and phraseological innovation. Mistakes and conversions result from adapting too complex vocabulary, simplifying medical processes or distancing oneself from the world and language games.

Translating Metaphtonymy: Exploring Trainee Translators' Translation Approaches and Underlying Factors

Metaphtonymy is identified as a special rhetoric figure that specifies the interaction between metaphor and metonymy and which is pervasive in literary works. How and why do trainee translators translate metaphtonymy? Using task analysis, semi-structured discourse-based interviews, and a questionnaire survey among 30 master of translation and interpreting (MTI) trainee translators, this study investigates their translation approaches adopted when translating the metaphtonymies in Chinese extracted prose and explores the effects of their choices. It is found that they mainly employed three approaches: omission, modification, and retainment, with omission being the most, and retainment the least frequent. The main factors attributing to each approach range from the prominence degrees and cross-cultural adaptation abilities of the metaphtonymies, rhetorical awareness of translators, and transference competence to their translation knowledge sub-competence. This study suggests that trainee translators should be instructed to systematically construct rhetoric knowledge, and the teaching design should emphasize the competence of trainees of identifying rhetorical devices and their competence of shifting rhetoric between languages.