Cognitive Metaphor as Basis of English Somatic Phraseological Units Formation

Abstract Cognitive metaphor theory provides a systematic framework to better understand the working mechanism of metaphor. Its recent development further allows translation researchers to have a clearer insight into the movement of metaphor across languages and culture. Building on an empirical study, this paper examines the complementary relationship between two prominent cognitive metaphor theories – Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and Conceptual Blending Theory (CBT), and discusses the practical contribution that this relationship could make to the existing research on metaphor translation. To construct a comparable basis for CMT and CBT, two parameters are adopted for data analysis, which is proven useful to serve the purpose. The two chosen parameters are: projection and provenance, denoting the content and the type of metaphor respectively. Metaphorical expressions analyzed in this paper are sourced from cosmology-themed articles published in Scientific American in 2017 and their Simplified Chinese translations published in Huanqiukexue. Findings show that delineated by the two parameters, CMT and CBT indeed share a complementary relationship owing to their different focuses and organizing mechanisms. Furthermore, the collaboration between CMT and CBT offers a well-rounded analytical framework for translation studies. In turn, the correlation between metaphor parameters and translation solutions provides detailed clues for studying metaphor across culture. Finally, the reflection of this dual-model parametric approach regarding its pros and cons is also shown to shed light on future research.

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Verbes supports et intensité en grec moderne

Lingvisticae Investigationes ◽

10.1075/li.27.2.11gav ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 295-308 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zoé Gavriilidou

Keyword(s):

Theoretical Model ◽

Cognitive Metaphor

This paper deals with support verbs acting as intensifiers in Greek, for instance πλημμυρίζω από χαρά, ξεσκίζομαι στο χορό, μαίνονται οι εχθροπραξίες. It is based on the assumption that the semantic nature of different classes of nominal predicates controls the presence of different kinds of intensifying support verbs and that support verbs intensify a different parameter when they actualize an action, a state or a fact. The theoretical model of classes of objects, the theory of Sense-Text and the model of cognitive metaphor will allow us to analyze our data.

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‘The sickness stands at your shoulder …’: Embodiment and cognitive metaphor in Hornbacher’sWasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia

Language and Literature ◽

10.1177/0963947015608084 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 3-17 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Karsten Senkbeil ◽

Nicola Hoppe

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Eating Disorders ◽

The Body ◽

Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽

Cognitive Metaphor ◽

Bodily Experiences ◽

Metaphor Theory ◽

Embodied Experiences ◽

Marya Hornbacher ◽

Linguistic Approaches

This paper applies cognitive linguistic approaches, particularly conceptual metaphor theory, to the study of literature, and analyses how Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia (1998) by Marya Hornbacher communicates embodied experiences such as sickness, hunger, and (self-)loathing with the help of conceptual metaphors. It explores how the author renegotiates and partly recontextualizes highly conventionalized metaphors around eating disorders, mental illness, and identity to create new meaning, and how this strategy helped explain the mindset of a person with anorexia and bulimia to a broad critical readership in the late 1990s. This paper hence hypothesizes that the book’s emphasis on metaphors as a means to articulate bodily experiences surrounding a mental disorder may hint towards larger trends concerning the representation of the body–mind relationship in literature and culture in the last two decades.

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The Square Circle of Margaret Cavendish: the 17th-century conceptualization of mind by means of mathematics

Language and Literature ◽

10.1177/0963-9470-20011001-02 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 21-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Roberto Bertuol

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Theory ◽

Conceptual Metaphor ◽

Common Knowledge ◽

17Th Century ◽

Linguistic Community ◽

Margaret Cavendish ◽

Mathematical Concepts ◽

Knowledge And Beliefs ◽

Cognitive Metaphor ◽

Cultural Choice

The cognitive theory of metaphor (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980; Lakoff, 1987; Lakoff and Turner, 1989) is the basis in this article for investigating the significance of the use of mathematical language, and in particular of the metaphor to square the circle in Margaret Cavendish's poem The Circle of the Brain Cannot be Squared. In the article I begin by introducing Margaret Cavendish as the first 17th-century female poet writing on scientific topics. I then explain how mathematics in the 17th century influenced people's view of reality and the extent to which this is mirrored in poetic language. The theory of cognitive metaphor provides the framework for the elucidation of mathematical concepts used to explain 'unknown' realities like mind and emotions and, in particular, of the central metaphor to square the circle in Cavendish's poem. A brief overview of the criteria of Lakoff and colleagues for analysing metaphors shows that the apparently extravagant metaphor to square the circle was simply a novel poetic extension of the conceptual metaphor UNIVERSE IS MATHEMATICS that, like other types of metaphors considered by cognitive linguists, is grounded in everyday experience. Further, Werth's (1994) remarks about the reasons behind the poet's use of particular concepts to explain others help highlight another important aspect at the basis of the production of novel metaphors, namely that of 'poetic choice'. Finally, I elaborate on Werth's remarks by drawing attention to what I term cultural choice, that is, to the influence that common knowledge and beliefs shared by the members of a linguistic community exert on the poet's choice of metaphors. The analysis of the poem shows that the topic and language of the poem, as well as the subtext, that is, the length of lines and the stanza form, depend on metaphoric projections from the domain MATHEMATICS. Through the conceptual metaphor NATURE IS MATHEMATICS, Cavendish explains man's attempt to take control over irrationalia such as fancy and female nature. The impossibility of squaring the circle is used as a proof to demonstrate that nature and fancy cannot be restricted and, at the same time, to give Cavendish a hope of acceptance in the male-dominated world.

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Somatic Phraseological Units with the Component“Heart” in Ancient Greek Tragedies of the Classical Age

Studia Linguistica ◽

10.17721/studling2018.12.64-73 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 64-73

Author(s):

Oleksandra Tyrnova

Keyword(s):

Positive Emotions ◽

Greek Language ◽

Physical Pain ◽

Ancient Greek ◽

Psychological States ◽

Greek Culture ◽

Cognitive Metaphor ◽

Physical Injuries ◽

Slow Heart Rate ◽

Classical Age

The article explores phraseological units with the somatic component “heart”, which serve to denote emotions, psychological states and feelings in the Ancient Greek language of the classical age. The authors analyze the meaning of the verbs, used in the structure of the somatic phraseological units and compound metaphors with the somatic word “heart”. It is determined that more than hundred somatic phraseological units with the component καρδία / κραδίη / κῆρ “heart” are used in Greek tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides and 62 units of them serve to denote emotions, psychological states and feelings. It is revealed that somatic phraseological units with the component “heart”, which denote negative emotions and feelings, are predominant in the language of Greek tragedies. In particular, these emotions and feelings are sadness, sorrow, fear, anger, annoyance, irritation, malice, mental pain, despair and depression. The sphere of positive emotions, such as joy, exaltation, satisfaction, calmness and pacification, represented by the language material show the correlation of 15 % to 85 % with the phraseological units of negative meaning. It is found out that the meaning of verbs, used as a part of the phraseological unit, refer to physical action, which is committed over the heart, particularly harm, violence and abuse, physical pain, fast or slow heart rate, cold or hot feelings. In the phraseological units, which denote depression and despair, verbs indicate causing physical injuries of heart, for example, θλίβω “squeeze”,“compress”, δάκνω “bite”, μαστιγόω “slash”, ἐκτήκω “melt”. The verbs, used in the phraseological units with the meaning of fear, indicate changes of heart’s temperature and its pace, for instance ζωπυρέω “flare up”, ὀρχέομαι “dance”. Mental anxiety is verbalized via the cognitive metaphor “heart – water”, therefore waves arise in an alarmed heart or heart rages from an inevitable cycle. The results of the research confirm the thesis that the ancient Greek culture is a “culture of the heart”.

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Metaforikus névadás

Névtani Értesítő ◽

10.29178/nevtert.2020.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

pp. 9-28

Author(s):

Katalin Reszegi

Keyword(s):

Data Collection ◽

Cognitive Linguistics ◽

Place Names ◽

Psychological Reality ◽

Cognitive Mechanism ◽

Human Thought ◽

Proper Nouns ◽

Cognitive Metaphor ◽

Metaphor Theory ◽

The Creation

The paper discusses the cognitive mechanics of metaphorical name-giving with a focus on place names, following an overview of cognitive metaphor theory and the questions of metaphorically used proper nouns. In cognitive linguistics, the use of metaphors is a cognitive mechanism that plays a fundamental role in human thought and understanding, and the creation of our social, cultural and psychological reality. A particular form of this also manifests in name-giving, creating a small but influential category of names. The category of place names also influences the application of this name-giving method: it is generally used in more informal names and name types. The creation of such a name requires the speaker to detach themselves from the conventional norms of direct descriptionand metonymic name-giving, and relies on their lingual creativity and ability to detach themselves from dominant name-giving models. However, names in the category can also be divided into subcategories. Beyond the typical common-noun-based metaphorical name-giving, more complex parallels can also be found, resulting in the associations connecting the names of several nearby locations. Place names can also serve as the base of metaphorical name-giving, supporting the complex meaning of these names. Despite the fact that the majority of metaphorical names are available from contemporary data collection, it is obviously a long-standing and ancient method of name-giving, as it is based on a cognitive mechanics that seem to be as old as humanity itself.

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On the Integrated Descriptions of Metaphorical Sememes of Verbs

Russian and Chinese Studies ◽

10.17150/2587-7445.2021.5(1).62-72 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 62-72

Author(s):

Yuhai Peng

Keyword(s):

Semantic Interpretation ◽

Semantic Features ◽

Semantic Change ◽

Cognitive Metaphor ◽

Analysis Pattern ◽

Verbal Metaphor ◽

Syntactic Semantics ◽

Micro Level ◽

Analysis System ◽

Formal Feature

Cognitive metaphor is an important way and mechanism of semantic derivation of verbs, the resulting large number of verbal metaphorical sememes has different expressions in their semantic features, formal syntax, communicative structure and even modality and pragmatics. This paper thoroughly and carefully discusses the problem of semantic change of verbal metaphor in terms of the integrated description method of the Moscow Semantic School. Thus, we will create a unique and innovative framework and theoretical model of generalized formal feature analysis, we will also try to introduce formal semantic description and micro-level semantic interpretation into the analysis system of semantic change of the verbal metaphor. Furthermore, we will describe in detail and characterize a number of changes caused by metaphorical semantic change of Russian verbs from the perspective of multi-dimensional integration. This study breaks down the barriers between semantics, cognition, pragmatics and grammar and the traditional analysis pattern of semantic derivation which contributes to significant broadening of the theoretical semantic vision and deepening of the research of cognitive semantics problems of verbal metaphor. It also helps explore innovative analytical methods and strategies for the study of Russian lexical and syntactic semantics.

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