Transcript Conceptual metaphors and metonymies

Conceptual metaphors and metonymies
3.1 Metaphors and metonymies:from figures of speech
to conceptual systems
3.1.1 Metaphor and metonymy as figures of speech
3.1.2 Conventionalized metaphors
3.1.3 Metaphors as cognitive instruments
3.1.4 The grounding of metaphors: basic experiences
3.1.5 Metaphor and metonymy: differences and combinations
3.1.6 The nature of metaphor
3.1.7 The classification of metaphor
3.1.8 Summary
3.1.1 Metaphor and metonymy as figures of speech
Traditionally, metaphors and metonymies have been regarded as figures of
speech, i.e. as more or less ornamental devices used in rhetorical style.
Metaphor: a figure of speech containing an implied comparison, in which a
word or phrase ordinarily and primarily used of one thing is applied to another.
(Webster’s New World Dictionary)
Metonymy: a figure of speech that consists in using the name of one thing for
that of something else with which it is associated. (Webster’s New
International Dictionary)
Examples:
Happiness is like sunshine: it is made up of very little beams. (simile)
The sunshine of life is made up of very little beams. (metaphor)
The kettle is boiling. (metonymy)
3.1.2 Conventionalized metaphors
head
face
eye
mouth
lips
nose
neck
shoulder
arm
hands
of department, of state, of government, of a page, of a queue,
of a flower, of a beer, of stairs, of a bed, of a tape recorder,
of a syntactic construction
of a mountain, of a building, of a watch
of a potato, of a needle, of a hurricane, of a butterfly, in a
flower, hooks and eyes
of a hole, of a tunnel, of a cave, of a river
of a cup, of a jug, of a crater, of a plate
of an aircraft, of a tool, of a gun
of land, of the woods, of a shirt, bottle-neck
of a hill or mountain, of a bottle, of a road, of a jacket
of a chair, of the sea, of a tree, of a coat or jacket, of a record
player
of a watch, of an altimeter/ speedometer
(Conventionalized metaphors of body-parts)
Conventionalized, lexicalized or ‘dead’ metaphor: through its frequent association with
a certain linguistic form, the figurative meaning of a word has become so established in
the speech community (i.e. conventionalized) that it is entered in the lexicon as one
sense of the word in its own right (i.e. lexicalized). When a unit of linguistic form and
meaning is conventionalized and lexicalized, the metaphorical force of the word is no
longer active, the metaphor is ‘dead’.
Types of conventionalized metaphors (according to Leech)
Concretive Metaphor (the pain of separation, room for negotiation)
Animistic Metaphor (an angry sky, shoulder of the hill)
Humanizing Metaphor (friendly river, laughing valleys)
Synaesthetic Metaphor (warm colour, dull sound)
3.1.3 Metaphors as cognitive instruments
Metaphors are not just a way of expressing ideas by means of language, but a
These examples indicate that we often use three related metaphors to
way of thinking about things.
conceptualize how linguistic communication works. (1) to (3) illustrate
Metaphors that have unconsciously been built into the language by long-established
the conventional image that when we speak we take ideas, thoughts and
conventions are the most important ones.
emotions
and
put themreflections
into wordsofand
(4)
tothoughts
(6) are
linguistic
the sentences.
(1)
Try to pack more
into fewer
words.
metaphor
that
sees
linguistic
communication
to (9)
arein
concerned
with how
(2)
Insert those
ideas(7)
elsewhere
the paragraph.
aswas
thethe
transfer
of unpacks
thoughtsor
and
feelings
receiver
extracts
theby
(3)
The sentence
filled
with
emotion.
means
of better.
language.
ideas
from
the language.
(4) Try to get your thoughts
across
(5)
None of Mary’s feelings came through to me.
(6)
You still haven’t given me any idea of what you mean.
(7)
Can you extract coherent ideas from that prose?
(8)
Let me know if you find any good ideas in the essay.
(9)
I don’t get any feelings of anger out of his words.
(Linguistic expressions describing the communication process)
The overall picture is that ideas are objects which are put into containers (=
words) by a sender and sent to a receiver who takes the objects (= ideas) out of
their containers (= words). Linguistic communication is conceptualized in
terms of the sending and receiving of parcels, and this is called +CONDUIT+
metaphor by Reddy.
From a cognitive point of view, metaphors are not just semantic extensions of
one isolated category to another category in a different field, but that the
connections and relations between categories play an important part. The
crucial aspects of a metaphor are not only the properties inherent in the
individual categories, but their role in the structure of an entire ‘cognitive
model’.
From a cognitive perspective, a metaphor is a mapping of the structure of a
source model onto a target model.
Structural mapping
Examples
THE PERSON LEADING A LIFE IS A TRAVELLER
She went through life with a good heart.
HIS PURPOSES ARE DESTINATIONS
He knows where he is going in life.
THE MEANS FOR ACHIEVING PURPOSES ARE ROUTES
I don’t know which path to take.
DIFFICULTIES IN LIFE ARE IMPEDIMENTS TO TRAVEL
He worked his way around many obstacles.
PROGRESS IS THE DISTANCE TRAVELLED
He made his way in life.
THINGS YOU GAUGE YOUR PROGRESS
All these BY
examples illustrateThen
thathe came to a point in his life where
ARE LANDMARKS
he had to make a difficult decision.
through the language we use,
we
CHOICES IN LIFE ARE CROSSROADS
There were two paths open to him.
show that we conceptualize LIFE
in terms of a JOURNEY.
(Some structural mappings from JOURNEY to LIFE)
Target
Source
anger
dangerous animal
argument
journey
argument
war
communication
sending
death
depature
ideas
plants
lifetime
day
love
war
theories
We rely on models of the concrete world buildings
to
time
conceptualize abstract phenomena ---- ourmoney
understanding
conceptualization of models of abstract seeing
word
categories is ‘grounded’ in our experiencecoin
with
world
theatre
people, everyday objects, actions and events.
(Some examples of metaphorical mappings)
3.1.4 The grounding of metaphors: basic experiences
For our conceptualization of abstract categories we rely on basic experiences
in 3 ways:
• Basic level categories supply the salient attributes for superordinate
categories and event categories which are used as source models for the
detailed attribute structure of abstract categories;
• The general classes of objects, organisms and persons are also used as
source models. This object/ organism/ person view of the world facilitates
the cognitive handling and manipulating of abstract categories;
• Basic image schemas are used for the spatial conceptualization of abstract
categories.
Love is a journey.
(starting point,
destination,
time, energy,
money, means,
smooth/bumpy road,
success, failure,etc.)
Love is a journey.
Target
starting point
destination,
time, money
means, companion
happiness,sadness
success, failure
……
Source
starting point
destination,
time, money
means, companion
happiness,sadness
success, failure
……
Mapping
3.1.5 Metaphor and metonymy: differences and combinations
Similarities: both are seen as being conceptual in nature, both can be
conventionalized (i.e. automatic, unconscious, effortless and generally
established as a model of thinking), both are means of extending the resources
of a language and both can be explained as mapping processes. (Lakoff and
Turner 1989: 103)
Differences: metaphor involves a mapping across different cognitive models,
metonymy is a mapping within one model. The main function of a metonymic
expression is to activate one cognitive category by referring to another
category within the same model, and by doing that, to highlight the first
category or the submodel to which it belongs.
Consider the following three examples of part-whole relations (Croft 1993: 350):
We need a couple of strong bodies for our team.
There are a lot of good heads in the university.
We need some new faces around here.
In the sports context, the model PHYSICAL STRENGTH related to the category
BODY is highlighted, and in the university context, the model INTELLIGENCE
related to HEAD. The category FACE is particularly appropriate in the context of new
people, because this is what we usually perceive first when we meet strangers.
A co-occurrence of metaphors and metonymies is particularly frequent is the field of
emotion categories, and this will be the topic of our next section.
3.1.6 The nature of metaphor
Richards: Metaphor is the omnipresent principle of language.
Breal: The subject of metaphor is inexhaustible.
Whorf: We can hardly refer to the simplest nonspatial situation without
constant resort to physical metaphors.
Burke: Metaphor is a device for seeing something in terms of something else.
L & J: The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of
thing in terms of another.
Sweetser: Metaphor allows people to understand one thing as another, without
thinking the two things are objectively the same. Metaphor is a major
structuring force in semantic change. Metaphor operates between domains.
3.1.8 Summary
Metaphors and metonymies are not just a way of expressing ideas by means of
language, but a way of thinking about things. They are cognitive instruments.
Metaphor involves a mapping across different cognitive models, metonymy is
a mapping within one model.