cognitivelinguisticslecture2

1、Lecture Two Conceptual Metaphors2.1 Metaphors: from figures of speech to conceptual systemsTraditionally, metaphors have been regarded as figures of speech, i.e. as ornamental devices used in rhetorical style. However, expressions like “the foot of the mountain”, 重视, 思路, 桌子腿and瓶颈also play an important part in everyday language. Moreover, philosophers and cognitive linguists have shown that metaphors are powerful cognitive tools for our conceptualization of abstract categories. Metaphors are perv

2、asive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action. Our ordinary conceptual system is fundamentally metaphorical in nature. Metaphors as a figure of speechSee Yang Zhong: pp.85-92. 可以从语言学讲义中复制Metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. (The New Oxford Dictionary of English) The basic sentence form is A is B. For instance, John is an ass and The sky is crying. What is described is usually r

3、eferred to as the target (e.g., John and sky) while the describing element (ass and crying) the source.Metaphor has traditionally been based on the notions similarity or comparison between the literal and the figurative meaning of an expression. In the above example, the similarity lies in the quality of being stubborn.The three components of metaphor are tenor, vehicle, and ground. The working mechanism of metaphor is as follows: X (tenor) is like Y (vehicle) in respect of Z (ground).Based upon

4、 the substitution or comparison view of metaphor, I. A. Richards and M. Black developed the so-called interaction theory of metaphor. They maintained that the essence of metaphor lies in an interaction between a metaphorical expression and the context in which it is used. In our first example, the interaction can be described as a semantic clash or tension between the metaphorically used category ass and the context of a human being John, and this results in the interpretation of the sentence as

5、 John is as stubborn as an ass / John is an ass in respect of being stubborn. Account of the formation of metaphorsTraditional account:1) Substitution view: Metaphor is the use of an expression to stand for a literal expression with an equal meaning. For example, the use of ass for a stubborn person. This is the view held by most traditional rhetoricians and literary critics.2) Comparison view: Metaphor is the comparison between two things in resemblance or it is the elliptical form of simile.3)

6、 Interaction view: Metaphor is the interaction between two semantic items or it is the application of the imaginative meaning of the secondary item to the primary item.New account:1) Semantic account: Metaphor is a semantic deviation and it is the result of a systemic violation of semantic rules.2) Pragmatic account: According to Searle, when it is impossible to make sense of the literal meaning of words or the meaning of sentences, we will have to turn to search for the speakers meaning or the

7、meaning of utterances. (Lin Shuwu, 1997)Conventionalized metaphorsMetaphor is not just a figure of speech in literature but also pervasive in everyday language. The examples of words denoting body-parts in the upper half of the human body in Figure 3.2 are usually not recognized as being metaphorical by language users, thus they have been called conventionalized, lexicalized or “dead” metaphor. The logic behind these labels is that (p.117) According to Ullmann and Leech, the most frequent types

8、of conventionalized metaphors are: concretive metaphors, animistic metaphors, humanizing metaphors, and synaesthetic metaphors (ibid.). Compare with the more inventive, expressive and unexpected metaphors devised by writers, esp. poets. Metaphors as a cognitive instrumentThat metaphors act as “cognitive instruments” means that metaphors are not just a way of expressing ideas by means of language, but a way of thinking about things. Lakoff & Johnson (1980: 7f) argue that we do not just exploit th

9、e metaphor +TIME IS MONEY+ linguistically, but we actually think of, or conceptualize, the so-called “target” category (or target domain) TIME via the “source” category (source domain) MONEY when we use the following phrases: p.118.In the cognitive linguistic view, metaphor is defined as understanding one conceptual domain (target domain) in terms of another conceptual domain (source domain). (Kvecses, 2002: 4) Some examples of conceptual metaphor: An argument is war; Love is a journey; Theories are buildings; Ideas are food; etc.What does it mean exactly that A is understood in terms of B? The answer is that there is a set of systematic correspondences between the source and the target in the sense that constituent conceptual elements of B correspond to constituent elements of A. Technically, these conceptual correspondences are often referred to as mappings / projections. In this sense, metaphor is a type of two-d

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