scholarly journals Metafory konceptualne: fenomeny umysłu czy konstrukty kognitywistyczne? Cz. I

LingVaria ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (28) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksander Kiklewicz

Conceptual Metaphors: Phenomena of the Mind or Cognitive Constructs? Part I The author considers the psychological reality of models in contemporary cognitive linguistics. The initial hypothesis is that the programmatic assumption of cognitive linguistics, i.e. the fact that linguistic activity is programmed in the mind by ambivalent, monomodular conceptual categories or gestalts, is not realized in research practice: in reality we are dealing with different versions of constructivism, i.e. speculative generation of theoretical models that cannot be used to explain linguistic facts. This general assumption is verified with reference to the theory of conceptual metaphors by G. Lakoff and M. Johnson (1980). The author presents six arguments that metaphoric models economy is a substance or emotion is a hot fluid in a container do not reflect the real linguistic or mental activities of the subjects. The author refers to numerous scientific sources as well as empirical material of Slavonic languages.

Author(s):  
Sonja Filipović Kovačević

This paper studies the extended meanings of lexemes with the colour concepts red, pink, blue, green and yellow expressing emotional, mental and physical states in English and Serbian from a cognitive linguistic perspective. The initial hypothesis is that lexemes with these colour concepts express states of the mind and/or the body like being angry, unrealistic or sick, for instance, and that these transferred metaphoric meanings are essentially metonymically grounded. The aims are the following:1. to identify the conceptual metaphors associating concrete colour concepts with the abstract concepts of emotional, mental and physical states, 2. to determine metonymic motivation of colour-related metaphors, 3. to consider the issue of cultural universality and/or diversity. The results of the analysis have shown that the studied colour concepts express meanings associated with different states of the mind and the body, which is presented via conceptual metaphors (e.g. being embarrassed is being red, being unrealistic is seeing pink, etc.). Also, most of these metaphors are based on two metonymies: 1. colour of the skin for the state of the mind/body and 2. an experiential association between a particular colour and people`s psychological reaction. There are more similarities than differences between English and Serbian, which is strong ground for believing that the studied metaphors motivated by metonymies are universal.


2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-238
Author(s):  
Zsuzsa Máthé

"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 "


Author(s):  
Sabine De Knop

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.


LingVaria ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 31-46
Author(s):  
Aleksander Kiklewicz

CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS: PHENOMENA OF THE MIND OR COGNITIVE CONSTRUCTS? PART II The author reviewed experimental studies of language metaphor, starting with the pioneer publication of Roman Jakobson from 1965. It has been shown that experimental studies confirm the postulates of G. Lakoff’s and M. Johnson’s cognitive theory of metaphor to varying degrees (more or less). The author also presents the results of a psycholinguistic experiment involving 280 respondents. The experiment based on the verbal-nominal constructions of the modern Polish language showed low consistency of answers, as well as the lack of arguments that the interpretation of metaphorical expressions (i.e. with the participation of polysemant) by respondents is not based on so-called conceptual metaphors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 9-28
Author(s):  
Katalin Reszegi

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.


Author(s):  
Mark Wollaeger

This chapter considers points of intersection between Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Joseph Conrad. By Ngũgĩ’s own account, his rewriting of Conrad’s Under Western Eyes (1911) as A Grain of Wheat (1967) triggered a crisis of audience that ultimately led him to abandon English for his native Gikuyu. To further complicate the question of influence, Wollaeger also examines the relationship between two works of nonfiction: Conrad’s A Personal Record (1912) and Ngũgĩ’s Decolonizing the Mind (1986). At the heart of Ngũgĩ’s attempt to fashion premodern tribalism into a utopian space are two problems that still animate critical discussion. What is the status of the local and the indigenous? Does attention to influence reinstate a center-periphery model in postcolonial criticism? This chapter shows the extent to which Conrad and Ngũgĩ both anticipate and generate theoretical models later used to articulate modernism and postcolonialism as fields of inquiry.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Finzel ◽  
Hans-Georg Wolf

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.


Author(s):  
Jonathan De Souza

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.


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