Windows to the Mind: Metaphor, Metonymy and Conceptual Blending

Description

Cognitive linguists are convinced that the nature of linguistic structures is strongly influenced by the way we experience and perceive the world and by how we conceptualize and construe these experiences and perceptions in our minds. At the same time, the study of linguistic structure and usage is credited with the potential to open windows to how our minds work. The present volume collects papers investigating linguistic phenomena that reflect the key cognitive processes of metaphor, metonymy and conceptual blending, which have proven to be highly influential in linguistic conceptualization. Theoretical and methodological issues, such as metaphor identification and the relevance of the target domain for children's understanding of metaphor, are focused on in the first section. The second and third parts are devoted to the application of the theoretical frameworks of the conceptual theory of metaphor and metonymy and the theory of conceptual blending to linguistic data. The contributions critically explore the explanatory potential of these theories, build bridges between them, link them with other approaches and notions (such as construction grammar, common ground and stance/evaluation), and uncover conceptual regularities and cognitive models that underlie and shape our language use in specific domains. The linguistic structures under consideration span the range from compounds and premodified noun phrases to constructions and texts such as jokes and political speeches. Methods applied include psycholinguistic experiments, analyses of data culled from authentic language corpora and discourse-analytical approaches. Table of contents List of contributors Introduction Part I: Metaphor and metonymy: Fundamental issues Methodological issues in conceptual metaphor theory The structure of metaphor and idiom semantics (a cognitive approach) Why focus on target domains? The importance of domain knowledge in children’s understanding of metaphors Salience and the conventionality of metonymies Part II: Metaphor and metonymy: Usage-based investigations The role of metaphor scenarios in disease management discourses: Foot and mouth disease and avian influenza “Overt” vs. “covert” cultural variance in metaphor usage: ‘Europe’ vs. Malta and the EU-membership debate Examining conceptual metaphor models through lexical frequency patterns: A case study of U.S. presidential speeches Metaphor, constructional ambiguity and the causative resultatives Part III: Conceptual blending Conceptual blending, relevance and novel N+N-compounds Blending and creativity in metaphorical compounds: A diachronic investigation Reference points in adjective-noun conceptual integration networks Conceptual blending, evaluation and common ground: George W. Bush and Saddam as friend or foe? Index