This study examines metaphor in Zulu in the light of conceptual metaphor theory from the perspective of a Bible translator. It then considers the possibility of translating Biblical Hebrew metaphor into Zulu. Selected Hebrew metaphors in the Book of Amos are analysed according to conceptual metaphor theory and compared with the conceptual metaphor analysis of the corresponding verses in existing Zulu translations, thereby increasing the empirical basis of the theory, and showing that it is valid for the study of both Biblical Hebrew and Zulu and a useful tool for translators.
Are human emotions best characterized as biological, psychological, or cultural entities? Many researchers claim that emotions arise either from human biology (i.e., biological reductionism) or as products of culture (i.e., social constructionism). This book challenges this simplistic division between the body and culture by showing how human emotions are to a large extent "constructed" from individuals' embodied experiences in different cultural settings. The view proposed here demonstrates how cultural aspects of emotions, metaphorical language about the emotions, and human physiology in emotion are all part of an intergrated system and shows how this system points to the reconciliation of the seemingly contradictory views of biological reductionism and social constructionism in contemporary debates about human emotion.
Combining up-to-date scholarship with clear and accessible language and helpful exercises, Metaphor: A Practical Introduction is an invaluable resource for all readers interested in metaphor. This second edition includes two new chapters--on 'metaphors in discourse' and 'metaphor and emotion' --along with new exercises, responses to criticism and recent developments in the field, and revised student exercises, tables, and figures.
To what extent and in what ways is metaphorical thought relevant to an understanding of culture and society? More specifically: can the cognitive linguistic view of metaphor simultaneously explain both universality and diversity in metaphorical thought? Cognitive linguists have done important work on universal aspects of metaphor, but they have paid much less attention to why metaphors vary both interculturally and intraculturally as extensively as they do. In this book, Zoltán Kövecses proposes a new theory of metaphor variation. First, he identifies the major dimension of metaphor variation, that is, those social and cultural boundaries that signal discontinuities in human experience. Second, he describes which components, or aspects of conceptual metaphor are involved in metaphor variation, and how they are involved. Third, he isolates the main causes of metaphor variation. Fourth Professor Kövecses addresses the issue to the degree of cultural coherence in the interplay among conceptual metaphors, embodiment, and causes of metaphor variation.
This book advances and broadens the scope of research on conceptual metaphor at the nexus of language and culture by exploring metaphor and figurative language as a characteristic of the many Englishes that have developed in a wide range of geographic, socio-historical and cultural settings around the world. In line with the interdisciplinary breadth of this endeavour, the contributions are grounded in Cognitive (Socio)Linguistics, Conceptual Metaphor Theory, and Cultural Linguistics. Drawing on different research methodologies, including corpus linguistics, elicitation techniques, and interviews, chapters analyse a variety of naturalistic data and text types, such as online language, narratives, political speeches and literary works. Examining both the cultural conceptualisations underlying the use of figurative language and the linguistic-cultural specificity of metaphor and its variation, the studies are presented in contexts of both language contact and second language usage. Adding to the debate on the interplay of universal and culture-specific grounding of conceptual metaphor, Metaphor in Language and Culture across World Englishes advances research in a previously neglected sphere of study in the field of World Englishes.
This collection serves as a showcase for literary translation research with a focus on African perspectives, highlighting theoretical and methodological developments in the discipline while shedding further light on the literary landscape in Africa. The book offers a framework for understanding key approaches and topics in literary translation situated in the African context, covering foundational concepts as well as new directions within the field. The first half of the volume focuses on the translation product, exploring such topics as translation strategies, literary genres, and self-translation, while the second half examines process and reception, allowing for an in-depth look at agency, habitus, and ethics. Each chapter is structured to allow for the introduction of a given theoretical aspect of literary translation followed by a summary of a completed research project with an African focus showing theory in practice, offering a model for readers to build their own literary translation research projects while also underscoring the range of perspectives and unique challenges to literary translation work in Africa. This unique volume is a key resource for students and scholars in translation studies, giving visibility to African perspectives on literary translation while pointing the way forward for future research directions.
The present volume contains a selection of papers presented at the conference Cognitive Approaches to English, an international event organized to mark the 30th anniversary of English studies at the Faculty of Philosophy, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University, Osijek, which was held in Osijek on October 18–19, 2007. The participants were invited to discuss issues in cognitive accounts of English, ranging from fundamental to methodological to interdisciplinary and applied. The volume is accordingly divided into four parts. Part I, Motivation in grammar, deals with various phenomena in the grammar of English in the broadest sense of the term, all of which are shown to be motivated by metaphorical and/or metonymic operations. Part II, Constructing meaning (between grammar and lexicon), contains five chapters dealing with phenomena ranging from various peculiarities of form-meaning pairings (such as synonymy, polysemy, and figurative meanings) to concept formation. The four chapters that make up Part III are concerned with the phenomenon of interlinguistic and intercultural variation in the use of metaphorical and metonymic processes. The volume is concluded by Part IV, the three papers of which attempt to reconsider some TEFL issues from a cognitive linguistic point of view.
