The general aim of this book is to contribute to a better understanding of metonymy, using the theoretical framework of cognitive linguistics. The book argues for a conceptual rather than purely linguistic basis for metonymy and explores distinctions between metonymy and other figurative language.
Metonymy in Language and Thought gives a state-of-the-art account of metonymic research. The contributions have different disciplinary and theoretical backgrounds in linguistics, psycholinguistics, psychology and literary studies. However, they share the assumption that metonymy is a cognitive phenomenon, a figure of thought, underlying much of our ordinary conceptualization that may be even more fundamental than metaphor. The use of metonymy in language is a reflection of this conceptual status. The framework within which metonymy is understood in this volume is that of scenes, frames, scenarios, domains or idealized cognitive models. The chapters are revised papers given at the Metonymy Workshop held in Hamburg, 1996.
The best survey of cognitive linguistics available, this Handbook provides a thorough explanation of its rich methodology, key results, and interdisciplinary context. With in-depth coverage of the research questions, basic concepts, and various theoretical approaches, the Handbook addresses newly emerging subfields and shows their contribution to the discipline. The Handbook introduces fields of study that have become central to cognitive linguistics, such as conceptual mappings and construction grammar. It explains all the main areas of linguistic analysis traditionally expected in a full linguistics framework, and includes fields of study such as language acquisition, sociolinguistics, diachronic studies, and corpus linguistics. Setting linguistic facts within the context of many other disciplines, the Handbook will be welcomed by researchers and students in a broad range of disciplines, including linguistics, cognitive science, neuroscience, gesture studies, computational linguistics, and multimodal studies.
This book reflects on the ways in which metaphor and metonymy are used conceptually and linguistically to mitigate the more difficult dimensions of death and dying, setting out a unique line of research within Conceptual Metaphor Theory.// The volume argues that metaphor and metonymic descriptions of death and dying reflect taboos, concealment, and other considerations not found in figurative descriptions of life, producing distinct forms of euphemism, frames, and mental spaces particular to conceptualisations of death. The first part focuses on the more palatable concepts which metaphorically structure and help to better understand death. The second section takes a closer look at metonymy to illuminate the ways in which it allows a person to zoom in on death’s more inoffensive dimensions or zoom out on its more troubling aspects. A wide range of classical and modern examples from European, Asian, Australian Aboriginal, and African languages and cultures showcase points of overlap and divergence. // Opening up new lines of inquiry into research on death and dying and offering a linguistically-focused complement to anthropological and religious studies on the topic, this book will be of interest to scholars in cognitive linguistics, sociolinguistics, cross-cultural communication, and cultural studies.
The contents of the volume prove the vitality of cognitive linguistic studies of figuration when combined with new research methodologies, in tandem with other disciplines, and also when applied to an ever broader range of topics. Individual chapters are concerned not only with some fundamental issues of defining and delimiting metaphor and metonymy, with the impact of figuration on grammatical forms, but are also exemplary discussions of how figurative language is processed and understood, as well as studies of practical ramifications of the use of figurative language in various types of discourse (the language of media, politics and healthcare communication). Most of the volume assumes a synchronic perspective, but diachronic coverage of processes is not missing either. In short, the volume demonstrates how rewarding it is to return to the true origins of cognitive linguistics for new inspiration and take a fresh start promising a true cornucopia of future results.
The book analyses a variety of topics and current issues in linguistics and literary studies, focusing especially on such aspects as memory, identity and cognition. Firstly, it discusses the notion of memory and the idea of reimagining, as well as coming to terms with the past. Secondly, it studies the relationship between perception, cognition and language use. It then investigates a variety of practices of language users, language learners and translators, such as the use of borrowings from hip-hop and slang. The book is intended for researchers in the fields of linguistics and literary studies, lecturers teaching undergraduate and master’s students on courses in language and literature.
The book elaborates one of Roman Jakobson's many brilliant ideas, i.e. his insight that the two cognitive strategies of the metaphoric and the metonymic are the end-points on a continuum of conceptualization processes. This elaboration is achieved on the background of Lakoff and Johnson's twodomain approach, i.e. the mapping of a source onto a target domain of conceptualization. Further approaches dwell on different stretches of this metaphor-metonymy continuum. Still other papers probe into the specialized conceptual division of labor associated with both modes of thought. Two new breakthroughs in the cognitive linguistics approach to metaphor and metonymy have recently been developed: one is the three-domain approach, which concentrates on the new blends that become possible after the integration or the blending of source and target domain elements; the other is the approach in terms of primary scenes and subscenes which often determine the way source and target domains interact.
While cognitive linguists are essentially in agreement on both the conceptual nature and the fundamental importance of metonymy, there remain disagreements on a number of specific but, nevertheless, crucial issues. Research questions include: Is metonymy a relationship between entities or domains ? Is it necessarily referential? What is meant by the claim that metonymy is a stand-for relationship? Can metonymy be considered a mapping? How can it be distinguished from active zones or facets ? Is it a prototype category? The ten contributions of the present volume address such core issues on the basis of the latest research results. The volume is unique in being devoted exclusively to the delimitation of the notion of metonymy without ignoring points of divergence among the various contributors, thus paving the way towards a consensual conception of metonymy."
