Metaphor In Language And Culture Across World Englishes

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.

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.

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1, University of Vienna, language: English, abstract: The first question that arises is in the context of "Metaphor and Culture" is what metaphor actually has to do with culture. This question can be answered in the way that metaphor and culture are related in many ways. Metaphor can be viewed as the ornamental use of language, and a lot about metaphor and culture arises from what we have heard or learned in school about it, such as for instance creative writers or poets who use metaphors. Since literature is a significant part of our culture, metaphor can be regarded as intimately linked to our socio-cultural field. So a possible way of relation between metaphor and culture would be literature, an exemplary manifestation of culture. However, there are in fact much more fundamental relations between metaphor and culture, which become clear when we look at some currrent thinking in anthropology, which leads us to the fact that we can view culture as a set of shared understandings that characterize smaller or larger groups of people (cf. Shore 1996, Strauss & Quinn 1997). It has to be noted that this is obviously not an exhaustive view or definition of culture, considering the fact that it leaves out real artifacts, real objects, practices, institutions, actions and so on, which people participate in and use in various cultures. However, it integrates a large part of it, namely the shared understanding that human beings have in connection with all of these "things."

Metaphor is a fascinating phenomenon, but it is also complex and multi-faceted, varying in how it is manifested in different modes of expression, languages, cultures, or time-scales. How then can we reliably identify metaphors in different contexts? How does the language or culture of speakers and hearers affect the way metaphors are produced or interpreted? Are the methods employed to explore metaphors in one context applicable in others? The sixteen chapters that make up this volume offer not only detailed studies of the situated use of metaphor in language, gesture, and visuals around the world – providing important insights into the different factors that produce variation – but also careful explication and discussion of the methodological issues that arise when researchers approach metaphor in diverse ‘real world’ contexts. The book constitutes an important contribution to applied metaphor studies, and will prove an invaluable resource for the novice and experienced metaphor researcher alike.

In one of the contributions to this edited volume an interviewee argues that "English is power". For researchers in the field of English Studies this raises the questions of where the power of English resides and which types and practices of power are implied in the uses of English. Linguists, scholars of literature and culture, and language educators address aspects of these questions in a wide range of contributions. The book shows that the power of English can oscillate between empowerment and subjection, on the one hand enabling humans to develop manifold capabilities and on the other constraining their scope of action and reflection. In this edited volume, a case is made for self-critical English Studies to be dialogic, empowering and power-critical in approach.

Using dominant metaphors in American English and the Chinese language, Metaphor, Culture, and Worldview explores how metaphor is a product that is simultaneously shaped by and is shaping the culture and the worldview of the people who use it, and how it showcases some unique features of communication of the speakers of the two languages.

In Contemporary Metaphor Theory (CMT) research has predominantly focused on the English language with few studies of others and even less systematic comparative work. This volume focuses on the discourse domain of LEARNING (formal, technical and informal aspects) and brings together a variety of language perspectives, some specifically comparative, on aspects of learning from historical transformations in metaphoric language use through contemporary social values and classroom discourse to planning for the future in educational policy to see how conceptual metaphoric patterns and conventional metaphors with related figurative language impact on social values and culturally conditioned perspectives in learning. Most papers reflect Lakoffian conceptual metaphoric research including critical evaluation of analytical issues. Languages included are Arabic, Chinese, English, Hungarian, Japanese, Malay, Polish, Russian and the South African language area. Most papers utilize extensive data including such genre as technical writing, essays, conversational interaction, newspaper corpus and proverbs.

This volume offers new insights into figurative language and its pervasive role as a factor of linguistic change. The case studies included in this book explore some of the different ways new metaphoric and metonymic expressions emerge and spread among speech communities, and how these changes can be related to the need to encode ongoing social and cultural processes in the language. They cover a wide series of languages and historical stages.