Anna Rewiś-Łętkowska. Top-down approach adopted by Kovecses (e.g. 1990, 2000, 2002, 2005): ‘language, particularly its lexicon, is a reflection of our

Metaphtonymic interplay in the embodied language of fear

Anna Rewiś-Łętkowska

Methodology and Data

Top-down approach adopted by Kovecses(e.g. 1990, 2000, 2002, 2005): ‘language, particularly its lexicon, is a reflection of our conceptual system’ (Kovecses 1990: 41)

Lexicographic sources, linguistic expressions elicited from native speakers (relatively small proportion of data).

The conceptual model of fear

CONTAINMENT image schema

FEAR IS A BIG RESERVOIR OF WATER HUMAN BODY IS A CONTAINER and FEAR IS A (LIQUID) SUBSTANCE INSIDE HUMAN BODY IS A CONTAINER WITH A SUBSTANCE INSIDE, FEAR IS AN OBJECT THAT CAN BE PUT INSIDE

FEAR IS A DANGEROUS/HOSTILE ENTITY metaphor FEAR IS A HOSTILE HUMAN (HUMAN-LIKE) BEING FEAR IS A DANGEROUS ANIMAL FEAR IS A DANGEROUS OBJECT Metaphors from the PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECT OF FEAR STANDS FOR FEAR metonymy - metaphtonimic concepts DROP IN BODY TEMPERATURE STANDS FOR FEAR - FEAR IS COLD SYMPTOMS OF AN ILLNESS STAND FOR FEAR - FEAR IS AN ILLNESS

- based on three organizing principles.

This limited number of metaphoric and metonymic themes interact with each other, and combine with metaphors which are less central to the concept of fear.

CONTAINMENT structure of fear metaphors

Conceptual metaphor Evidence from English Evidence from Polish FEAR IS A BIG RESERVOIR OF WATER

in fear and trembling, deep fear, a wave of fear, flooded with fear, pure fear, undercurrent of fear, fear is rising, panic engulfs me, fear sweeps over me

przypływ strachu ‘flow of fear’ , poziom strachu ‘level of fear’, fala strachu ‘wave of fear’, otrząsnąć się ze strachu ‘shake off fear’

Linguistic manifestations of the metaphor FEAR IS A BIG RESERVOIR OF WATER in English and Polish


Conceptual metaphor Evidence from English Evidence from Polish HUMAN BODY IS A CONTAINER, FEAR IS A (LIQUID) SUBSTANCE INSIDE

full of fear, fear in/ inside sb, fill sb with dread/ anxiety/ apprehension, fearful, fear drains from sb, fear evaporates,

pełen lęku ‘full of fear’, napełnić lękiem ‘fill sb with fear’, przepełnić strachem ‘fill sb up with fear’, strach z niego spłynął ‘fear flowed out of him’;

Interaction with the PART FOR WHOLE metonymy

heart full of fear, fear inside/in your heart, fill one’s heart with anxiety/ apprehension, eyes full of fear

serce pełne lęku ‘heart full of fear’, wlać w serce strach ‘pour fear into sb’s heart’, serce przepełnia strach ‘one’s heart overflows with fear’, oczy pełne strachu ‘eyes full of fear’

Linguistic manifestations of the metaphors HUMAN BODY IS A CONTAINER and FEAR IS A (LIQUID) SUBSTANCE INSIDE in English and Polish and their motivation by the metonymy PART FOR WHOLE


Conceptual metaphor Evidence from English Evidence from Polish

HUMAN BODY IS A CONTAINER WITH A SUBSTANCE INSIDE, FEAR IS AN OBJECT THAT CAN BE PUT INSIDE

put the fear of God in/ into sb, put fear in(to) sb, hidden fear

wszczepić komuś strach ‘inject fear into sb’, (głęboko) ukryty strach‘(deeply) hidden fear’, mieć w sobie niepokój ‘have fear in oneself’, wyrzucić z siebie strach/lęk ‘throw fear out of oneself’, pozbyć się obaw ‘dispose of fears’, usunąć lęk ‘remove fear’

BODY IS A CONTAINER WITH SOIL INSIDE, FEAR IS A SEED THAT CAN BE PUT INSIDE

sow fear in sb, seed of fear, his fear is growing, deep-rooted fears, (deep) ingrained fear of

zasiać w kimś strach ‘sow fear in sb’, ziarno strachu ‘a seed of fear’, kiełkuje strach ‘the fear is sprouting’, głęboko zakorzeniony ‘deep-rooted fear’, mocno zakorzeniony ‘strongly rooted fear’

Interaction with the PART FOR WHOLE metonymy

sow fear in sb’s heart/soul,

put fear in(to) sb’s heart, cast

fear into sb’s soul, strike fear

into sb’s heart

mieć w sercu/duszy niepokój ‘have anxiety in one’s heart/soul’, mieć strach w oczach ‘have fear in one’s eyes’, wyrzucić/usunąć z serca/duszy strach/lęk ‘throw/remove fear /anxiety out of one’s heart/soul’, zasiać w czyimś sercu/duszy strach ‘sow fear in sb’s heart/soul’, w czyimś sercu/duszy kiełkuje strach ‘the fear is sprouting in sb’s heart/soul’

Linguistic manifestations of the metaphors HUMAN BODY IS A CONTAINER WITH A SUBSTANCE INSIDE, FEAR IS AN OBJECT THAT CAN BE PUT INSIDE, BODY IS A CONTAINER WITH SOIL INSIDE, and FEAR IS A SEED THAT CAN BE PUT INSIDE in English and Polish and their motivation by the metonymy PART FOR WHOLE

Type of the source domain HOSTILE/DANGEROUS ENTITY

Evidence from English Evidence from Polish

The entity is A HUMAN BEING

fight with fear, succumb to fear, conquer the panic, be the victim of fear, a stab of fear, powerful fear, be seized by fear, be gripped by fear, in the grip of a panic attack, panic-stricken, be tormented by fear, fear takes hold of sb, fear gets the better of sb, be ruled/led/controlled by fear, fear prevents him from, be free from fear, nagging fear

walczyć ze strachem ‘fight with fear’, poddać się strachowi ‘surrender to fear’, pokonać strach ‘defeat fear’, ulec panice ‘give in to panic’, (prze)zwyciężyć strach ‘overcome fear’, niepokonany strach ‘unbeatable fear’, atak lęku ‘attack of fear’, strach kogoś opanował ‘fear took control over sb’, strach męczy/gnębi/dręczy ‘fear tortures/oppresses/torments, porywakogoś trwoga ‘fright obductssb’ strach obezwładnia/łapie/chwyta ‘fear overpowers/catches/ seizes , strach dławi za gardło ‘fear takes sb by the throat/strangles sb’, strach go powstrzymuje ‘fear stops sb’, kieruje nim strach‘sb is conducted by fear’, strach odbiera mowę ‘fear takes sb’s speech away’, strach ściska serce ‘fear squeezes sb’s heart tight’, strach kogoś nachodzi ‘fear descends upon sb’

The entity is A HUMAN-LIKE BEINGThe entity is A HUMAN (HUMAN-LIKE) BEING, but HOSTILE/DANGEROUS feature is not highlighted

be haunted by fear, be possessed by fear fear comes back/recedes, fear vanishes, recurrent fear, naked fear

potworny strach ‘monstrous fear’ strach powraca ‘fear comes back’, strach znika ‘fear disappears’, strach odchodzi ‘fear walks away’,nagi strach ‘naked fear’, strach komuś towarzyszy ‘fear accompanies sb’, wywołać grozę ‘evoke fright’ (CONTAINER image schema)

Linguistic manifestations of the metaphors FEAR IS A HOSTILE/DANGEROUS ENTITY in English and Polish – the entity is A HUMAN BEING

FEAR IS A HOSTILE/DANGEROUS ENTITY as a master metaphor of fear


Type of the source domain

HOSTILE/DANGEROUS

ENTITY


The entity is AN ANIMAL feed fear, fear lurks, fear creeps upon sb, fear gnaws at sb, fierce fear, all-consuming fear (animal or monster?), master fear, unleash fear, lose control over fear, uncontrollable fear

strach się czai ‘fear lurks’, budzić strach ‘awaken fear’, żywić obawę ‘feed anxiety’, oswoić lęk ‘tame fear’, strach ma wielkie oczy ‘fear has big eyes’ (like an animal or monster ?), strach dopada ‘fear hunts sb down’, strach chwyta za gardło ‘fear seizes sb by the throat’, zżera go strach ‘fear devours sb’, trawi go lęk ‘fear digests sb’, zwierzęcy strach ‘animal fear’, instynktowny strach ‘instinctive fear’

Linguistic manifestations of the metaphors FEAR IS A HOSTILE/DANGEROUS ENTITY in English and Polish – the entity is AN ANIMAL


Type of the source domain HOSTILE/DANGEROUS ENTITY


The entity is AN INANIMATE OBJECT

sharp fear, throw fear upon sb, get over/past fear, hide fear, fear weighs on sb,

ostry niepokój ‘sharp anxiety’, strach przeszył kogoś ‘fear pierced sb’, padł strach na ludzi ‘fear fell on people’, przełamać strach ‘break fear’

Linguistic manifestations of the metaphors FEAR IS A HOSTILE/DANGEROUS ENTITY in English and Polish – the entity is AN INANIMATE OBJECT

Metaphors from the PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECT OF FEAR STANDS FOR FEAR metonymy

Metaphtonymic concepts Evidence from English Evidence from Polish

DROP IN BODY TEMPERATURE STANDS FOR FEAR - FEAR IS COLD

shake/tremble/quiver/shiver/shudder with fear, freeze with horror, feel your blood turn/run cold, be chilled with fear, hair-raising fear, fear makes your teeth chatter/hair stand on end/flesh creep, get/have cold feet, chilling fear

drżeć/dygotać/trząść się ze strachu ‘quake/shiver/quiver with fear’, trząść portkami ‘shake in one’s pants’, zdrętwieć ze strachu ‘become numb with fear’, dzwonić zębami ze strachu ‘one’s teeth chatter with fear’, mieć gęsią skórkę ‘have gooseflesh’, strach jeży włosy na głowie ‘fear makes the hair on your head bristle’, strach mrozi krew w żyłach ‘fear freezes the blood in one’s veins’, ciarki przechodzą po plecach ‘tingling moves all over sb’s back’

Metaphtonymic conceptualizations : DROP IN BODY TEMPERATURE STANDS FOR FEAR - FEAR IS COLD

SYMPTOMS OF AN ILLNESS STAND FOR FEAR - FEAR IS AN ILLNESS

Being ill is BEING UNABLE TO MOVE

suffer from fear(general – no aspect of source domain highlighted) be paralyzed with fear, be numb with fear, scared stiffExtensions: be petrified/ gorgonized with fear, fear turns sb to stone, be rooted to the spot with fear

chorobliwy lęk ‘morbid fear’(general - no aspect of source domain highlighted) paraliżujący strach ‘paralyzing fear’, sztywny ze strachu ‘stiff with fear’Extensions: skamienieć ze strachu ‘turn to stone with fear’, osłupieć ze strachu‘turn into a pillar with fear’, nogi wrastają w ziemię ze strachu‘sb’s legs grow into the ground with fear’

Metaphtonymic conceptualizations of fear : SYMPTOMS OF AN ILLNESS STAND FOR FEAR - FEAR IS AN ILLNESS



Being ill is being NEAR-DEATH OR DEATH-LIKE CONDITION

be scared to death, mortal fear, deadly fear, frighten the life out of somebody, scare half to death, fainting with fright

Zamierać ze strachu ‘(momentarily) die with fear’, martwieć z przerażenia ‘become dead with fear’, półżywy zestrachu ‘half-alive with fear’, śmiertelny strach‘deadly fear’, mdleć ze strachu‘faint with fear’

Metaphtonymic conceptualizations of fear instantiated by English and Polish linguistic expressions : SYMPTOMS OF AN ILLNESS STAND FOR FEAR - FEAR IS AN ILLNESS



Being ill is HAVING AN UNHEALTHY-LOOKING FACE

white with fear, pale as death, turn ashen, change colour, his face drawn and bloodless

(przy)blednąć ze strachu ‘become pale with fear’, blady ze strachu ‘pale with fear’, zzielenieć ze strachu ‘become green with fear’, blady jak ściana ‘pale as a wall’




Being ill is BEING FEVERISH

sweat with fear, be cold sweat, have your mouth dry, your knees knock together

pocić się ze strachu ‘sweat with fear’, zimny pot kogoś oblewa ‘get in a coldsweat’, nogi się pod kimś uginają




Being ill is HAVING A MISPLACED/ MALFUNCTIONING BODY ORGAN

your heart leaps into your throat, your heart stops/ jumps/ pounds/ beats faster, have your heart in your mouth, breathless with fear, jump out of your skin, speechless with fear, your stomach turns over, have your pants full, wet yourself with fear

Serce podchodzi do gardła ‘your heart moves up into your throat’ , żołądek podchodzi do gardła ‘your stomach moves up into your throat’, serce wali ze strachu‘your heart pounds with fear’, oniemieć ze strachu‘become mute with fear’, nie móc wykrztusić słowa‘be unable to cough up a word’ , oczy wychodzą z orbit ‘sb’ eyes come out of their sockets’, (na)robić ze strachu w portki/majtki ‘to soil one’s pants/knickers with fear’, posikać się zestrachu ‘to pee oneself with fear’



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Documents

Anna Rewiś-Łętkowska. Top-down approach adopted by Kovecses (e.g. 1990, 2000, 2002, 2005): ‘language, particularly its lexicon, is a reflection of our