A Reductive Analysis of Conceptual Metaphor from the Perspective of Philosophy of Dialogue

Abstract

Abstract:

The theory of conceptual metaphor proposed by Lakoff and Johnson has a fundamental claim: A great deal of ordinary language is metaphorical. This claim triggers a question to be thought about in the present study: What is the nature of the small portion of non-metaphorical language? Unfortunately, this question has not been further tackled by Lakoff and Johnson, only to have left it over unanswered in the academic world. Accordingly, the present study attempts to investigate into two basic questions with regard to conceptual metaphor: What is the nature of conceptual metaphor? What characteristic can be found from the small portion of non-metaphorical language? Centering on the two questions, the present study is to conduct a reductive analysis of conceptual metaphor from the perspective of Buber’s philosophy of dialogue. Based on a series of analysis, the present study has found that the conceptual metaphor in nature is the secondary product of language and thought, and a language has a basic part consisting of primary words which cannot be metaphorical, and all metaphors are secondary and creative products in language use. Such expression as “I am you” cannot be interpreted as conceptual metaphor, simply because in terms of Buber’s philosophy of dialogue the primary words “I” and “you” are not conceptually descriptive but contextually sensitive instead.

Key words:conceptual metaphor,philosophy of dialogue,reductive analysis,primary word,secondary word

CLC Number:

H0-0

WANG Yu, DU Shihong. A Reductive Analysis of Conceptual Metaphor from the Perspective of Philosophy of Dialogue[J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2022, 22(5): 97-109.

Figures/Tables2

还原步骤	句式表达(Buber的关系观)	隐喻判断: 是/否/不确定
0	I am Imelda Marcos of glasses.(我-它关系)	是
1	I am Imelda Marcos.(我-它关系)	不确定
	I am glasses.(我-它关系)	不确定
2	I am her.(我-它关系)	否
3	I am you.(我-你关系)	否

项目	源域	系词	目标域	概念域的映射	映射聚焦点
表达式A-is-B	B	is	A	B→A	B的特征映射到A
例1. Argument is war	war	is	argument	war→argument	war的特征映射到argument
例2. A janitor is a dog.	a dog	is	a janitor	dog→janitor	dog的特征映射到janitor
例3. A dog is a janitor.	a janitor	is	a dog	janitor→dog	janitor的特征映射到dog

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