Metaphor in Culture: Universality and Variation

by Zoltán Kövecses

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521844475
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/07/2005
Pages:	334
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.87(d)

About the Author

Zoltán Kövecses is Professor of Linguistics, Department of American Studies, Eötvös Lorand University. He is the author of Metaphor and Emotion (2002), and Metaphor: A Practical Introduction (2000).

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: metaphor and the issue of universality; Part I. Universal Metaphors: 2. Metaphor: from language to body and back; 3. Universality in metaphorical conceptualization; Part II. Dimensions of Metaphor Variation: 4. Cross-cultural variation; 5. Within-culture variation in metaphor; Part III. Aspects of Metaphor Involved in Variation: 6. How components of conceptual metaphor are involved in variation; 7. Conceptual metaphors and their linguistic expression in different languages; 8. Metaphor in social-physical reality; 9. Metaphors and cultural models; Part IV. Causes of Metaphor Variation: 10. Causes of variation in metaphor; 11. Creativity: metaphor and blending; 12. Culture, coherence, conflict; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Kövecses convincingly demonstrates in what ways a healthy theory of metaphor needs to take into account the role of (sub)culture."
Charles Forceville, University of Amsterdam

From the Publisher