Definition and Examples of a Conceptual Metaphor

Definition and Examples of a Conceptual Metaphor A conceptual metaphor is a  metaphor (or figurative comparison) in which one idea (or conceptual domain) is understood in terms of another. In cognitive linguistics, the conceptual domain from which we draw metaphorical expressions to understand another conceptual domain is known as the source domain. The conceptual domain that is understood in this way is the target domain. Thus the source domain of the journey is commonly used to explain the target domain of life. In Metaphors We Live By (1980), George Lakoff and Mark Johnson identify three overlapping categories of conceptual metaphors: Orientational MetaphorOntological MetaphorStructural Metaphor Examples and Observations Basic conceptual metaphors are part of the common conceptual apparatus shared by members of a culture. They are systematic in that there is a fixed correspondence between the structure of the domain to be understood (e.g., death) and the structure of the domain in terms of which we are understanding it (e.g., departure). We usually understand them in terms of common experiences. They are largely unconscious, though attention may be drawn to them. Their operation in cognition is almost automatic. And they are widely conventionalized in language, that is, there are a great number of words and idiomatic expressions in our language whose meanings depend upon those conceptual metaphors. In Metaphors We Live By (University Of Chicago Press, 1980), George Lakoff and Mark Johnson mention these variations on the conceptual metaphor TIME IS MONEY: Youre wasting my time.This gadget will save you hours.I dont have the time to give you.How do you spend your time these days?That flat tire cost me an hour.Ive invested a lot of time in her.Youre running out of time.Is that worth your while?Hes living on borrowed time. Five Tenets of Conceptual; Metaphor Theory Conceptual Metaphor Theory rejects the notion that metaphor is a decorative device, peripheral to language and thought. Instead, the theory holds that metaphor is central to thought, and therefore to language. From this starting point, a number of tenets are derived, which are discussed here with particular reference to language. These tenets are: Metaphors structure thinking;Metaphors structure knowledge;Metaphor is central to abstract language;Metaphor is grounded in physical experience;Metaphor is ideological. Mappings Understanding one domain in terms of another involves a set of fixed correspondences (technically called mappings) between a source and a target domain. This set of mappings obtains between basic constituent elements of the target. To know a conceptual metaphor is to know the set of mappings that applies to a given source-target pairing. It is these mappings that provide much of the meaning of the metaphorical linguistic expressions (or linguistic metaphors) that make a particular conceptual metaphor manifest. Also Known As Generative Metaphor Sources George Lakoff and Mark Turner,  More Than Cool Reason. University of Chicago Press, 1989Alice Deignan,  Metaphor and Corpus Linguistics. John Benjamins, 2005Zoltn Kà ¶vecses,  Metaphor: A Practical Introduction, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, 2010

Comin Thro the Rye by Robert Burns

Comin Thro the Rye by Robert Burns The poem Comin Thro the Rye by  Scottish writer  Robert Burns  (1759–1796),  is probably best known because of Holden Caulfields misinterpretation of it in J.D. Salingers novel  The Catcher in the Rye. Instead of meeting a body in the rye, he remembers it as catching a body. Discussing the poem with his sister, Phoebe, Holden tells her a fantasy that he is  a rescuer of children playing in a field of rye, and he is catching them before they fall off a cliff. The reference to the poem in The Catcher in the Rye has prompted writers and scholars to take a look at the source when discussing the novel. The poem was written with a  Scottish dialect;  draiglt  translates to  drags;  weet  to  wet;  gin  to  when or if,  depending on the interpretation;  ilka to  every; loe to love;  waur to  worse off;  and  ken  to  know. Depending on the source, the last line of the second verse has a period or a question mark, and the third verse has a question mark or an exclamation point. Note: The second setting wasnt signed by Burns but is widely accepted as being by him. Poem Text Comin Thro the Rye by Robert Burns [First Setting] Comin thro the rye, poor body,Comin thro the rye,She draiglt aher petticoatie,Comin thro the rye. Chorus:O, Jennys a weet, poor body,Jennys seldom dry;She draiglt a her petticoattieComin thro the rye.Gin a body meet a bodyComin thro the rye,Gin a body kiss a body- Need a body cry. [To chorus] Gin a body meet a bodyComin thro the glen,Gin a body kiss a body,Need the warld ken! [To chorus] [Second Setting]   Gin a body meet a body, comin thro the rye,   Gin a body kiss a body, need a body cry;   Ilka body has a body, neer a ane hae I;   But a the lads they loe me, and what the waur am I.   Gin a body meet a body, comin frae the well,   Gin a body kiss a body, need a body tell;   Ilka body has a body, neer a ane hae I,   But a the lads they loe me, and what the waur am I.   Gin a body meet a body, comin frae the town,   Gin a body kiss a body, need a body gloom;   Ilka Jenny has her Jockey, neer a ane hae I,   But a the lads they loe me, and what the waur am I.   How the Poem Relates to Catcher in the Rye The poems theme is the question of whether casual sex is OK. Meeting a body in a field isnt just running across someone and saying hello. The poem asks Need a body cry? as in- Is it worth getting upset over? This relates to Salingers novel because the  sex question is a source of moral conflict inside the 16-year-old Holden. Saving children from falling off a cliff, then, in his fantasy, can be equated to helping children keep their innocence as long as possible.