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Part of
The Language of Food in Japanese: Cognitive perspectives and beyond
Edited by Kiyoko Toratani
[Converging Evidence in Language and Communication Research 25] 2022
► pp. 319–343

Chapter 11
Applying force dynamics to analyze taste descriptions in Japanese online columns

| Middlebury College

This chapter analyzes taste descriptions, applying force dynamics (Talmy, 1988), which uses a schematic structure to characterize force relations. I extracted 90 descriptions from online food columns to examine causal interactions in which Food acts upon Taster or on another Food, to find that they can be classified into four basic force relations. The influenced entity can: undergo a change (caused); overcome a blockage (overcoming); be prevented from changing (blocked); or remain unchanged despite a force acting against it/her (persevering). The classification reveals that the caused pattern is predominant, indicating that Food or Taster tends to be conceptualized as a malleable entity that “gives in” to (another) Food.

Keywords: causation, change, nonliteral motion, gastronomy, force relation, sensory quality
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Force dynamic patterns in food descriptions
  • 3.Data and methodology
    • 3.1Data
    • 3.2Methodology
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Overview
    • 4.2Food-on-food patterns: Food as an agonist
      • 4.2.1“Enhanced” (caused)
      • 4.2.2“Overflowing” (overcoming)
      • 4.2.3“Confined” and “supported” (blocked)
      • 4.2.4“Robust” (persevering)
    • 4.3Food-on-Taster: Taster as an agonist
      • 4.3.1“Affected” (caused)
      • 4.3.2“Managing” (overcoming)
      • 4.3.3“Trapped” (blocked)
      • 4.3.4“Patient” (perseverance)
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1Response to Question 1
    • 5.2Response to Question 2
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 9 February 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/celcr.25.11abe
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