Chapter 5
Chinese conceptualisations of personhood
Informed by previous cognitive linguistic studies on the
conceptualisation of self among English speakers, Chapter 5 analyses a variety of linguistic
constructions in Mandarin Chinese that reflect the conceptual structures of
the self. The conversational data collected for the present study discloses
some basic cognitive structures. Speakers associate abstract concepts with a
number of conceptual domains, such as space, object possession, and exertion
of physical force. This chapter adopts a conceptual approach in unpacking
inner self and relationship metaphors through the lens of metaphorical
mapping, metonymies or image schemas.
Article outline
- 5.1The split self
- 5.1.1The controlling subject
- 5.1.2The unbounded self
- 5.2Image-schematic dyads
- 5.2.1Deep-shallow
- 5.2.2
interior-exterior
- 5.2.3
balance-imbalance
- 5.3Relationship metaphors in Mandarin Chinese
- 5.3.1The interpersonal path
- 5.3.2Interpersonal proximity
- 5.3.3The social container
- 5.4Conclusion
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Notes