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Part of
Body Part Terms in Conceptualization and Language Usage
Edited by Iwona Kraska-Szlenk
[Cognitive Linguistic Studies in Cultural Contexts 12] 2020
► pp. 247–268

The conceptualization of ido ‘eye’ in Hausa

The human body has been found to be an extremely productive source domain for the expression of various linguistic concepts in diverse languages and cultures of the world. Although previous research on many languages shows that the eyes are one of those body parts terms that are frequently used as a source domain for the conceptualization of other abstract domains, the Hausa ido is yet to be studied from the cognitive perspective. Based on the cognitive linguistics framework, this paper analyzes the conceptualization of the Hausa ido ‘eye’ and its extension into various target domains, as well as the metaphors and metonymies used in these conceptualizations. The data for this study was collected from a mini-corpus (Will, 2005) and Hausa dictionaries, from which over 150 expressions involving the term ido ‘eye’ were elicited and analyzed. Based on the usage, the term ido was found to be extensively used in various domains including sight, knowledge, attention, decision-making, emotions, character traits, and so on.

Keywords: Hausa, embodiment, conceptualization, metaphor, metonymy, cultural conceptualization
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2. Ido ‘eye’ as body part
  • 3.The figurative uses of ido ‘eye’
    • 3.1.The lexicalization of ido in compounds
    • 3.2.Ido as an instrument for looking
    • 3.3.Ido and the conceptualization of sight
    • 3.4.Ido in the domain of knowledge
    • 3.5.Ido in the domain of attention
    • 3.6.Ido in the domains of decision and measurement
    • 3.7.Ido as indicator of emotions
    • 3.8.Ido as character traits
  • 4.Reflexivity
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgement
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 23 March 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/clscc.12.c11she
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