Foodsemic metaphors of love in Gĩkũyũ: Insights from cognitive semantics
Using the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, this study discusses the transfer of semantic aspects of foodsemic metaphors upon the
abstraction of love. An interview schedule was administered to 48 respondents of different gender by the researchers assisted by
two research assistants. The data collected were subjected to the Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit (MIPVU). 12
foodsemic metaphors which play an indispensable role in the understanding of love in Gĩkũyũ were identified. In addition, the
study noted that gender is a dominant variable that provides people with lens through which they view love in Gĩkũyũ. This study
concludes that metaphor is an integral component of the way people conceptualize and embody love in Gĩkũyũ. Further, foodsemic
metaphors provide a way of understanding the nexus between gender and love in Gĩkũyũ.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Theoretical issues
- 3.Methodology
- 4.Findings and discussion
- 5.Conclusion
-
References
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