Applications of visual and linguistic metaphor
Viewpoint and metaphor in culture
A Cognitive Linguistic analysis on a selection of Chinese eulogistic idioms used in Taiwan
The paper presents an in-depth analysis of the language of death in Chinese and discusses the relation between
language and occupation as a social factor in analyzing the language of death. In this paper, I address in what specific ways
Cognitive Linguistics may serve as a useful analytical framework in studying Chinese idioms used in funerals, in an attempt to
uncover cultural elements and viewpoint structure in communicating death. The study introduces basic constructs in Cognitive
Linguistics which could be used for such an analysis, and applies this CL machinery to analyzing three selected groups of
four-character eulogistic idioms used at funerals in Taiwan. The analysis shows that, in addition to Conceptual Metaphor Theory,
which has been considered the classic CL tool for studying abstract concepts like death, the subjectivity/objectivity distinction
in Cognitive Grammar may also be employed as a complementary and useful theoretical construct in studying the language of death,
as it helps identify the special characteristics of the eulogistic idioms for teachers as a special profession in the Chinese
culture.
Article outline
- 1.Language of death as a cultural product
- 2.Metaphor and viewpoint in discourse
- 3.Previous studies of the cultural conceptualization of death and Chinese funeral discourse
- 4.Data and method
- 5.Mandarin eulogistic idioms for teachers, media workers and legal experts
- 5.1Ritual idioms used in funerals of teachers (師長喪)
- 5.2Ritual idioms used in funerals of media workers (媒體喪)
- 5.3Ritual idioms used in funerals of legal experts (法界喪)
- 6.When the mourner becomes the object of conceptualization
- 7.Culture in discourse and vice versa: What Cognitive Linguistics can reveal about occupations in society
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
-
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Cited by (1)
Cited by 1 other publications
Chen, Yi-Zhong & Te-Hsin Liu
2024.
Metaphorical Mapping and Cultural Significance in Chinese Death-Related Idiomatic Expressions.
Metaphor and Symbol 39:3
► pp. 149 ff.
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