Chapter 3
Analogy in action
Space-time, perspectival frames, cultural models
Analogy as structural similarity is assumed to play a fundamental role in human cognition. This study is
concerned with analogies between spatiotemporal orientation, linguistically-coded perspectival frames, and cultural
experience. Two major types of orientational frames, and thus of cultural perspectival frames, are postulated:
egocentric and allocentric. Those, however, may also be combined into complex hybrid configurations. A case study of a
sample of press discourse is offered, where the egocentric, allocentric, and hybrid perspectival frames are shown to
be interwoven. Ultimately, it is hypothesised that the frames can be extrapolated onto the level of conventionalised,
communal perspectives, i.e. cultural models. Analogy is thus shown to be a powerful, robust cognitive mechanism
operating across a variety of domains.
Article outline
- 1.Analogy: Definition and background
- 2.From orientation in space-time to linguistically coded conceptualisation
- 2.1Space-time = conceptualisation analogy in Vantage Theory
- 2.2Perspectives in linguistically-coded spatial orientation
- 3.Egocentric vs. allocentric perspectives
- 4.Cultural models and individual minds
- 5.Case study: migrant/immigrant in press discourse
- 6.Conclusions and challenges
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Notes
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References