Publications

Publication details [#596]

Theodoropoulou, Maria. 2012. Metaphor-metonymies of joy and happiness in Greek: Towards an interdisciplinary perspective. Review of Cognitive Linguistics 10 (1) : 156–183. 28 pp.
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
English
Place, Publisher
Amsterdam: John Benjamins

Abstract

This article reports on a case study examining Greek idiomatic expressions of joy and happiness that reflect the metonymy THE PHYSIOLOGICAL (OR BEHAVIORAL ) REACTION STANDS FOR THE EMOTION. Focus is placed on the grounding of these emotion concepts in order to examine their experiential elements. It is pointed out that the knowledge we have about an emotional experience is only one part of it and that emotion and cognition are of distinct and separate natures. What we can examine in language is how their interaction is reflected. Results show that the biological body is closely connected to its psychological side and that the metonymic reactions reflect the active interaction between biology (the body), psychology and cognition. An interdisciplinary approach to dealing with emotion concepts in language is advocated in order to better understand the relationship between body, emotion and language, and to be able to address some of the criticism that has been put forward as regards equating emotion with cognition.