Euphemistic conceptual metaphors in epitaphs from Highgate Cemetery
-
Eliecer Crespo-Fernández
Abstract
Death is a timeless taboo in which psychological, religious and social interdictions coexist. In consequence, human beings feel reluctant to deal with the subject of death using straightforward terms and therefore tend to soften the effect of what they really wish to communicate. With this in mind, it is the aim of this paper to explore the euphemistic language on a sample of epitaphs from the Eastern Highgate Cemetery in London. As figurative language constitutes a potent source for death-related euphemism, the present study proceeds to trace an account of the different conceptual metaphors in epitaphs within the framework of Lakoff and Johnson’s Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The results obtained support the idea that most of the conceptualizations of death observed in the gravestones imply a positive value-judgment of human mortality and aim at assisting those left alive in coping with the pain of loss and the fear of dying.
Abstract
Death is a timeless taboo in which psychological, religious and social interdictions coexist. In consequence, human beings feel reluctant to deal with the subject of death using straightforward terms and therefore tend to soften the effect of what they really wish to communicate. With this in mind, it is the aim of this paper to explore the euphemistic language on a sample of epitaphs from the Eastern Highgate Cemetery in London. As figurative language constitutes a potent source for death-related euphemism, the present study proceeds to trace an account of the different conceptual metaphors in epitaphs within the framework of Lakoff and Johnson’s Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The results obtained support the idea that most of the conceptualizations of death observed in the gravestones imply a positive value-judgment of human mortality and aim at assisting those left alive in coping with the pain of loss and the fear of dying.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction to the Volume 1
-
The contemporary theory of metaphor: Revisions and recent developments
- Recent developments in metaphor theory 11
- The contemporary theory of metaphor — now new and improved! 27
- Awareness in metaphor understanding 67
- Productivity of Spanish verb–noun compounds 85
-
Metaphor and/or metonymy across different discourse/genre types
- Motion metaphors in discourse construction 109
- The adaptation of metaphors across genres 133
- Multimodal metonymy and metaphor as complex discourse resources for creativity in ICT advertising discourse 157
- How patent can patents be? 183
- Euphemistic conceptual metaphors in epitaphs from Highgate Cemetery 201
-
The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor: Current Applications
- Cognitive Semantic ways of teaching figurative phrases 229
- Translation Studies and the cognitive theory of metaphor 265
- Distinguishing near-synonyms and translation equivalents in metaphorical terms 283
- Subject index 317
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction to the Volume 1
-
The contemporary theory of metaphor: Revisions and recent developments
- Recent developments in metaphor theory 11
- The contemporary theory of metaphor — now new and improved! 27
- Awareness in metaphor understanding 67
- Productivity of Spanish verb–noun compounds 85
-
Metaphor and/or metonymy across different discourse/genre types
- Motion metaphors in discourse construction 109
- The adaptation of metaphors across genres 133
- Multimodal metonymy and metaphor as complex discourse resources for creativity in ICT advertising discourse 157
- How patent can patents be? 183
- Euphemistic conceptual metaphors in epitaphs from Highgate Cemetery 201
-
The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor: Current Applications
- Cognitive Semantic ways of teaching figurative phrases 229
- Translation Studies and the cognitive theory of metaphor 265
- Distinguishing near-synonyms and translation equivalents in metaphorical terms 283
- Subject index 317
