Polysemic chains, body parts and embodiment
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Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk
Abstract
The paper focuses on the phenomenon of embodiment via the perspective of meaning approximation, and re-conceptualization in terms of body-part polysemic chains of conceptualization via dynamically constructed categories. In the first part the analysis focuses primarily on the processes in which body part conceptualizations act as special reference points at relevant mental elaboration sites for broader meaning phenomena. The interpretation is further elaborated on with reference to culturally rich image schemas, emerging as a consequence of their dynamic repeatedness. In the second part the concept of embodiment is taken up, the discussion leading to a thesis which assumes the status of lexical meanings as stimulators and instructions to build mental models of objects and events. The framework adopted for the analysis presents examples of body parts from English, Polish and occasionally from other languages and combines interdisciplinary methodological instruments: Cognitive Linguistic construal and conceptualizations, cultural schemas and models, and relevant corpus linguistic tools (monolingual and parallel).
Abstract
The paper focuses on the phenomenon of embodiment via the perspective of meaning approximation, and re-conceptualization in terms of body-part polysemic chains of conceptualization via dynamically constructed categories. In the first part the analysis focuses primarily on the processes in which body part conceptualizations act as special reference points at relevant mental elaboration sites for broader meaning phenomena. The interpretation is further elaborated on with reference to culturally rich image schemas, emerging as a consequence of their dynamic repeatedness. In the second part the concept of embodiment is taken up, the discussion leading to a thesis which assumes the status of lexical meanings as stimulators and instructions to build mental models of objects and events. The framework adopted for the analysis presents examples of body parts from English, Polish and occasionally from other languages and combines interdisciplinary methodological instruments: Cognitive Linguistic construal and conceptualizations, cultural schemas and models, and relevant corpus linguistic tools (monolingual and parallel).
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
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Part 1. General and Contrastive Studies
- Linguistic embodiment in linguistic experience 11
- Polysemic chains, body parts and embodiment 31
- Body-part terms as a linguistic topic and the relevance of body-parts as tools 53
- Towards a semantic lexicon of body part terms 77
- Body part terms in musical discourse 99
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Part 2. Grammaticalization Studies
- ‘Body’ and the relationship between verb and participants 117
- On the grammatical uses of the ‘head’ in Wolof 133
- Multifaceted body parts in Murui 169
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Part 3. Lexical Case Studies
- The metonymic folk model of language in Turkish 195
- Keeping an eye on body parts 215
- The conceptualization of ido ‘eye’ in Hausa 247
- Conceptualisations of entrails in English and Polish 269
- Cultural conceptualisations of nawsk ‘belly/stomach’ in Kurdish 291
- Index 309
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part 1. General and Contrastive Studies
- Linguistic embodiment in linguistic experience 11
- Polysemic chains, body parts and embodiment 31
- Body-part terms as a linguistic topic and the relevance of body-parts as tools 53
- Towards a semantic lexicon of body part terms 77
- Body part terms in musical discourse 99
-
Part 2. Grammaticalization Studies
- ‘Body’ and the relationship between verb and participants 117
- On the grammatical uses of the ‘head’ in Wolof 133
- Multifaceted body parts in Murui 169
-
Part 3. Lexical Case Studies
- The metonymic folk model of language in Turkish 195
- Keeping an eye on body parts 215
- The conceptualization of ido ‘eye’ in Hausa 247
- Conceptualisations of entrails in English and Polish 269
- Cultural conceptualisations of nawsk ‘belly/stomach’ in Kurdish 291
- Index 309
