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Chapter 9. The role of Persian proverbs in framing Iran’s nuclear program

A cognitive linguistic approach
  • Mohsen Bakhtiar
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Proverbs within Cognitive Linguistics
This chapter is in the book Proverbs within Cognitive Linguistics

Abstract

This chapter explores how Persian proverbial metaphors are used in discourse to frame Iran’s nuclear program. To that end, contextual uses of a sample of Persian proverbs were analysed in terms of Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The results demonstrate that proverbs’ scope of operation goes way beyond their conventional functions. They are used to propagate pessimism, express sarcasm, make accusations, threaten and humiliate the rival camp, fabricate a new political reality, and manipulate the content and courses of action. The research also finds that proverbs are apt tools for framing complex socio-political issues, as they encapsulate a bundle of integrated figurative conceptualisations, providing users with ready-to-use conceptual slots to apply to complex scenarios with multiple roles and relations. Finally yet importantly, the research shows that the analysis of proverbs in discourse context provides a more comprehensive view of proverbs by completing the chain of association between the specific-level schema, generic-level schema and the immediate context of use.

Abstract

This chapter explores how Persian proverbial metaphors are used in discourse to frame Iran’s nuclear program. To that end, contextual uses of a sample of Persian proverbs were analysed in terms of Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The results demonstrate that proverbs’ scope of operation goes way beyond their conventional functions. They are used to propagate pessimism, express sarcasm, make accusations, threaten and humiliate the rival camp, fabricate a new political reality, and manipulate the content and courses of action. The research also finds that proverbs are apt tools for framing complex socio-political issues, as they encapsulate a bundle of integrated figurative conceptualisations, providing users with ready-to-use conceptual slots to apply to complex scenarios with multiple roles and relations. Finally yet importantly, the research shows that the analysis of proverbs in discourse context provides a more comprehensive view of proverbs by completing the chain of association between the specific-level schema, generic-level schema and the immediate context of use.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Dedication v
  3. Table of contents vii
  4. Editor and contributors ix
  5. Acknowledgements xiii
  6. List of tables and figures xv
  7. Introduction 1
  8. Part I. Theoretical discussions of proverbs in cognition and culture
  9. Chapter 1. Proverbs in Extended Conceptual Metaphor Theory 26
  10. Chapter 2. Metonymic layers in proverbs 40
  11. Chapter 3. Contradiction in proverbs 65
  12. Part II. A cognitive-cross-cultural linguistic approach on proverbs
  13. Chapter 4. Metaphors of love before and after marriage in proverbs and anti-proverbs 88
  14. Chapter 5. Proverbs of Latin and French origin in the history of English 112
  15. Chapter 6. Cognitive Linguistics and expressing/interpreting proverbs in a second language 132
  16. Part III. Cognitive categories in the proverbs of individual languages and cultures
  17. Chapter 7. Emotion in Greek proverbs 174
  18. Chapter 8. Living is movement 202
  19. Chapter 9. The role of Persian proverbs in framing Iran’s nuclear program 230
  20. Part IV. Proverbs and related phenomena in a cultural-cognitive linguistic framework
  21. Chapter 10. The only good snowclone is a dead snowclone 260
  22. Chapter 11. A cultural linguistic study of embodied Hungarian proverbs representing facial hair 298
  23. Chapter 12. “We are in the same storm, not in the same boat” 328
  24. Index 349
https://doi.org/10.1075/clscc.16.09bak

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Dedication v
  3. Table of contents vii
  4. Editor and contributors ix
  5. Acknowledgements xiii
  6. List of tables and figures xv
  7. Introduction 1
  8. Part I. Theoretical discussions of proverbs in cognition and culture
  9. Chapter 1. Proverbs in Extended Conceptual Metaphor Theory 26
  10. Chapter 2. Metonymic layers in proverbs 40
  11. Chapter 3. Contradiction in proverbs 65
  12. Part II. A cognitive-cross-cultural linguistic approach on proverbs
  13. Chapter 4. Metaphors of love before and after marriage in proverbs and anti-proverbs 88
  14. Chapter 5. Proverbs of Latin and French origin in the history of English 112
  15. Chapter 6. Cognitive Linguistics and expressing/interpreting proverbs in a second language 132
  16. Part III. Cognitive categories in the proverbs of individual languages and cultures
  17. Chapter 7. Emotion in Greek proverbs 174
  18. Chapter 8. Living is movement 202
  19. Chapter 9. The role of Persian proverbs in framing Iran’s nuclear program 230
  20. Part IV. Proverbs and related phenomena in a cultural-cognitive linguistic framework
  21. Chapter 10. The only good snowclone is a dead snowclone 260
  22. Chapter 11. A cultural linguistic study of embodied Hungarian proverbs representing facial hair 298
  23. Chapter 12. “We are in the same storm, not in the same boat” 328
  24. Index 349
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