Chapter 7. The hand in figurative thought and language
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Ad Foolen
Abstract
The hand is a rich source of figurative language. The paper claims that this richness has to do with the central role of the hand in human active involvement in the world. This claim fits recent developments in phenomenological philosophy, according to which cognition is based on enactive embodiment. The empirical part of the paper uses examples from Dutch and other languages, both on the lexical and the phraseological level. It turns out that most figurative uses of the words for ‘hand’ are of the metonymic type. Special attention is given to the target domain of numerals. Finally, it is shown that laterality plays a role: The right hand is used in figurative expressions with a positive connotation, whereas the left hand leads to expressions with a negative connotation.
Abstract
The hand is a rich source of figurative language. The paper claims that this richness has to do with the central role of the hand in human active involvement in the world. This claim fits recent developments in phenomenological philosophy, according to which cognition is based on enactive embodiment. The empirical part of the paper uses examples from Dutch and other languages, both on the lexical and the phraseological level. It turns out that most figurative uses of the words for ‘hand’ are of the metonymic type. Special attention is given to the target domain of numerals. Finally, it is shown that laterality plays a role: The right hand is used in figurative expressions with a positive connotation, whereas the left hand leads to expressions with a negative connotation.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editor and contributors vii
- Foreword ix
- Introduction. Figurative thought, figurative language, figurative grammar? 1
-
Part I. Figuration and grammar
- Chapter 1. Exploiting wh -questions for expressive purposes 17
- Chapter 2. Construing and constructing hyperbole 41
- Chapter 3. How to do things with metonymy in discourse 75
- Chapter 4. Cognitive motivation in the linguistic realization of requests in Modern Greek 105
- Chapter 5. How metonymy and grammar interact 125
- Chapter 6. If -clauses and their figurative basis 151
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Part II. Figuration and the lexicon
- Chapter 7. The hand in figurative thought and language 179
- Chapter 8. Shakespeare on the shelf, Blue Helmets on the move 199
- Chapter 9. Metaphor, conceptual archetypes and subjectification 231
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Part III. Figuration from a cultural-anthropological and psycholinguistic perspective
- Chapter 10. Metaphor and metonymy as fanciful “asymmetry” builders 253
- Chapter 11. Pragmatic effects in blended figures 273
- Chapter 12. The psychological reality of spatio-temporal metaphors 295
- Name index 323
- Subject index 325
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editor and contributors vii
- Foreword ix
- Introduction. Figurative thought, figurative language, figurative grammar? 1
-
Part I. Figuration and grammar
- Chapter 1. Exploiting wh -questions for expressive purposes 17
- Chapter 2. Construing and constructing hyperbole 41
- Chapter 3. How to do things with metonymy in discourse 75
- Chapter 4. Cognitive motivation in the linguistic realization of requests in Modern Greek 105
- Chapter 5. How metonymy and grammar interact 125
- Chapter 6. If -clauses and their figurative basis 151
-
Part II. Figuration and the lexicon
- Chapter 7. The hand in figurative thought and language 179
- Chapter 8. Shakespeare on the shelf, Blue Helmets on the move 199
- Chapter 9. Metaphor, conceptual archetypes and subjectification 231
-
Part III. Figuration from a cultural-anthropological and psycholinguistic perspective
- Chapter 10. Metaphor and metonymy as fanciful “asymmetry” builders 253
- Chapter 11. Pragmatic effects in blended figures 273
- Chapter 12. The psychological reality of spatio-temporal metaphors 295
- Name index 323
- Subject index 325
