8. A Cognitive Linguistics approach to menstruation as a taboo in Gĩkũyũ
-
Moses Gatambuki Gathigia
Abstract
The taboos concerning bodily effluvia are generally motivated by our distaste and concern about pollution. Menstruation, for example, one of the bodily effluvia, is a physiological characteristic of the female human experience. However, cultural and social factors influence the way people conceptualize menstruation and, therefore, the meaning of menstruation may differ across different cultures. It is against this background that the chapter is anchored. Since the sanctioning of taboo does not originate in the object itself, but in society (Bobel and Kissling 2011), the study identifies the metaphors of menstruation in Gĩkũyũ and interprets them using the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT). To achieve this objective, a purposive sample of 60 speakers of Gĩkũyũ was interviewed. The study collected 29 metaphors of menstruation in Gĩkũyũ. The study also identified four conceptual metaphors of menstruation in Gĩkũyũ: menstruation is a period; menstruation is a visitor; menstruation is an indisposition; menstruation is a colour; and menstruation is a valuable possession. The study concludes that metaphor is an integral component of the way people conceptualize and embody menstruation in Gĩkũyũ.
Abstract
The taboos concerning bodily effluvia are generally motivated by our distaste and concern about pollution. Menstruation, for example, one of the bodily effluvia, is a physiological characteristic of the female human experience. However, cultural and social factors influence the way people conceptualize menstruation and, therefore, the meaning of menstruation may differ across different cultures. It is against this background that the chapter is anchored. Since the sanctioning of taboo does not originate in the object itself, but in society (Bobel and Kissling 2011), the study identifies the metaphors of menstruation in Gĩkũyũ and interprets them using the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT). To achieve this objective, a purposive sample of 60 speakers of Gĩkũyũ was interviewed. The study collected 29 metaphors of menstruation in Gĩkũyũ. The study also identified four conceptual metaphors of menstruation in Gĩkũyũ: menstruation is a period; menstruation is a visitor; menstruation is an indisposition; menstruation is a colour; and menstruation is a valuable possession. The study concludes that metaphor is an integral component of the way people conceptualize and embody menstruation in Gĩkũyũ.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Foreword V
- Table of contents IX
- List of contributing Authors XI
- Introduction 1
- 1. Lexicon, discourse and cognition: terminological delimitations in the conceptualizations of linguistic taboo 13
-
Part I: Construal
- 2. The axiological and communicative potential of homosexual-related metaphors 35
- 3. Metonymy-based euphemisms in war-related speeches by George W. Bush and Barack Obama 55
- 4. Ambiguity and vagueness as cognitive tools for euphemistic and politically correct speech 79
-
Part II: Cultural Conceptualization
- 5. Old age revolution in Australian English: Rethinking a taboo concept 99
- 6. Taboo subjects as insult intensifiers in Egyptian Arabic 117
- 7. Emotion concepts in context: Figurative conceptualizations of hayâ ‘self-restraint’ in Persian 141
- 8. A Cognitive Linguistics approach to menstruation as a taboo in Gĩkũyũ 161
- 9. The socio-cognitive aspects of taboo in two cultures: A case study on Polish and British English 179
- 10. The influence of conceptual differences on processing taboo metaphors in the foreign language 201
-
Part III: Cognitive Sociolinguistics
- 11. Why do the Dutch swear with diseases? 225
- 12. Calling things by their name: Exploring the social meanings in the preference for sexual (in)direct construals 245
- 13. The perception of the expression of taboos: a sociolinguistic study 269
-
Part IV: Interdisciplinary Approaches
- 14. Scrupulosity, sexual ruminations and cleaning in Obsessive – Compulsive Disorder 293
- 15. Swearing as emotion acts 311
- Index 329
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Foreword V
- Table of contents IX
- List of contributing Authors XI
- Introduction 1
- 1. Lexicon, discourse and cognition: terminological delimitations in the conceptualizations of linguistic taboo 13
-
Part I: Construal
- 2. The axiological and communicative potential of homosexual-related metaphors 35
- 3. Metonymy-based euphemisms in war-related speeches by George W. Bush and Barack Obama 55
- 4. Ambiguity and vagueness as cognitive tools for euphemistic and politically correct speech 79
-
Part II: Cultural Conceptualization
- 5. Old age revolution in Australian English: Rethinking a taboo concept 99
- 6. Taboo subjects as insult intensifiers in Egyptian Arabic 117
- 7. Emotion concepts in context: Figurative conceptualizations of hayâ ‘self-restraint’ in Persian 141
- 8. A Cognitive Linguistics approach to menstruation as a taboo in Gĩkũyũ 161
- 9. The socio-cognitive aspects of taboo in two cultures: A case study on Polish and British English 179
- 10. The influence of conceptual differences on processing taboo metaphors in the foreign language 201
-
Part III: Cognitive Sociolinguistics
- 11. Why do the Dutch swear with diseases? 225
- 12. Calling things by their name: Exploring the social meanings in the preference for sexual (in)direct construals 245
- 13. The perception of the expression of taboos: a sociolinguistic study 269
-
Part IV: Interdisciplinary Approaches
- 14. Scrupulosity, sexual ruminations and cleaning in Obsessive – Compulsive Disorder 293
- 15. Swearing as emotion acts 311
- Index 329
