MIND-AS-BODY Metaphor in Igbo

Mbanefo Chukwuogor

Abstract


Polysemy and metaphor have been discussed by many linguists. It is generally agreed that polysemy arises from a general cognitive ability humans possess. Metaphor is seen as general and basic to humans in both thought and language. Uwalaka (1988) mentions the verbs of perception in Igbo with a focus on the argument structure and semantic roles associated with this class of verbs. However, no mention is made about the polysemous nature of this special class of verbs, as well as the cognitive basis for this phenomenon. Following the ways of semantic extension in English perception verbs in Sweetser (1990) and Ibarretxe-Antuñano (1999, 2002, 2008), this paper treats perception verbs in Igbo with a focus on two things. First, to find out the range of metaphorical extensions associated with these verbs in Igbo, and to establish the extent to which the language data supports the claim that these metaphorical mappings are cross-linguistic. Finally, it is observed that the MIND-AS-BODY metaphor is not only productive in Igbo, it also follows the pattern attested in the literature.


Keywords


Igbo; Polysemy; Metaphor; Perception; Cognitive

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/12635

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