HEART metaphors in economic discourse corpora: conceptual evidence and translation insight

Abstract

AbstractDeeply rooted in human cognition, metaphors have always intrigued researchers to examine what motivates them across different cultures. This paper attempts to investigate how HEART metaphors are generated and used in Arabic and English within economic discourses in light of conceptual metaphor theory. Drawing evidence from economic discourse exclusively, the study at hand targets instances of figurative language outside the realm of creative writing and literature. Utilizing discourse analysis as its primary method, it combines theoretical veins from cognitive linguistics and cognitive translation hypothesis with digitalized techniques using SketchEngine, a corpus processing software package, to highlight patterns of universality and cultural situatedness. A sample of 562 metaphorical contexts (252 from Arabic and 310 from English) were selected and analyzed discursively. Results indicated the prominence of three major target domains, CENTRAL POSITION, AFFECTION, and VITALITY, which were quite universal and similar in both languages. Another three subordinate target domains were identified: UNITY/SOLIDARITY, COGNITIVE ABILITY, and DEPTH/ESSENCE revealing more linguistic and cultural variations than the major ones. Both major and subordinate target domains proved to have similar mapping conditions in terms of their cognitive translation load. Nevertheless, while the major target domains were quite straightforward in such mapping, some subordinate ones were realized differently on a lexical level. These findings are further discussed in terms of their wider ideological and cultural contexts as well as the constructionist take on discourse. Some translation implications are presented accordingly.

Keywords

• Cognitive linguistics
• conceptual metaphor theory
• cognitive translation hypothesis
• corpus linguistics
• heart metaphors
• SketchEngine