Matn/Pizhūhī-i Adabī (Dec 2023)
A Comparative Study of Orientational Conceptual Metaphors in Novels Shohar-e Ahoo Khanoom by Afghani and Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro
Abstract
Cognitive linguistics considers linguistic knowledge as dependent on thought and cognition and introduces conceptual metaphor as a tool for how to think and linguistic behaviors. By examining it, similarities and differences of cultures can be obtained. Orientational metaphor is a form of conceptual metaphor in which abstract concepts are oriented in language. In directional metaphor, a whole system of concepts is organized in relation to another system, and since they are related to spatial directions such as up, down, inside, and outside, they are called directional metaphors. These metaphors are rooted in the physical and cultural experience of humans, and although the polar opposites of high and low and their components are considered physical in nature, the directional metaphors based on them are made, and they can be different from culture to culture. Accordingly, in the present study, this metaphor has been studied and compared in two novels, “Shohar-e Ahoo Khanoom” by Afghani and “Never Let Me Go” by Ishiguro, through the descriptive-analytical method. For this purpose, research data were extracted with 36 orientational conceptual metaphors (16 cases of Afghani and 20 cases of Ishiguro). and their differences and similarities in the fields of the source domain and their mapping were investigated. The results showed that the similarities between the conceptual metaphors based on human understanding of the category of direction in the two languages are greater than the differences. In general, it shows that the two authors pay the same attention to this metaphor. By considering the little metaphorical differences between the two languages, we conclude that although both authors have used a single cultural model to produce a metaphor of orientation, cultural and geographical differences produce different mappings.Keywords: Cognitive Linguistics, Conceptual Metaphor, Orientational Metaphor, Ali Mohammad Afghani, Kazuo Ishiguro. IntroductionIn an orientational conceptual metaphor, a system of ideas is organized in the relation to and interaction in space, like up-down, inside-out, front-behind, shallow-deep, etc. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) called this group the orientational metaphor because they are related to the orientation of space. In this article, the directional metaphors in Ali Mohammad Afghani's (born in 1303) novel "Shohar-e Ahoo Khanoom" and "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro (born in 1954), an English writer of Japanese origin, are examined. The present article aims to take a deep look at two works by Iranian and English authors and, by applying linguistic perspectives, first introduces the types of conceptual metaphors and mentions evidence from both novels, then examines and compares directional metaphors in the two works. Methodology and Literature ReviewIn this research, based on the library method, two novels, "Shohare Ahoo Khanoom" by Ali Mohammad Afghani and "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro, were studied.Then, based on the descriptive-analytical method, the desired works were examined and compared in terms of directional conceptual metaphors. In this research, conceptual metaphor and its types, including structural metaphor, orientational metaphor, and ontological metaphor, were examined and analyzed. In this way, initially, 36 cases of orientational metaphor were extracted from the works of the above two authors, in all of which the concept of orientational metaphor was used. From this collection, 16 cases were related to Afghani, and 20 cases were related to Ishiguro, and then the most common areas of destination were identified for conceptualization, and after comparing the name mappings in the two languages, possible similarities and differences were identified. ConclusionThe study of Orientational metaphors showed that metaphors are widely used in the language beyond their traditional use, and by considering them and the indirect meanings of linguistic expressions, a deep understanding of novels can be achieved. The present study was conducted to investigate and compare the Orientational conceptual metaphor in two works by Afghani and Ishiguro.After collecting and counting the evidence, a total of 36 cases of orientational metaphors in the form of 7 noun maps were selected for review. The results obtained from this review showed a general similarity in the use of orientational metaphors in the works of the two authors, and the difference between them was very small in maps. From the number of 36 modes extracted, 16 cases of orientational metaphors from Afghani "Shohar-e Ahoo Khanoom" are found in contrast to 20 cases of orientational metaphors from Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, which, in general, shows that the two authors pay the same attention to this metaphor.As expected, all the examined items in the English language have Persian representation, and no noun mapping was seen in the English language, which lacks linguistic representation in the Persian language. Examining the metaphorical evidence shows that the slight difference in the mappings in the construction of conceptual metaphors in both English and Persian languages confirms the influence of culture and environment on the construction of conceptual metaphors.
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