Liudmila Arcimavičienė

Transcription

1 170 Liudmila Arcimavičienė Institute of Foreign Languages Vilnius University Universiteto g. 5, LT Vilnius, Lietuva Tel Research interests: political discourse, metaphor theories, cognitive linguistics, anthropology, political philosophy COGNITIVE APPROACH TO LANGUAGE TEACHING. CULTURAL REALITY THROUGH METAPHOR: A CASE STUDY OF BIRTHDAY WISHES This paper aims at highlighting the importance of cognitive approach in language teaching. In its view, language is perceived as a cognitive faculty, the analysis of which allows one to identify social and cultural models governing a specific speech community. The material of the present study consists of birthday poems in English and Lithuanian extracted from the following websites: (1) and (2) The method applied to investigate the collected data is that of qualitative analysis in the theoretical framework of cognitive linguistics (Boroditsky 2000; Kövesces 2005; Lakoff and Johnson 1999, Lakoff 2002; Palmer 2009 etc.) The principal argument of cognitive linguistics supports the claim of metaphor centrality in cultural development. The language of birthday wishes was analysed in terms of metaphorical linguistic expressions, which were located and classified according to their representative SOURCE domains. This method can be applied as a subsidiary means in language studies, as it helps to enrich both learners vocabulary and their understanding of culture. KEY WORDS: cognitive approach, conceptual metaphor, metaphorical linguistic expressions, birthday wishes. 1. Introduction Historically the word cognition derives from Latin cognitiō referring to an action of faculty of knowledge (CDET 1996). In modern terms, its use is associated with the movement of cognitivism or so-called cognitive approach to various academic disciplines such as philosophy, linguistics, psychology, language teaching, neuroscience etc. The cognitive approach is based on the assumption that knowledge acquired by people has experiential, social and cultural bases (Lakoff and Johnson 1999, pp ). Thus, knowledge or cognition cannot be separated from the speakers who share it by conflating their bodily, social and cultural experiences. Although such cognitive perspective has been initiated in the times of Ancient Greece, it has been particularly emphasized by the British associanistic philosophers (James 2005, pp ). British associanistic philosophers, generally known as empiricists, believed that human experiences throughout life are critical in forming mental associations that define and structure beliefs and under-

2 SPRENDIMAI L. Arcimavičienė. COGNITIVE APPROACH TO LANGUAGE TEACHING standings of life (James 2005, p. 23). This assumption has been undertaken by the modern theories of psychology. Cognitive psychologists reject consequence-based explanations of behaviour. They rather believe that there are cognitive events involved in how organisms learn such things as information processing, mental representations, predictions and expectations (Blumenthal 2001, p. 63). In the view of cognitive science, the concept of cognitive events is referred to as human cognition or mind (Lakoff and Johnson 1999, pp ). According to cognitivists, human mind is closely intertwined with bodily experience (Lakoff and Johnson 1999, Johnson 1993, Boroditsky 2000, Boroditsky and Ramscar 2002). It is argued that human mind crucially depends on sensori-motor apparatus, which enables people to perceive, move and manipulate the environment. Thus, the interaction of human body and mind provides people with the mostly unconscious basis of their metaphysics or understanding of life (Lakoff and Johnson 1999, p. 112). This argument leads to several practical implications: first, the peculiar nature of human bodies shapes people s possibilities for conceptualization and categorization; second, concepts and categories established by people are reflections of social reality shaped by their bodily interactions. Both imply the metaphorical nature of human conceptualization, which is based on the conflated bodily and social experiences. Boroditsky and Ramscar s findings demonstrate that the representations that give rise to abstract thinking such as TIME, are directly related to the experience-based representations such as MOTION (2002). The argument of the conflated experiences and embodied mind is further developed and illustrated by the theory of conceptual metaphor in the theoretical framework of cognitive linguistics (Gibbs 1994, Lakoff and Johnson 1999, Kővecses 2005, Croft and Cruse 2004). The principal claim of the conceptual metaphor theory is that metaphors are conceptual structures which are normally realized linguistically (Croft and Cruse 2004, p. 196). Lakoff and Johnson use the formula TARGET DO- MAIN IS SOURCE DOMAIN to describe the metaphorical link between the domains (1980, pp ). A metaphor is therefore seen as a conceptual mapping between two conceptual domains. The correspondences between the domains are represented in the conceptual system, and fully conventionalized in a speech community (Lakoff 1993). Thus, the analysis of metaphor allows one to identify how various abstract concepts are conceptualised in various discourses. Most of them originate from physical experience; for example, the metaphor of CONSCIOUS IS UP/UNCONSCIOUS IS DOWN, is linguistically realized by such expressions as wake up and fall asleep. This metaphor is based on the experiential fact that humans and most other mammals sleep lying down and stand up when they are awaken (Lakoff and Johnson 1980, pp.15 19). The example of the metaphor based on cultural experiences is of LA- BOUR IS A (MATERIAL) RESOURCE. This metaphor arises from the fact people use material resources for various purposes; by virtue of those purposes, the resources have value; and the use of those resources requires labour. The present study aims at analysing metaphors of birthday wishes in English

3 172 II. faktai ir apmąstymai / fakty i rozważania and Lithuanian. The concept of birthday wishes involves the expression of desires or positive feelings towards the person celebrating his/her date of birth. As the conceptual domain of feelings and desires is abstract, it will appropriately be structured in terms of other less abstract or more specific domains of human experience. Thus, metaphors, which are used in birthday wishes, demonstrate the moral nature of desires and positive feelings intended towards another person on his/her birthday. 2. Research Aims and Methodology The aims of this study are twofold: first, to identify metaphorical expressions by which birthday wishes are linguistically structured in English and Lithuanian; second, to organize them into representative TARGET and SOURCE domains. The data for the study consists of 60 birthday poems extracted from the two following websites: and The reason for choosing these particular sources is their instant accessibility and the highest order of precedence in the Google query. To clarify, by entering the word combination birthday wishes in the Google search, the first internet link emerging in English Google database is while is instantly accessed in the Lithuanian Google database. Thus, both internet sources appear in the first position of the selective range of Google database management system. The methods of research have included contrastive and qualitative analysis in the theoretical framework of cognitive linguistics (Lakoff and Johnson 1999, Lakoff 1993, Kővecses 2005, Palmer 2006). The qualitative methodology refers to the analysis of the linguistic data in the following direction: text metaphorical linguistic expressions conceptual metaphor [TARGET DOMAIN IS SOURCE DO- MAIN] ontological and epistemic correspondences of the conceptual frame experiential basis [physical/social/cultural]. It should be noted that the metaphorical linguistic expressions are only illustrations of a SOURCE domain structuring the conceptual metaphor. As the conceptual metaphor occurs at the mental level, it is formulaic expression A IS B is capitalized, e.g. LIFE IS A JOURNEY, while metaphorical expressions are linguistic manifestations structuring the TARGET domain of LIFE in terms of JOURNEY as its SOURCE domain, i.e. having a head start in life, taking the road less travelled by, in the middle of life s road etc. Moreover, the mapping between source and target domains involves two sorts of correspondences, ontological and epistemic (Croft and Cruse 2004, p. 196). The ontological correspondences hold between the elements of the two domains. For example, in the metaphor ANGER IS HEAT OF A FLUID (Lakoff 1987, p. 387), the ontological mapping of the domain of heat is drawn onto the domain of anger, which leads to the following ontological correspondences: BODY IS A CONTAINER, ANGER IS HEAT OF A FLUID, EXPLO- SION IS LOSS OF CONTROL etc. While epistemic correspondences are correspondences between relations holding between elements in one domain and relations between elements in another domain, e.g. an explosion is damaging to container and dangerous to bystanders, similarly, loss of control is damaging to person and danger-

4 SPRENDIMAI L. Arcimavičienė. COGNITIVE APPROACH TO LANGUAGE TEACHING ous to others. Thus, the same conceptual metaphor might have different ontological and epistemic correspondences in different discourse communities, which might result in different cultural perceptions and understandings. 3. Research Findings The analysis of the collected birthday wishes/poems in Lithuanian and English shows that they are structured by metaphors with a different conceptual representation in terms of their ontological and epistemic correspondences, consider the following table below: Table 1: MOTION and VALUE as SOURCE DOMAINS in Lithuanian and English Birthday Wishes/Poems Lithuanian birthday wishes English birthday wishes SOURCE DOMAIN of MOTION LIFE IS A JOURNEY TIME IS MOTION LIFE IS A [CHALLENGING] JOURNEY TIME IS MOTION TIME IS A VALUE SOURCE DOMAIN of VALUE LIFE IS A VALUE HAPPINESS IS A COMMODITY LIFE IS A VALUE A BIRTHDAY PERSON IS A VALUE As shown in the table above, there are four TARGET domains LIFE, TIME, HAPPINESS and A BIRTHDAY PER- SON which are metaphorically framed in the Lithuanian and English birthday poems. In both languages, they are structured trough the similar SOURCE DOMAINS JOURNEY/MOTION and VALUE. Despite their similarity in ontological relations, metaphors have different epistemic representations, which will be discussed in greater detail in the sections below. 4. The SOURCE DOMAIN of MOTION The metaphor of MOTION is most widely spread across cultures. Its use verifies the embodiment hypothesis, which underlies the theoretical framework of cognitive linguistics (Johnson 1987). To be more precise, motion is a basic human experience throughout human life. By moving people fulfil their basic and supplementary needs; hence, in most cultures people perceive life as a process of moving, more precisely as a journey. Thus, the metaphor LIFE IS A JOURNEY has been found in both English and Lithuanian birthday wishes. Consider the following examples found in the Lithuanian birthday poems, as below: (1) Linkime ugnies, kur širdyje rusena, kad niekad neužgestų gyvenimo kely! (2) Kažkur nusineša metus, nekviesdamas sustoti ir palinkėdamas tik vieną kelią į gyvenimą. The concept of LIFE is ontologically structured through the general concept of MOTION, by thus highlighting the epistemic element of moving along a path. Moreover, the choice of a single path is associated with a morally right choice a birthday person is wished to make. By comparison, in English the epistemic correspondence between LIFE and MO- TION domains is based on the concepts of CHALLENGE and PURPOSE. Thus, life is perceived as challenging and meaningful, as in the examples below: (3) Your birthday is a time for careful reflection about your life, and its future direction. (4) You wonder, what is coming, what life has in store; will there be a new door?

5 174 II. faktai ir apmąstymai / fakty i rozważania (5) Remember this, as you blow out the last candle; life holds no challenge that you cannot handle. The epistemic correspondence between the future and a challenging purposeful journey implies that in English discourse community a meaningful and fulfilling life is associated with new prospects and new challenges. By contrast, in Lithuanian birthday wishes the epistemic correspondence between meaningful life and moral balance or restitution is sustained. In other words, a person celebrating one s birthday is reminded that life is based on the principle of moral balance and sake, as in the utterances below: (6) Gerbk save, bet nepervertink. Neužsidaryk savo kiaute vienašališkai. (7) Šypsokis gyvenimui, ir jis atsilygins tuo pačiu. In other words, the concept of a happy life is based in the concepts of balance and sake. By managing to sustain balance in his/her life, a person could live a happy and content life. In addition, the concept of a happy life is also developed by the metaphors of HAPPINESS IS LIGHT and AFFECTION IS WARMTH. The most frequent wishes in Lithuanian birthday poems are associated with the concepts of light and warmth, cf. statements below: (8) Tegul šviečia vien laimė pasauly. Tegul būna be galo šviesu. (9) Tad leiskit palinkėti gėrio, šilumos. Thus, the concept of goodness or happiness is associated with such physical experiences of well-being as light and warmth. The same ontological correspondence has been found in the English birthday poems. However, it should be noted that their epistemic relations are different. In Lithuanian, light and warmth are perceived as separate entities of happiness; by contrast, in English light and warmth are perceived through a birthday person. To be more precise, the birthday person is referred to as a medium for sharing light and warmth on his/her birthday, e.g.: (10) Every year is another year filled with joys you bring. (11) I am so glad you were born because you brighten my life and fill it with joy. Thus, the epistemic correspondence of the HAPPINESS metaphor in the English birthday wishes is more person-oriented, whereas in Lithuanian it is more of a generic kind and based on such moral values as the choice of a single path, balance and sake. By contrast, in English a birthday person is seen as a moral value. Another important MOTION metaphor structuring both English and Lithuanian birthday poems is that of TIME IS MO- TION. To be more precise, the concept of time is perceived as a moving object undergoing a certain distance in the course of human life. Consider the following examples of the TIME IS MOTION metaphor in Lithuanian and English as below: (12) Įsiklausyk Girdi, laikas eina, o su juo ir Tu žengi gyvenimo keliu. (13) Think about the memories passing years can never mar. Another year has come and gone. In both languages the epistemic correspondence is of a generic kind: time or passing years is perceived as a moving object along the route of life. However, what is observed is that this epistemic correspondence in English specifies the following conceptual relations: TIME IS A VALUE (14) and TIME IS A COMMOD- ITY (15), where the concept of time is perceived as the object which has a physical value thus can be numerically measured, cf. statements:

6 SPRENDIMAI L. Arcimavičienė. COGNITIVE APPROACH TO LANGUAGE TEACHING (14) I wish you another great year. (15) And may your good times multiply, till they are flying off the chart. The use of such metaphor has the following implication: time is perceived as a precious commodity which has a physical value; thus, by living longer, people multiply their capital. As a result, ageing is seen as a positive rather than negative process in human life. To summarize, the Lithuanian and English birthday wishes are structured through the use of such metaphors as LIFE IS MO- TION, LIFE IS A JOURNEY and TIME IS MOTION. Despite the same ontological correspondence, i.e. the concept of MO- TION is mapped on the conceptual domain of LIFE/TIME, the metaphor of MOTION has different epistemic correspondences. In Lithuanian, the epistemic relation is of a generic type, as life is generally perceived as motion or a journey accompanied by light and warmth. Similarly, the concept of time is also generally structured as a moving object. In English, the epistemic relation is more specified, as life is perceived as a purposeful journey full of challenges and new opportunities. Moreover, HAPPI- NESS IS LIGHT/WARMTH is directly associated with the person celebrating his/her birthday. Alongside, the concept of TIME is epistemically specified as a commodity, which has a physical value in people s life, thus ageing is perceived as a positive process in human life. 5. The SOURCE DOMAIN of VALUE Another important SOURCE domain structuring the conceptual network of the birthday wishes in Lithuanian and English is that of VALUE. Thus, the concepts of LIFE and HAPPINESS are perceived through the source domain of VALUE, which implies that both LIFE and HAP- PINESS are viewed as measurable entities having value of their own. Thus, both can be quantitatively measured, cf. utterances identified in the Lithuanian birthday wishes: (16) Gyvenimo prasmės ir laimės didelės pigiai nepažadėk, lengvai neatiduok. (17) Eik gyvenimo saulės sutikti, neški šypseną, laimę kartu. Tegul niekas nedrįsta sutrypti kas svajonėse buvo brangu. As seen from the examples above, the concept of happiness is structured through the source domain of commodity, which has a value. As a result, it is perceived as something which can be either carried or given away. The practical implication of this metaphor leads to the moral principle governing the philosophical doctrine of materialism: happiness is associated with various physical objects which can be physically obtained; thus, happiness becomes a physical commodity which can be owned. Thus, people by obtaining different products expect to feel happier. In parallel, by wishing happiness on birthday occasions, people associate it with different tangible objects such as gifts or other material objects. Interestingly, in the English data the concept of VALUE is mapped onto a birthday person. In other words, most of the birthday poems in English seem to be person-centred and person-oriented, as a birthday person is perceived in terms of the most valuable gift, as in the utterances below: (18) Your birthday deserves to be a national holiday because you are a special treasure for what you have done. (19) Every year, when you open birthday gifts, realize what a gift you are.

7 176 II. faktai ir apmąstymai / fakty i rozważania It can be argued that such an anthropocentric approach in birthday wishes has both positive and negative implications. The positive outcome might be that such attitude might inspire and motivate a birthday person, as one is valued thus loved. At the same time, the metaphor of A BIRTH- DAY PERSON IS A VALUE might lead to negative moral consequences. If a person is measured by the consequences of his/her actions and decisions, he/she feels obliged to fulfil the raised moral expectations, due to which his/her total value can be increased. To summarize, the source domain of VALUE structures such target domains as LIFE and HAPPINESS in both Lithuanian and English birthday poems. To be more precise, life and happiness are perceived as tangible objects, which have a physical value. Thus, both life and happiness are seen as entities, which can be measured. In addition, the English birthday poems contain the metaphor of A BIRTHDAY PER- SON IS A VALUE, which might have both positive and negative moral implications. 6. Conclusions 1. The present study verifies the hypothesis that similar source domains structuring the target domains of conceptual metaphors might have different epistemic correspondences. 2. In the analysed data it has been found that both Lithuanian and English birthday poems are perceived through similar TARGET domains such as LIFE, TIME and HAPPINESS. 3. Moreover, these TARGET domains are structured by the similar SOURCE domains in both languages, which results in the following metaphors: LIFE IS MOTION/JOURNEY, TIME IS MOTION/VALUE, HAPPINESS IS VALUE. However, the differences have been observed in the epistemic correspondences between the domains across languages. In Lithuanian the metaphor of LIFE IS A JOURNEY is of a generic kind, as only the epistemic relation of MOTION ALONG A SINGLE PATH is highlighted. Moreover, the epistemic relation of KEEPING BALANCE while moving is established. By contrast, in English the aspects of CHAL- LENGES and NEW PROSPECTS have been revealed. The concept of TIME is structured through the concept of MOTION in both languages. However, in English the concept of TIME also has the ontological correspondence of PHYSICAL VALUE, as resulted in the metaphor of TIME IS A VALUE. Such use demonstrates that time is seen as a commodity which has a measurable value, thus it has a price. The possible implication in the English birthday wishes is that by getting older people are assigned a greater value thus higher price. Moreover, this might imply that older people play a significant role in their community, and the process of ageing is perceived positively. Another SOURCE domain, structuring the concepts of life and happiness in Lithuanian and English, is that of VALUE, as reflected in the use of the metaphors LIFE IS A VALUE and HAPPINESS IS A VALUE. The analysis of the VALUE metaphors shows that life and happiness are seen as tangible objects or commodities, which leads to the following moral implication: if a happy life is seen as a tangible ob-

8 SPRENDIMAI L. Arcimavičienė. COGNITIVE APPROACH TO LANGUAGE TEACHING ject which has a value, then its surplus value can be achieved by obtaining and having more physical objects of desire. Thus, it is expected that possessed objects may guarantee a happy and emotionally fulfilling life. Finally, the VALUE metaphors in English do not epistemically correspond to their Lithuanian counterparts. The metaphor of A BIRTHDAY PERSON IS A VALUE has been found only in the English birthday poems, wherein a birthday person is associated with a valuable object of gift. Such use is of a dubious nature: on the one hand, 8. birthday people are celebrated on their value and significance in other people s lives; on the other hand, it refers to an increasing load of expectations to achieve more in life for celebrating his/her own value. Hence, by analysing birthday poems one can learn more about the members of a discourse community, and how they perceive such abstract concepts as LIFE, HAPPINESS and TIME. This study has shown that the English birthday wishes are more anthropocentric in their perspective than their Lithuanian counterparts. References BLUMENTHAL, A. L., The Operating Characteristics of Consciousness. New York: A Wundt Primer. BORODITSKY, L., Metaphoric Structuring: Understanding time through spatial metaphors. Cognition 75 (1), BORODITSKY, L., RAMSCAR, M., The Roles of Body and Mind in Abstract Thought. Psychological Science 13 (2), CDET The Concise Dictionary of English Etymology Oxford: Oxford University Press CROFT, W., CRUSE, D. A., Cognitive Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. GIBBS, R. W., The Poetics of Mind: figurative thought, language, and understanding. New York: Cambridge. HARRIS, J. A., Of Liberty and Necessity: The Free Will Debate in Eighteenth-Century British Philosophy. Oxford: Clarendon Press. JOHNSON, M., Moral Imagination: Implications of Cognitive Science for Ethics. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. KÖVECSES, Z., Metaphor in Culture: Universality and Variation. Cambridge: CUP. LAKOFF, G., JOHNSON, M., Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: Chicago University Press. LAKOFF, G., JOHNSON, M., Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought. New York: Basic Books. LAKOFF, G., Women, Fire and Dangerous Things: what categories reveal about the mind. Chicago: Chicago University Press. LAKOFF, G., The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor. Metaphor and Thought, In: Ortony, ed Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. PALMER, G., When does cognitive linguistics become cultural? Case studies in Tagalog voice and Shona noun classifiers. In: J. Luchjenbroers ed. Cognitive Linguistics Investigations: across languages, fields and philosophical boundaries 15. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, Data sources:

9 178 II. faktai ir apmąstymai / fakty i rozważania Liudmila Arcimavičienė Vilniaus universitetas, Lietuva Moksliniai interesai: politinis diskursas, metaforos teorija, kognityvioji lingvistika, antropologija, politinė filosofija Liudmila Arcimavičienė Uniwersytet Wileński, Litwa Zainteresowania naukowe: dyskurs polityczny, teorie metafory, lingwistyka kognitywna, antropologia, filozofia polityczna KOGNITYVINIS KALBOS MOKYMAS. SOCIALINĖS GIMTADIENIO SVEIKINIMŲ REALIJOS: METAFOROS ANALIZĖ Santrauka Šio straipsnio tikslas aprašyti kognityvinę metodologiją analizuojant gimtadienio sveikinimus lietuvių ir anglų kalba. Gimtadienio sveikinimai buvo renkami iš Interneto tinklalapių ir Sveikinimai analizuojami remiantis kognityviosios lingvistikos principais ir kokybinės analizės metodu (Lakoff, Johnson ; Kővecses 2004; Faconnier, Turner 1994; Plamer 2006, Boroditsky 2000), kurie leidžia atskleisti kalbiniuose pasakymuose glūdinčias konceptualiąsias metaforas. Nustatyta, kad turinio raiškos planą sudaro trys konceptualieji elementai: GYVENIMAS, LAIKAS ir LAIMĖ. Jų episteminė raiška atskleidžiama per JUDĖJIMO / KELIONĖS ir VERTĖS konceptus. Kognityvinio metodo taikymas leidžia ne tik pažinti kalbos ypatumus, bet ir atskleisti kultūrinį požiūrį į socialinius reiškinius. Galima teigti, kad gimtadienio sveikinimai anglų kalba turi daugiau antropocentriškimo požymių, o sveikinimai lietuvių kalba orientuoti į bendro pobūdžio socialines realijas, kur daugiau dėmesio skiriama ne pačiam žmogui, bet jo aplinkai. REIKŠMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: kognityvinis požiūris, konceptualioji metafora, metaforiniai lingvistiniai pasakymai, gimtadienio palinkėjimai. KOGNITYWNA METODA NAUCZANIA JĘZYKA. TŁO KULTUROWE W TEKSTACH ŻYCZEŃ URODZINOWYCH: ANALIZA METAFORY Streszczenie Celem niniejszego artykułu jest opis metodologii kognitywnej, zastosowanej do analizy życzeń urodzinowych w językach litewskim i angielskim. Cytowane życzenia pochodzą ze stron internetowych i Teksty życzeń poddano analizie według zasad językoznawstwa kognitywnego i metody analizy jakościowej (Lakoff, Johnson ; Kővecses 2004; Faconnier, Turner 1994; Plamer 2006, Boroditsky 2000), pozwalających na wyodrębnienie metafor konceptualnych zawartych w wypowiedziach językowych. Stwierdzono, że w planie treści występują trzy elementy konceptualne: ŻY- CIE, CZAS i SZCZĘŚCIE. Ich wartość epistemiczna wyrażana jest poprzez koncepty RUCHU / PODRÓŻY i WARTOŚCI. Zastosowanie metody kognitywnej pozwala poznać osobliwości języka, ale też wyrazić ocenę zjawisk społecznych z kulturowego punktu widzenia. Ustalono, że życzenia urodzinowe w języku angielskim zawierają więcej cech antropocentrycznych, podczas gdy życzenia w języku litewskim zorientowane są na realia społeczne o charakterze ogólnym, gdzie więcej uwagi poświęca się nie samemu człowiekowi, ale jego otoczeniu. SŁOWA KLUCZOWE: podejście kognitywne, metafora konceptualna, wyrażenia metaforyczne, życzenia urodzinowe. Gauta Priimta publikuoti

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