hellog〜英語史ブログ / 2016-04-21

■ #2551. 概念メタファーの例をいくつか追加 [conceptual_metaphor][metaphor]

　「#2548. 概念メタファー」 ([2016-04-18-1]) で，概念メタファー (conceptual_metaphor) として，"ARGUMENT IS WAR" の例を挙げた．今回は，英語の概念メタファーの例をいくつか追加したい．まずは，Lakoff and Johnson (7--8) より．

TIME IS MONEY
   You're wasting my time.
   This gadget will save you hours.
   I don't have the time to give you.
   How do you spend your time these days?
   That flat tire cost me an hour.
   I've invested a lot of time in her.
   I don't have enough time to spare for that.
   You're running out of time.
   You need to budget your time.
   Put aside some time for ping pong.
   Is that worth your while?
   Do you have much time left?
   He's living on borrowed time.
   You don't use your time profitably.
   I lost a lot of time when I got sick.
   Thank you for your time.

　複合的な概念メタファーの1つに，conduit metaphor というものがある．これは，"IDEAS (or MEANINGS) ARE OBJECTS", "LINGUISTIC EXPRESSIONS ARE CONTAINERS" "COMMUNICATION IS SENDING" という3つの関連する構造的な概念メタファーを合わせたものである (Lakoff and Johnson 11) ．

The CONDUIT Metaphor
   It's hard to get that idea across to him.
   I gave you that idea.
   Your reasons came through to us.
   It's difficult to put my ideas into words.
   When you have a good idea, try to capture it immediately in words.
   Try to pack more thought into fewer words.
   You can't simply stuff ideas into a sentence any old way.
   The meaning is right there in the words.
   Don't force your meanings into the wrong words.
   His words carry little meaning.
   The introduction has a great deal of thought content.
   Your words seem hollow.
   The sentence is without meaning.
   The idea is buried in terribly dense paragraphs.

　以上は構造的メタファー (structural metaphor) の例だが，別種のものとして方向的メタファー (orientational metaphor) というものがある．その典型は，垂直軸の上下をもって様々な属性の対立項を表すというものだ．一連の対立項が全体として体系をなしているように見える点が顕著である．Lakoff and Johnson (15--17) による例を示そう．

HAPPY IS UP; SAD IS DOWN
   I'm feeling up. That boosted my spirits. My spirits rose.
   You're in high spirits. Thinking about her always gives me a lift. I'm feeling down. I'm depressed. He's really low these days. I fell into a depression. My spirits sank.

CONSCIOUS IS UP; UNCONSCIOUS IS DOWN
   Get up. Wake up. I'm up already. He rises early in the morning. He fell asleep. He dropped off to sleep. He's under hypnosis. He sank into a coma.

HEALTH AND LIFE ARE UP; SICKNESS AND DEATH ARE DOWN
   He's at the peak of health. Lazarus rose from the dead. He's in top shape. As to his health, he's way up there. He fell ill. He's sinking fast. He came down with the flu. His health is declining. He dropped dead.

HAVING CONTROL or FORCE IS UP; BEING SUBJECT TO CONTROL or FORCE IS DOWN
   I have control over her. I am on top of the situation. He's in a superior position. He's at the height of his power. He's in the high command. He's in the upper echelon. His power rose. He ranks above me in strength. He is under my control. He fell from power. His power is on the decline. He is my social inferior. He is low man on the totem pole.

MORE IS UP; LESS IS DOWN
   The number of books printed each year keeps going up. His draft number is high. My income rose last year. The amount of artistic activity in this sate has gone down in the past year. The number of errors he made is incredibly low. His income fell last year. He is underage. If you're too hot, turn the heat down.

FORESEEABLE FUTURE EVENTS ARE UP (and AHEAD)
   All upcoming events are listed in the paper. What's coming up this week? I'm afraid of what's up ahead of us. What's up?

HIGH STATUS IS UP; LOW STATUS IS DOWN
   He has a lofty position. She'll rise to the top. He's at the peak of his career. He's climbing the ladder. He has little upward mobility. He's at the bottom of the social hierarchy. She fell in status.

GOOD IS UP; BAD IS DOWN
   Things are looking up. We hit a peak last year, but it's been downhill ever since. Things are at an all-time low. He does high-quality work.

VIRTUE IS UP; DEPRAVITY IS DOWN
   He is high-minded. She has high standards. She is upright. She is an upstanding citizen. That was a low trick. Don't be underhanded. I wouldn't stoop to that. That would be beneath me. He fell into the abyss of depravity. That was a low-down thing to do.

RATIONAL IS UP; EMOTIONAL IS DOWN
   The discussion fell to the emotional level, but I raised it back up to the rational plane. We put our feelings aside and had a high-level intellectual discussion of the matter. He couldn't rise above his emotions.

　・ Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago and London: U of Chicago P, 1980.

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