The Conjoined Model of Force Dynamics and Conceptual Metaphors in Interpreting Metaphors of COVID- 19 in Persian

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Reza Kazemian ¹
• Somayeh Hatamzadeh ²

¹ PhD student, Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Isfahan University, Isfahan, Iran

² Master's student, Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Isfahan University, Isfahan, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/jlkd.2022.76177.1097

Abstract

With the emergence of Covid-19 in 2020 metaphorical conceptualization of coronavirus has been the focus of several investigations into the role of the cognitive system in understanding a novel, unknown and mysterious concept. However, previous research ignored the role of other operations of conceptualization such as force-dynamics (FD), which seems to be a foregrounded element in the thinking of coronavirus. Grounding on Kövecses’s combined model of conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) and FD, this study seeks to reveal the substantial role of FD in interpreting the metaphors framing Covid-19. The present study sets out to determine if there is any constant correlation between CMT (Lakoff & Johnson, 1989) and FD (Talmy, 2000) to gain a deep understanding of Covid-19 metaphors. In doing so, the current paper used the findings of the previous research, revealing source domains, through which conceptualization became possible. The source domains that gain attention in this study include WAR, FIRE, NATURAL FORCE, and WILD ANIMAL, all imbued with some degree of force. Our findings provide a solid evidence base to highlight the close relationship between CMT and FD and contribute to a better understanding of metaphorical expressions of coronavirus by illuminating the role of force entities and their tendencies.

Keywords

• Conceptual metaphors
• Force dynamics
• Illness metaphors
• Force Schema
• Covid-19

Main Subjects

• Semantics

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