From Etymology to Pragmatics: Metaphorical and Cultural Aspects of Semantic Structure

Cambridge Studies in Linguistics

by Eve Sweetser

This book offers a new approach to the analysis of the multiple meanings of English modals, conjunctions, conditionals, and perception verbs. Although such ambiguities cannot easily be accounted for by feature-analyses of word meaning, Eve Sweetser's argument shows that they can be analyzed both readily and systematically. Meaning relationships in general cannot be understood independently of human cognitive structure, including the metaphorical and cultural aspects of that structure. Sweetser shows that both lexical polysemy and pragmatic ambiguity are shaped by our metaphorical folk understanding of epistemic processes and of speech interaction. Similar regularities can be shown to structure the contrast among root, epistemic and speech act uses of modal verbs, multiple uses of conjunctions and conditionals, and certain processes of historical change observed in Indo-European languages. Since polysemy is typically the intermediate step in semantic change, the same regularities observable in polysemy can be extended to an analysis of semantic change.

Genres: Linguistics

188 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 1990

Reviews

[Jonathan Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating study of how words describing physical perception (sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell) become applied metaphorically to cognitive or conscious phenomena. Across Indo-European languages, the metaphors seem to be applied in consistent ways. Sight stands in for knowledge and acts of intellection; hearing with "heeding" and receptivity; taste as a highly subjective expression of personal preference; touch with emotion states in general ("feelings"); and smell by far resists metaphoric application the most.

[Tú · Rating 5 out of 5]

To best understand this book, one should also read or at least take a glance over Johnson's "The body in the mind: the bodily basis of meaning, imagination, and reason" (1987), where a further analysis on metaphorical aspects of modal verbs in terms of force gestalts is made.

And then later on Sweetzer takes another step by going beyond the forces of modal verbs and suggesting some other different kinds. I find this amazing! Her (or his?) examples are also excellent. Very nice 'revolutionary' view on modal verbs.