Download burning, boiling, melting heart... motivation of some

BURNING, BOILING, MELTING HEART...
MOTIVATION OF SOME IDIOMS IN ENGLISH AND LITHUANIAN
Inesa Šeškauskienė
Vilnius University
[email protected]
Keywords: idiom, motivation, metaphor, English, Lithuanian
Idioms represent a largely “fossilised” layer of language (Deignan 2003), i.e. encompassing historical,
cultural, situational knowledge; in addition to linguistic information, such knowledge could be part of
the semantic motivation of idioms. Following the cognitive approach to language, most idioms are
motivated; moreover, their motivation provides access to culture (Piirainen 2011).
The present paper focuses on the study of idioms with the word heart in English and Lithuanian
such as LT širdį spaudžia ‘[sth] presses [my] heart’, LT širdis neleidžia ‘[my] heart would not allow’,
EN open one’s heart, EN heart bleeds. The investigation attempts to uncover the motivation of such
idioms and to identify if heart, often conceptualised as a container for feelings in English and some
other languages (see Fernando 1996; Mol 2004), is conceptualised in the same way in Lithuanian.
The research adheres to the understanding of idiom as a string of words manifesting a high degree
of formulaicity (Wray 2002), or inflexibility and restricted syntax (Croft and Cruse 2004: 230),
conventionality and stability, when the meaning of an idiom cannot be explained by the meanings of
its constituents (Kövecses 2010: 231). The meaning of idioms is based on metaphor, metonymy,
metaphtonymy and/or image (Piirainen 2011). Idioms frequently carry emotive and evaluative load
and involve a play of words or sounds, contributing to their vividness (Ritchie & Dyhouse 2008).
The data for the investigation has been collected from several Lithuanian and English dictionaries,
both general and specialised. The usage of each idiom was verified in English or Lithuanian corpora.
The total number of idioms amounted to ca 110 items in English and over 300 in Lithuanian.
The methodology of research is based on the conceptual metaphor theory (Lakoff & Johnson
1980/2003, Lakoff 1987) and further works on metaphor (see Gibbs et al. 1997; Deignan 2005, etc.).
The investigation also adheres to the cognitive understanding of metonymy as a single-domain
transfer of meaning and metaphtonymy as a blend of metaphor and metonymy (Goossens 1995
discussed in Deignan 2005). The motivation can also be image-based (Piirainen 2011). The
procedure of metaphor/ metonymy/ metaphtonymy identification relies on the basic principles of MIP
(Steen et al. 2010) and the notion of a metaphorical pattern (Stefanowitsch 2006).
The results of the investigation demonstrate a prevailing metaphorical motivation and a number of
overlapping metaphors in both languages. Such metaphors include GOOD IS UP, BAD IS DOWN,
CONTAINER (HEART IS A CONTAINER FOR EMOTIONS and HEART IS THE CONTAINED OBJECT), PERSON and
OBJECT metaphors, etc. Some metonymies, such as PHYSICAL PAIN FOR EMOTIONAL STRESS, are also
shared by both cultures. Differences are most striking in cases of image-based idioms, which are
unique and culture-specific. They raise a question of translatability and equivalence. There are also
differences in the linguistic realisation of some metaphors across the two languages. Lithuanian
shows greater variation in idioms referring to negative emotions.
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