Metonymy in conceptualization of some external body parts in Spanish: the cases of cara, cabeza, boca and mano

Keywords: Conceptual metonymy, Conceptual metaphor, Embodiment, Cognitive Semantics, Body parts

Abstract

This article presents a corpus-based study of some of the main conceptualizations of the external body parts cara, cabeza, boca and mano, and their linguistic manifestation in Spanish. The aim is, on the one hand, to present some of the different concepts associated with these words and, on the other hand, to describe the important role played by conceptual metonymy in their motivation. Three different criteria have been applied in the description of metonymies: that of hierarchization, the relationship between metonymy and metaphor, and the relationship with other metonymies (Barcelona, 2011; Blanco-Carrión et al., 2018). The latter allow us to differentiate processes in which metonymy intervenes exclusively or in interactions with other metonymic (metonymic chains) and/or metaphoric projections. The results reveal the target domains toward which these different body parts are projected, among which those related to their functionality and activity.

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Author Biography

Javier Morras Cortés, Universidad de Córdoba

Javier Morras es Doctor en Lingüística por la Universidad de Córdoba y miembro del Grupo de Investigación de Lingüística Cognitiva y Funcional de la Universidad de Córdoba. Sus áreas de interés son la semántica cognitiva, la semántica léxica, el papel de la metonimia (y la metáfora) en diferentes niveles de organización lingüística y no lingüística, así como los aspectos fundacionales del espacio y el tiempo en la cognición humana.

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Published
2024-12-10
How to Cite
Soto Nieto A. y Morras Cortés J. (2024). Metonymy in conceptualization of some external body parts in Spanish: the cases of cara, cabeza, boca and mano. Dicenda. Estudios de lengua y literatura españolas, 42, 149-162. https://doi.org/10.5209/dice.93217
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Articles