Through a direct application of two cognitive science theories, conceptual metaphor (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, 1999) and structure mapping (Gentner, 1983, 1989; Gentner & Markman, 1995), this project defined an instructional design model for the design, development, and assessment of metaphor-enhanced, computer-mediated learning environments. It used the model to produce an instructional product with a metaphor-based interface. The project also built a parallel learning environment that employed a concept map interface. To test the metaphor-based product's effectiveness at enabling learners to build rich mental models of a complex, abstract concept, the project ran fifty-seven preservice teachers (55 female, 2 male; mean age of 21) through the instruction, randomly assigning half to the concept map interface environment and half to the metaphor-based interface environment. Participants completed four essay-type assessment questions. Trained raters, blind to participant assignment, isolated any of the 13 targeted concepts present within participants' protocols and, through consensus, constructed a concept map for each participant, representing that participant's mental model of the targeted domain. Map attributes were translated into four weighted subscores (nodes, branches, levels, and cross-links) and summed. Comparison across the two groups indicated no significant difference for richness of mental model, t(55)=-.72, p > .05, although the discussion suggests methods for increasing the power in subsequent experimental sessions. A significant interaction between Subscore and Achievement, F(3,51)=33.42, p < .01, suggests that concept map cross-links are much more sensitive to differences in domain integration and the general richness of a participant's mental model than the level and branch subscores. This result has implications for classroom application. Concept maps have taken a place as a learner's, a teacher's, and a researcher's tool. With cross-domain validation and domain-specific extensions, specification of the relative sensitivity of various subscales, that is, the structure of the concept map, will enable educators to justify weighting scales and identify learner achievement. Credible concept map weighting scales also enhance learners' self-reliant and impartial assessment of personal growth in domain-specific knowledge. Results suggest that learners who have difficulty integrating domain concepts require direct, explicit instruction to help them to make connections between disparate conceptual strands. / Ph. D.

The translation of metaphors has been analyzed and discussed for several decades, but there are not many multilingual studies that examine how metaphors are translated. The present study takes a cognitive approach to metaphor and investigates how translators at the European Commission handle metaphorical expressions and the underlying conceptual metaphors in political discourse. The source text is the English language version of the policy document A European Agenda on Migration, and the Swedish and Spanish language versions of it are included as target texts. The study identifies the conceptual metaphors that conceptualize migration and other topics that are closely related to the European migrant and refugee crisis of 2015 and the translation procedures that are used. A total of six translation procedures were found in the target texts, and the most used procedure in the Spanish target text was to retain both the conceptual metaphor and the metaphorical expression, whereas the most used procedure in the Swedish target text was to replace the metaphorical expression with a completely different one and thereby using a different conceptual metaphor. The parallel analysis of all three language versions also revealed that non-metaphorical expressions in the source text were occasionally replaced with metaphorical expressions in the target texts, which proves that adding a conceptual metaphor is one of many translation procedures. The most frequently used source domains in the source text, i.e. water, enemy and applied force, were transferred to both target texts. Some source domains were eventually lost, but a couple of new ones, such as disease and weight, were added instead.

From a general point of view, the aim of this thesis is to study the appearance and the translation of the metaphor in a context that involves specialized texts. Our purpose is also to examine the historical expression of metaphor within aspects connected to its importance for creation of scientific terms. More precisely, the main object is to explore how metaphors have been used in the field of medical terminology and by which methods they have been translated across the languages. Our approach is based on the definition of conceptual metaphor conceived by Lakoff &amp; Johnson as a product of projections made by the thought (mapping). According to that idea, the metaphor constitutes a universal and essential element of human language and, therefore, also a keystone of the human communication reproduced at every level of social activity. From the cognitive point of view, our approach is also based on the theory of blending proposed by Fauconnier &amp; Turner. It is diachronic and multidisciplinary as well, which means that a particular focus has been placed on the etymology of medical terms, which we have explored in the scientific context where those terms have been created and used. The database in this study is composed of medical terms emerging from scientific texts that we have translated from French to Swedish.  During our analysis, we have explored the occurrence of conceptual metaphor across the source language and the target language (the last one is in fact represented in this thesis by four languages: French, Swedish, English and Polish). The translation methods have been analyzed according to the model of Vinay &amp; Darbelnet.   Our result indicates that conceptual metaphor plays a crucial role in the creation of medical terminology. It indicates also that the conceptualization of a medical phenomenon (expressed by mapping and blending) is almost always preserved in its original form in the target language. This observation implies that cognitive factors are activated during the process of translation. Our conclusion is made within the historical and scientific context, in other words regarding the context where the metaphorical terms have been created and afterwards transferred to other languages.   Key words: conceptual metaphor, metaphorical term, cognitive, etymology, medicine, scientific language, mapping, blending, conceptual shift, linguistic shift, translation, source language, target language.

The novel Agaat by Marlene van Niekerk is a highly complex text. One of the most compelling aspects of the novel is the way in which the author constructs an underlying metaphorical grid which determines the composition of the novel. The motives in the novel cannot be regarded merely as motives because specific prominent and powerful metaphors are continually exploited by variation and extension. The complicated relationship between narrative and metaphor on different levels is of great importance in the interpretation of the novel. Due to the complexity of the text, the dominant metaphors cannot be analyzed in the traditional manner. In this study I want to demonstrate that conceptual blending theory, which can be regarded as a branch of conceptual metaphor theory, offers a theoretical framework that can be used to understand the underlying cognitive functioning of the interaction between author, text and reader. This dissertation will examine the processes of blending shaped from the mottos posted at the beginning of the novel. The three mottos, the music motto, the embroidery motto and the farming motto, act throughout the novel as a backdrop against which events in the novel can be interpreted. The blending formed from these mottos merge with other metaphors in the novel in order to generate meaning. The three mottos were taken from the introductions of the FAKVolksangbundel, the embroidery book Borduur so and the Hulpboek vir boere in Suid-Afrika. The three books are used by Milla to educate and teach Agaat. She uses the books to "create" Agaat and to mould her into the person that Milla wants her to be. The mottos stress the uplifting of the people and the creation of a true Afrikaner identity. Agaat accomplishes everything that the books require of her, she becomes an expert in the areas that determine the Afrikaner identity. However, as a brown woman, she is still not considered a member of community or as a fully acceptable civilized woman. The meanings of the other important metaphor in the novel, the mirror metaphor, are also investigated extensively. The mirror plays an important role in the relationship between Milla and Agaat. The mirror is also important in Milla's confrontation with herself, especially in her experience of her illness and her acceptance of her imminent death. The mirror is also used in the depiction of the relationship between characters and the experience of each other as the "Other". The blending of the mirror metaphor and the link that can be established with the theories of Lacan are part of one of the main blendings formed from the mirror metaphor. This metaphor also interacts with the embroidery metaphor. The mirror reflects images to the characters and via the characters to the readers which enforce moral judgments about perceptions and practices. The final part of the dissertation analyses how the dominant metaphors, namely music, embroidery, farming and the mirror, blend in multiple ways in the text to create new domains of meaning. The four main metaphors also blend with secondary metaphors in the novel in order to generate meaning. One of the important secondary metaphors is the "waterhondjies". The "waterhondjies" blend with Guido Gezelle's poem "Het Schrijverke". There is also emphasis on the relationship between writing and the "waterhondjies". The blending of the caeser butterfly plays an important role in the novel as well. In the final chapter the statement is made that the metaphors and symbols in Agaat cannot merely be regarded and interpreted as traditional motives, but rather as examples of cognitive blending. The types of blending in the novel require the cooperation of the reader in all cases. The reader must, in some cases, as with the mirror metaphor and the metaphor of the "waterhondjies", identify and activate the second domain of the blend. In the case of the mottos the different domains of the blend are activated by the author and the reader only needs to provide an interpretation. At the end of the dissertation the conclusion is made that the blending theory offers a suitable method and terminology to analyze the complex processes of generating meaning in the novel. / Thesis (M.A. (Afrikaans and Dutch))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010

[pt] A partir da Teoria da metáfora Conceptual proposta por George Lakoff e Mark Johnson, este trabalho identifica e analisa metáforas para interpretação e compreensão de textos ocorrentes em quatro coleções de livros didáticos de português, amplamente utilizadas pela rede pública de ensino no Brasil. Parte-se das seguintes hipóteses: (a) as metáforas lingüísticas utilizadas pelos autores de tais manuais em torno das noções de interpretação e compreensão de textos fornecem pistas sobre a concepção subjacente de linguagem presente nesses livros; e (b) tais manuais ainda tomam implicitamente a língua como um instrumento de comunicação não problemático e capaz de funcionar com transparência e homogeneidade, como sistema claro, uniforme, desvinculado dos usuários, deslocado da realidade, semanticamente autônomo e a-histórico. Em conformidade com o quadro teórico escolhido, identificam- se e analisaram-se metáforas estruturais, orientacionais e ontológicas que tinham como domínio-alvo as noções de texto, sentido e leitura. Tomaram-se para análise, por um lado, os prefácios dos manuais e, por outro, as atividades de interpretação e compreensão de textos ali propostas. Os resultados da pesquisa, favoráveis às hipóteses de que ela partiu, revelam haver um descompasso entre a concepção de linguagem explícita ou insinuada nos prefácios dos manuais e aquela que comparece nas atividades propostas. / [en] Within the framework of Lakoff and Johnson´s Theory of Conceptual Metaphor, this thesis identifies and analyzes metaphors for reading comprehension and interpretation occurring in five widely adopted collections of Brazilian Portuguese textbooks. The work sets out from the following hypotheses: (a) linguistic metaphors employed in these textbooks around the notions of reading comprehension and interpretation provide valuable clues as to the underlying language conception followed by the authors; and (b) these textbooks still take language for granted as an unproblematic means of communication, capable of working in a transparent and homogeneous manner, as a clear uniform a-historic system that is semantically autonomous and abstracts users and contexts. According to the theoretical framework adopted, the work identifies and analyzes structural, orientational and ontological metaphors which have as their target-domain the notions of text, meaning, and reading. The analyzed data include textbook prefaces, on the one hand, and reading comprehension and interpretation activities, on the other. The results of this research bear out its initial hypotheses, and point to a mismatch between the conception of language suggested or made explicit in the prefaces and that occurring in the textbooks´ proposed activities.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T18:24:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gislaine Aparecida de Vilas Boas.pdf: 1501739 bytes, checksum: 79e8a5cd9d5f40a715f64f0ab10260e5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-06 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This work is part of a larger project developed by the research group GEIM (Research Group of Indeterminacy and Metaphor) coordinated by Prof. Dr. Mara Sophia Zanotto. To contribute to the development of the group, this study investigates a practice of reading as a social event (Bloome, 1993; Street, 1993) in a real context of language use, with real readers. Therefore, this work fits in the Applied Linguistics, as this area is concerned with the real problems of language use (Celani, 1998; Moita Lopes, 2006). Thus, the objective was to discuss the role of conceptual metaphor (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) in the process of interpreting a literary text, within a practice of reading in which it admits to making sense of the text by the reader, validating, thus, the multiple readings. Metaphor, under socio-cognitive paradigm, is one of the pillars of the constructions of meaning, so it is essential the discussion of its influence on reading literary texts. The metaphorical concepts structure our thought and therefore have implications in the way of interpreting a text. Thus, it was addressed in this work, the importance of literary texts in the classroom, offering a reading practice to consider the subjectivity of readers, rescuing the pleasure of literary reading. To this end, this work was developed under the current interpretive, a qualitative chain, in which the research instrument used in this work is part of: the Think-Aloud in Group. That tool is now used by the group GEIM also as a pedagogical practice that has shown influence on reading as social practice (Zanotto, 1997, Zanotto & Palma, 2008). Therefore, the Think-Aloud in Group is considered a practice of literacy, for all practical literacy is a social practice (Street, 1993). Thus, when working with this practice, which focuses on the interaction among readers, it was possible to investigate how conceptual metaphors influence the construction of the readings during the interpretation of a literary text into a social event of reading / Este trabalho faz parte de um projeto maior desenvolvido pelo grupo de pesquisa GEIM (Grupo de Estudos da Indeterminação e da Metáfora) coordenado pela Profa. Dra. Mara Sophia Zanotto. A fim de contribuir para o desenvolvimento do grupo, esta pesquisa investiga uma prática de leitura como um evento social (Bloome, 1993; Street, 1993) em um contexto real de uso da linguagem, com leitores reais. Por isso, este trabalho se insere na Linguística Aplicada, pois essa área preocupa-se com os problemas reais de uso da linguagem (Celani, 1998; Moita Lopes, 2006). Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi discutir o papel da metáfora conceptual (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) no processo de interpretação de um texto literário, dentro de uma prática de leitura na qual se admite a construção dos sentidos do texto pelo leitor, validando, assim, as múltiplas leituras. A metáfora, sob concepção sociocognitivista, é um dos pilares das construções do sentido, por isso torna-se imprescindível a discussão de sua influência na leitura de textos literários. Os conceitos metafóricos estruturam nosso pensamento e, consequentemente, terão implicações na maneira de interpretar um texto. Dessa forma, foi abordada, neste trabalho, a importância do texto literário em sala de aula, propondo uma prática de leitura que considere a subjetividade dos leitores, resgatando o prazer da leitura literária. Para isso, este trabalho foi desenvolvido sob a corrente interpretativista, uma corrente qualitativa, na qual se insere o instrumento de pesquisa utilizado neste trabalho: o Pensar Alto em Grupo. Esse instrumento passou a ser utilizado pelo grupo GEIM também como uma prática pedagógica e tem revelado grande influência na leitura como prática social (Zanotto, 1997, Zanotto & Palma, 2008). Desse modo, o Pensar alto em Grupo é considerado uma prática de letramento, pois toda prática de letramento é uma prática social (Street, 1993). Assim, ao trabalhar com essa prática, que privilegia a interação entre os leitores, foi possível investigar como as metáforas conceptuais influenciam a construção das leituras durante a interpretação de um texto literário em um evento social de leitura

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:37:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Alexandre Schmitt.pdf: 3658631 bytes, checksum: 88fd945ce5886cdf072a53ced3341850 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-11-04 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The objective of this study is to review some of the main concepts of Jungian Psychology from the perspective of Cognitive Linguistics, using, specially, the image schemas theory, the conceptual metaphor theory, the conceptual metonymy theory and the conceptual blending theory, and to introduce Cognitive Linguistics as a field of study that can render important theoretical and practical contributions to Jungian Psychology. Organized in ten chapters, the study begins with a brief introduction where a revision of the Jungian and the psychoanalytic literatures that make reference to concepts from Cognitive Linguistics is made, followed by a chapter that contains a concise historical introduction to Cognitive Linguistics where some of the assumptions of this field of research are exposed and compared to other theoretical approaches to linguistics. The third chapter introduces the concepts of Embodied Realism, embodied mind and Cognitive Unconscious, which support Cognitive Semantics ontology and epistemology and, in the fourth chapter, the Image Schemas Theory is exposed with an emphasis on its Kantian inspiration. The fifth chapter succinctly presents the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, including its integrated primary metaphor version, and some introductory aspects of the Conceptual Metonymy Theory. The following chapter introduces the Mental Spaces and the Conceptual Blending Theory. In the seventh chapter, a comparison between the Cognitive Semantics ontology and epistemology and its Jungian counterparts is made. In the eigth chapter, the equiparation made by Jean Knox (2005) between the Jungian concept of archetype and the Cognitive Linguistics concept of image schemas is analyzed. In the ninth chapter, the following Jungian concepts sign, allegory, symbol, thought, reason and phantasy are analyzed based on the theories presented in the previous chapters. Some of the conclusions of this analysis, presented in the last chapter of this thesis, are: (1) the opposition between consciousness and unconscious advocated by Jung in most of his works is not so radical: there is always an unconscious and subliminal dimension in all concepts; (2) the division between directed thinking and undirected thinking as stipulated by Jung in 1911, when his Psychology of the Unconscious was published, cannot be sustained in the face of the researches and formulations of Cognitive Linguistics; (3) Cognitive Linguistics can offer to Jungian Psychology a theoretical basis for the formulation of an embodied theory of the symbol / Este estudo tem como objetivo fazer uma releitura de alguns dos principais conceitos da Psicologia Junguiana à luz da Linguística Cognitiva, em especial, da teoria dos esquemas imagéticos, da metáfora conceitual, da metonímia conceitual e da mesclagem conceitual e apresentar a Linguística Cognitiva como um campo de estudo que pode fornecer importantes contribuições teóricas e práticas à Psicologia Junguiana. Organizado em dez capítulos, o estudo começa com uma breve introdução em que é apresentada uma revisão das bibliografias junguiana e psicanalítica que fazem uso de conceitos da Linguística Cognitiva, seguindo-se a ela um capítulo com uma concisa introdução histórica acerca da Linguística Cognitiva em que alguns pressupostos desse campo de investigação são expostos e comparados com outras abordagens teóricas da Linguística. No capítulo terceiro, são introduzidos os conceitos de Realismo Corporificado, de mente corporificada e de Inconsciente Cognitivo, que sustentam a visão de mundo e a epistemologia da Semântica Cognitiva. No capítulo quarto, é exposta a Teoria dos Esquemas Imagéticos dando-se uma ênfase na sua inspiração kantiana. No quinto capítulo, são apresentados de forma sucinta a Teoria da Metáfora Conceitual, já na sua versão de Teoria Integrada da Metáfora Primária, e aspectos introdutórios da Teoria da Metonímia Conceitual. No capítulo seguinte, são introduzidas a Teoria dos Espaços Mentais e da Mesclagem Conceitual. No capítulo sétimo, faz-se uma comparação entre a ontologia e a epistemologia da Semântica Cognitiva e as suas contrapartes junguianas. No capítulo oitavo, é analisada a equiparação feita por Jean Knox entre o conceito junguiano de arquétipo e o conceito da Linguística Cognitiva de esquema imagético. No nono capítulo, os conceitos junguianos de signo, alegoria, símbolo, pensamento, razão e fantasia são analisados à luz das teorias apresentadas nos capítulos anteriores. Algumas das conclusões advindas dessa análise, apresentadas no último capítulo da tese, são: (1) a oposição entre consciente e inconsciente preconizada por Jung em boa parte de sua obra não é tão radical, havendo sempre uma dimensão inconsciente e subliminar em todos os conceitos; (2) a divisão entre pensamento dirigido e pensamento não dirigido tal como estipulada por Jung em 1911, quando da publicação do seu Psicologia do Inconsciente, não se sustenta face às pesquisas e formulações da Linguística Cognitiva; (3) a Linguística Cognitiva pode oferecer à Psicologia Junguiana uma base teórica para a formulação de uma teoria corporificada do símbolo

Partindo da ideia de ciberespaço como lugar de interação social, neste trabalho, propomos uma reflexão sobre os processos de produção de significados presentes nas redes sociais. Com esse intuito, buscamos, a partir de uma abordagem inter ou multidisciplinar, entender o papel das metáforas na construção de significados, e como estes podem ser manipulados em um processo interpretativo. Consideramos que se por um lado, na semiótica peirceana, a metáfora pode ser vista como um como um mecanismo responsável pelo crescimento semiótico, devido à transferência de predicados entre símbolos. E, por outro, na Teoria da Metáfora Conceptual, a metáfora é tida como fator indispensável do pensamento e comportamento humano, influenciando como percebemos e compreendemos o mundo e as coisas. É, então, necessário aproximar as duas visões, de modo a promover um maior entendimento desse fenômeno. Assim, apresentamos, primeiramente, alguns pontos principais do que entendemos como signo metafórico, passando para uma síntese da teoria cognitivista para expor aquilo que consideramos como alguns lugares de convergência e relação entre as perspectivas. Em seguida, procuramos estabelecer um debate sobre a interação nas redes sociais na atualidade utilizando as premissas básicas do Interacionismo Simbólico como propostos pelo pensador americano Herbert Blumer. Baseados nesse tripé teórico, voltamos nossa atenção como um mesmo acontecimento é significado e ressignificado nas redes sociais a fim de entender o funcionamento desses processos / Starting from the idea of cyberspace as a place of social interaction, in this work, we propose a reflection on the processes of production of meanings present in social networks. With this aim, we seek, from an inter/multidisciplinary approach, to understand the role of metaphors in the construction of meanings, and how they can be manipulated in an interpretative process. We consider that if, on the one hand, in Peircean semiotics, the metaphor can be seen as one as a mechanism responsible for the semiotic growth, due to the transfer of predicates between symbols. On the other hand, in the Theory of Conceptual Metaphor, the metaphor is understood as an indispensable factor of human thought and behavior, influencing how we perceive and understand the world and things. It is then necessary to approach the two visions, in order to promote a greater understanding of this phenomenon. Thus, we present, first, some main points of what we understand as the metaphorical sign, moving to a synthesis of cognitive theory to expose what we consider as some places of convergence and relationship between perspectives. Next, we try to establish a debate about the interaction in social networks in the present time using the basic premises of the Symbolic Interactionism as proposed by the American thinker Herbert Blumer. Based on this theoretical tripod, we turn our attention to one event. and how it was signified and re-signified in the social networks, aiming to understand the functioning of these processes.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2015-11-24T11:22:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Samanta Kélly Menoncin Pierozan_.pdf: 2211732 bytes, checksum: df51b6675c3c210b2dce586056eb81d4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-11-24T11:22:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Samanta Kélly Menoncin Pierozan_.pdf: 2211732 bytes, checksum: df51b6675c3c210b2dce586056eb81d4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-24 / Nenhuma / O objetivo geral deste trabalho é investigar a metaforicidade dos Phrasal Verbs (PVs) tendo-se como pilar teorias da semântica cognitiva, principalmente a Teoria da Metáfora Conceptual (TMC), desenvolvida por Lakoff e Johnson (1980). Além da TMC, no que diz respeito ao significado dos advérbios ou preposições constituintes dos PVs – os quais podem ser chamados de partículas –, consideram-se também as contribuições de Rudzka-Ostyn (2003), a qual utiliza esquemas imagéticos para representar os PVs, e de Lindner (1981), que parte da Gramática Cognitiva (LANGACKER, 1987) para analisá-los. Tendo como foco os PVs up e down, como metodologia, utiliza-se o ferramental da Linguística de Corpus, extraindo-se os PVs do Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). Após realizar a seleção dos Phrasal Verbs para análise, relaciona-se o significado dos PVs selecionados com os sentidos e esquemas imagéticos propostos por Rudzka-Ostyn (2003); verificam-se como como esses sentidos expressam os esquemas imagéticos propostos; identificam-se as metáforas conceptuais, em especial aquelas do tipo orientacional, conforme Lakoff e Johnson (1980); e verifica-se o mapeamento metafórico das concordâncias analisadas. Os resultados apontam que os PVs, na sua maioria, são metafóricos, e que essa metaforicidade tem forte relação com a semântica das partículas que constituem a construção verbo-partícula. Além disso, espera-se com a presente pesquisa agregar à proposta de caráter pedagógico de Rudzka-Ostyn (2003), contribuindo para o ensino e aprendizagem de PVs. / The main purpose of this study is to investigate the metaphor properties of Phrasal Verbs (PVs), based on cognitive semantic theories, especially the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, developed by Lakoff and Johnson (1980). In addition, concerning the meaning of adverbs or prepositions that constitute PVs – which can be called particles –, contributions made by Rudzka-Ostyn (2003), who uses image schemas to represent PVs, and Lindner (1981), who takes into consideration Cognitive Grammar (LANGACKER, 1987) to analyze them, are considered. The up and down particles are the focus of this investigation. Regarding methodology, Corpus Linguistics is used, and the PVs are extracted from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). After selecting them, the relation between the PVs and Rudzka-Ostyn’s image schemas is verified, as well as how their senses express the image schemas proposed by Rudzka-Ostyn (2003); conceptual metaphors, especially the orientational ones, are identified, in accordance with Lakoff and Johnson (1980); and the mapping between conceptual domains is verified. The results point that the PVs are mostly methaphoric, and that its metaphor properties are strongly related to the meaning of the particles that constitute each verb-particle construction. In addition, it is hoped this research adds to the pedagogical proposal of Rudzka-Ostyn (2003), contributing to the teaching and learning of PVs.

Herta Müller represents physical suffering and repression in her works, often reflecting on the regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu, and her constant interest in language and reflexivity towards writing have led her to develop sophisticated metaphors that she uses to illuminate language and its functioning under such subjugation. With reference to her fiction and non-fiction, I demonstrate how she uses concrete ideas to understand linguistic phenomena. She evokes injury, destruction, force, life, space, touch, silence, and other bodily experiences to make sense of language in the condition of suffering from social oppression. Drawing on conceptual metaphor theory within the framework of cognitive literary studies, I argue that Müller both relies on and estranges the ways in which people speak and think about language. Language is imagined differently depending on the circumstances and in close relationship with various sensory experiences. The complexity of the relationship between language and thought problematises the process of metaphor building and makes it difficult to identify its key aspects across different contexts and sensory modalities. Müller’s tropes are easy to experience, but difficult to analyse. The idea of language does not exist as a stable concept and is regularly reimagined in her texts; but its meaning is not arbitrary and depends on bodily experience. While Müller evokes such experience to understand language in the condition of suffering, she can also use linguistic concepts to elucidate more abstract ideas. Language can be regarded as an abstract or concrete phenomenon depending on the relevant bodily, linguistic, and cultural contexts. This project contributes to the study of Müller’s poetics as well as to the literary critical interpretation of embodied cognition, and develops the use of conceptual metaphor theory for literary analysis. It also seeks to develop understanding of the role of bodily experience in the metaphorical conceptualisation of language.