Linguistic or conceptual body-part metaphors relate not only to Heads, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, Knees, but also to Eyes, Ears, Mouth and Nose and other human body parts. Here are a few English metaphors related to “head”: head of lettuce, head of a company, head over heels in love, head Start, headers & footers, and headlights. Check out the attached PowerPoint about Body Part Metaphors, and then discuss body-part metaphors in English and other languages.
Hello
This is interesting. You know, my MA thesis , in 2001, was about the use of the names of human body parts in English and Arabic, and much was concerned with how anthropomorphic ecpressions have and had denotations and connotations which are mostly metaphorical.
Regards
Mahdi: I'm glad to hear about your research. It's great that you dealt not only with denotations, but with connotations as well. That's a very rich research subject.
Hi Nilsen! I researched this one in Vietnamese some years ago. There are plenty of linguistic expressions using body-part words for other domains in this language, for example, space, parts of things, natural phenomenon, social fields, etc.
Cam: Excellent. Body Parts appears to be an excellent source for linguistic metaphors.
In English, body-part metaphors are often used to express ideas and emotions, and they often convey nuanced meanings. For example, “head over heels in love” implies a deep and passionate type of love, while “head Start” implies a jump ahead or an advantage. In other languages, body-part metaphors are also used. For example, in Spanish, “tener la cabeza en las nubes” (literally, “to have one’s head in the clouds”) is used to refer to someone who is daydreaming or not paying attention. In German, “Kopf steht Kopf” (literally, “head stands head”) is used to refer to a stalemate or a deadlock. In Chinese, “tou jin” (literally, “to enter the head”) is used to refer to understanding something deeply or mastering a skill. Body-part metaphors are an important part of language, as they allow us to express ideas and feelings in creative and vivid ways. They are also used to add nuance to conversations, helping us to express subtle differences in meaning with a few words.
Peter: Excellent response. I especially like your German, Spanish, and Chinese examples.
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