ABSTRACTS
What Do You Think? Metaphor in Thought and Communication Domains in
American Sign Language
Signed languages researchers who apply the principals of cognitive linguistics
to their work on metaphor are finding what appear to be universal metaphors,
such as mind is a container and
ideas are objects. Their research
is also exemplifying differences that reflect the cultural realities of their
respective countries. This article explores similarities and differences found
in metaphorical domains of thought and communication in several signed
languages. It demonstrates that culture plays a powerful role in the
nonequivalencies of metaphorical language creation regardless of the
modality�signed or spoken.
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Double Mapping in Metaphorical Expressions of Thought and Communication in
Catalan Sign Language (LSC
The presence of iconicity in sign languages�that is, conceptual mappings between
form (phonology, syntax, etc.) and meaning (semantics)�constitutes a strong
argument for cognitive theories. This article analyzes data from Catalan Sign
Language to demonstrate an association between grammar and cognitive abilities
such as object recognition, spatial structure, body awareness, and the modeling
of bodily movement and position in space.
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Body Partitioning in ASL Metaphorical Blends
This article addresses body partitioning in American Sign Language (ASL).
Specifically, it demonstrates how partitioning allows for greater contributions
of conceptual metaphor to the structuring of complex grounded blends.
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A Crosslinguistic, Cross-cultural Analysis of
Metaphors in Two Italian Sign Language (LIS) Registers
This article deals with two main topics: the interplay of iconicity and
metaphors in signed language discourse and the relevance of sociocultural
knowledge for a full understanding of LIS metaphors. Metaphors produced in two
different signed registers, Conferences and Poetry, are analyzed. I maintain
that in signed metaphors, the iconic features of signs play a role in the
creative process of determining a mental fit between two different domains, when
metaphors are produced. Iconicity mirrors the properties of the structure of a
blended space, in which features of both the target and the source domain of the
metaphor are projected. The iconic features of signs are dynamically activated
during the online cognitive processes aimed at maximizing the similarity between
two usually unrelated domains. I also suggest that shared cultural knowledge
plays a central role in driving the cross-domain mappings of LIS metaphors. Both
topics are related to the general problem of understanding in detail the
creative process of mapping target domains onto some particular sources in
signed language metaphors.
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Conjoining Word and Image in British Sign Language (BSL):
An Exploration of Metaphorical Signs in BSL
The lexicon of British Sign Language (BSL) is highly motivated. This article
places the motivated productive forms of BSL at the center of its analysis.
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