Chapter 11 The Cultural and Linguistic Conceptualizations of yeeso ‘Face’ in Fulfulde
In: Embodiment in Cross-Linguistic StudiesPurchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Abstract
This chapter discusses the cultural models of conceptualization that serve as the basis for the linguistic extensions of the body part term yeeso ‘face’ in Fulfulde. The embodiment hypothesis suggests that the human bodily experience is a universal template for the cognitive conceptualization and linguistic expression of abstract concepts. While this hypothesis has been extensively studied across the major languages of the world, not so much has been done in African languages, and especially the language under investigation. The data in this chapter was collected from Fulfulde texts and are analysed based on the Conceptual Metaphor and Metonymy theories (cf. Lakoff and Johnson 1980). It has been shown that yeeso ‘face’ is one of the linguistically productive body part terms which has been extended into various abstract domains.