Language means of the conceptualization and expression of love feelings in modern english romance novels

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Language means of the conceptualization and expression of love feelings in modern english romance novels

Olha Savchuk, Instructor, Chair of Foreign Philology and Teaching Methodology SHEI "Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi Hryhory Skovoroda State Pedagogical University" (Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine)

Анотація

У статті, з позицій когнітивних принципів мапування світу й положень теорії концептуальної метафори, що передбачають трактування концептуального боку образу як певного ментального простору, структурованого різними царинами знань, розглядаються метафоричні моделі втілення концепту ЛЮБОВ з точки зору образів неживої природи. Дослідження дозволило визначити типові метафоричні моделі розгортання концепту, а також розглянути концпетотвірну роль мовних засобів у реалізації ментальних образі любовних переживань властивих сучасному англомовному любовному роману.

Ключові слова: концепт ЛЮБОВ, концептуальна метафора, мовні засоби, образи природи, концептуальна схема, любовний роман.

Аннотация

В статье, с позиций когнитивных принципов картирования мира и позиций теории концептуальной метафоры, сопряженных с интерпретацией концептуальной стороны образа как определенного менатального пространства, структурированного разными сферами знания, рассматриваются метафорические модели реализации концепта ЛЮБОВЬ з точки зрения образов неживой природы. Исследование позволило определить типичные метафорические модели развертывания концепта, а также рассмотреть концептообразующую роль языковых средств реализации ментальных образов любовных переживаний свойственных современному англоязычному любовному роману.

Ключевые слова: концепт ЛЮБОВЬ, концептуальная метафора, языковые средства, образы природы, концептуальная схема, любовный роман. metaphorical concept language

Abstract

The article, from the perspective of the principles of mapping the world known and widely used in cognitive linguistics as well as the theory of conceptual metaphor involving the interpretation of the conceptual part of the image as a certain mental space, structured in different realms of knowledge, investigates metaphorical models of the textual concept of love which are considered in terms of images of inanimate nature. Thus, the article aims to apply the theory of conceptual metaphor in particular to give a detailed analysis of how metaphor-based schemata provide the realization of the concept of love in modern romance novels.

The results of semantic analysis of nominative units, which mainly include lexemes and phrases used for naming inanimate objects, have allowed us to distinguish such topic domains as elements of nature, natural phenomena, and natural geocomplexes. The study of the frequency distribution of different images of nature, which aim to activate the writer's / reader's knowledge of love feelings, showed that a great mass of them belongs to the topic domain of natural elements and geocomplexes, mostly to the image of water. It is noteworthy that this object of associations can be a generalized picture of water as well as its concrete manifestations like sea, tide, river etc. Metaphorical images, besides elements of nature and natural geocomplexes, are also formed on the basis of the conceptual field "love feelings are natural phenomena", brought to the process of representation by detailed descriptions of a specific natural phenomenon. These are particularly relevant to metaphors used to convey unpleasant feelings related to love experiences.

Apart from language means that underlie the core of the studied concept, the analyzed passages were divided according to the level of the emotional excitement. This has demonstrated the frequency of the specifi c schemata involved in the process of love feeling representation. We can state that an indispensable constituent of the phrases conveying an increase in emotional tension is natural phenomena like whirlpool, wind, and flame. An emotionally stable state is mainly actualized by the use of such elements of nature as fi re, land, air, and water. In case the image created focuses on decrease in emotional tension, a significant mass of examples contain language units related to natural geocomplexes.

Key words: concept of love, conceptual metaphor, language means, images of nature, conceptual schema, romance novels.

The study of language in cognitive perspective and particularly the research of an individual's verbalized forms of knowledge as well as the reconstruction of communicants' language picture of the world tend to be a key field in modern linguistic studies [2, p. 162]. Traditionally the object of linguists' special attention has been figurative language [3]. Cognitive linguistics interprets the verbal image as a product of an individual's mental and speech activity, as a conceptual and language unity of the textual construct used for representing true knowledge of the external world.

One of the significant components in modern language reality is a language of genre fiction, where the author, by depicting individual characters, their sensory perceptions and experiences, constructs the whole society's model of the world, the worldview of which is reflected in the system of language images, metaphorical in particular. According to the source [8, p. 363-364], the later, in the scope of cognitive linguistic studies, is a universal capacity that structures the way we think and our language, presenting metaphorical schemata that are shared or universal.

Among a number of attempts to reveal the nature of metaphors, in the last decades, the most thoroughgoing treatment of metaphor in everyday language is found in G. Lakoff and M. Johnson [7]. Here the authors identify the core metaphors that underlie our thinking about a vast array of domains, and argue that the domains are understood only by means of these metaphors [7]. Other researchers, deepening this idea, state that the representational structure that maps knowledge about a conceptual metaphor's vehicle domain onto its topic domain is a metaphor-based schema. They exemplify it by the domain of love which, in their opinion, is often understood through the schema love is a physical force, in which conceptual structures associated with physical forces are mapped onto the domain of love, and in the process, influence the way love is understood [4, p. 612].

Like the experience of love itself, metaphors make connections. We comprehend our love experiences and lead our lives via specific conceptual metaphors. They are not simply confined to linguistics, but also have entered into and become spotlight of fields of philosophy, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, psychology, sociology and education. So, it is no surprise that love has been imagined, examined, and remembered through a wide variety of figurative comparisons where metaphors are of primary importance. Thus, there is no doubt that the structure of the analyzed concept as well as its mental representation should be studied in terms of metaphors.

Although the concept of love has been a subject of some profound research [1; 5; 4] which has allowed scholars to define its nature and the most significant features at the intersection of various scientific disciplines, both formal and empiric, scholarly analysis of this concept remains to be of major interest for a number of reasons. First, as A. Wierzbicka states, its emergence in Western folk philosophy constitutes a significant stage in the development of human ideas and human values [11, p. 146]. Along with this, the scholar underlines that "whatever it is thought about the significance of love, it is an illusion to think that it is a universal, natural, or basic human concept" [11, p. 147]. The statement quite naturally leads to understanding of the diversity of existing language means and techniques that writers are bound to use to represent the picture of the world in this perspective. Second, considering different approaches to the description of the concept of love, the authors [1, p. 167] state that as this concept is common to many cultures and pictures of the world, it is specifically manifested in national and individual consciousness. They argue that in English quite extensive nominative field represents this concept including lexical and phraseological units, and representing such cognitive characteristics as inconsistency; irrationality; spontaneity, lack of control; a close relationship with other both positive and negative emotions and feelings; freedom and reciprocity of feelings; a manifestation of selflessness or selfishness; the basis of family relationships; rituality and analogy with the game [1, p. 167]. Moreover, love is believed to be a prototypical emotion which received the highest prototypicality rating of any emotions [5, p. 426].

Despite the diversity of definitions of love which defines love as "a constructed experience built with feelings, ideas, and cultural symbols" [10, p. 197], as "an attitude held by one person toward another, involving a predisposition to think, feel, and behave in certain ways toward that person" [9, p. 266], and the number of its subtypes ranging from two to seven [5, p. 427], we are particularly concerned with the directly verbalized forms of how one character feels about another. Thus, this study aims to apply the achievements of cognitive science and the theory of conceptual metaphor in particular, to give an analysis of how metaphor-based schemata provide the love feeling representation in modern romance novels.

Based on the cognitive principles of mapping the world and the theory of conceptual metaphor involving the interpretation of the conceptual part of the image as a certain mental space, structured in different realms of knowledge [6, p. 8-20], and the results of the study of images of inanimate nature in English native speakers' linguistic picture of the world, all metaphorical models in the studied novels are considered in terms of images of animate and inanimate nature [2, p. 162-163] which form specific frames of knowledge in a recipient's consciousness.

The basis for the selection of these topic domains, which store knowledge and form nodes of frame, classified according to the source [2, p. 164], and the description of their content is the result of semantic analysis of nominative units used for naming inanimate objects. Mostly these are lexemes and phrases that mark: 1) elements of nature - water, fire, land, air etc.; 2) natural phenomena - storm, whirlpool, wind, flame, mist, dew, sun, moon, brightness and the like; 3) natural geocomplexes - river, ocean, sea, desert, waves, sky etc.

The analysis of the frequency distribution of different images of nature, which aim to activate the writer's / reader's knowledge of love feelings, showed that a great mass of them belongs to the topic domain of natural elements and geocomplexes, mostly to the image of water. It is noteworthy that this object of associations can be a generalized picture of water as well as its concrete manifestations like sea, tide, river etc. This image facilitates a formation of conceptual schemata. They include: BURNING LOVE - IS A ROUGH SEA / A DEEP SEA; SUFFERING FROM LOVE - IS DEBRIS FROM THE SEA; FALLING IN LOVE - IS TIDES; LOVE EXCITEMENT - IS WAVES. These ways of love feelings conceptualization are transformed highly conventional universal metaphorical schemata LOVE - IS AN OCEAN; PASSION - IS A DEEP BLUE SEA; TO LOVE - IS TO DROWN IN THE RIVER OF EMOTIONS. As the following example demonstrates, Rachel comprehends her love experiences by imagining a warm flowing river: They held hands, and every now and then he'd lean forward to kiss the side of her face. Rachel S eyes drifted shut as a river of awareness flowed through her [2, p. 153]. Similarly, another passage instantiates the association of love feeling with water: He kissed her then, long and hard, and they clung to each other like two people drowning [3, p. 192].

Among some other notable instances of images of love represented by the conceptual field of geocomplexes that extrapolates the deepness of feeling is the metaphorical schema DEEP, TRUE FEELING - IS ENDLESS ROAD. This is quite evident from the following utterance: She could not envisage living anywhere else in the world, yet on the heels of that thought was the knowledge that she would follow Brandon to the ends of the earth if he only asked her [1, p. 351].

Other images of elements of nature frequently used in the studied romance novels are mainly universal stereotypes embodied in such metaphorical schemata as LOVE - IS RAY OF SUNSHINE; OBSESSIVE FEELING OF LOVE - IS FIRE / BLAZE; TENDER FEELING OF LOVE - IS AIR / SUN; LOVE EXPERIENCES - IS WIND / WHIRLPOOL. Their role in organizing conceptual knowledge can be seen in the following example where Mali Richardson's peaceful feeling of love is conveyed by involving a conceptual structure associated with a light wind: The fragrant breeze drifted towards her, heavy with the scent of roses, and she felt a deep sense of peace [1, p. 36].

Metaphorical images, besides elements of nature and natural geocomplexes, are also formed on the basis of the conceptual field LOVE FEELINGS - ARE NATURAL PHENOMENA, brought to the process of representation by detailed descriptions of a specific natural phenomenon. These are particularly relevant to metaphors used to convey unpleasant feelings related to love experiences. They underlie the following metaphorical schemata: ANXIETY CAUSED BY LOVE - IS LIGHTNING / WHIRLPOOL; FAILED LOVE - IS STORM; PAINFUL FEELING OF LOVE - IS A FIERCE FLAME. The example below illustrates the intensification of Mary's hopeless state as an image provided by the use of the mentioned above schema: Like a shaft of lightning she was tinglingly aware that she was not meant for marriage and children [1, p. 224].

Language means that underlie the core of the studied concept include lexical units that convey a metaphorical image giving an idea of the world in the fictional work. These are frequently verbs which both express the content and conduce to the concept representation, for example, to stir her from, to fill her with, to feel a deep sense of, feel as though etc. Lexical repetitions, enumeration in particular, in some cases accompanied by syntactical repetition play a similar role. This can be seen in the following: Their children, their mates, their memories, their loves. And yet none of it seemed to matter as he kissed her with all the passion that had been pent up over the years and had been long forgotten [3, p. 169]. They also include phrases with the component love in which the other component often acts as a metaphorical epithet, for instance, deep, cruel, burning love; predicative parameters that mark a manner of action (really, absolutely), purpose (to build the future), time and space (over the years, now and then, all around, forever) and the like.

Another passage, on the one hand, illustrates a metaphorical schemata DESPERATE LOVE - IS MIST as a part of the mentioned above conceptual field natural phenomena, and, on the other hand, the interaction of lexical (a modal verb and an adverb that convey impossibility and desperation) and syntactical means (parallelism and enumeration) used to objectify the character's feeling: He was back to real life, to the things that mattered to him, his wife, his sons, his business. And somewhere in the distance, receding into the mists, was the woman he had found but could never have, woman he was so desperately in love with [3, p. 194].

Besides, we divided the analyzed examples, according to the level of the emotional excitement they express, into 1) increase in emotional tension, 2) emotionally stable state, and 3) decrease in emotional tension which allowed us to trace interdependence between the directions of an emotional state the writer aims to convey and a type of conceptual schema involved in this process.

The results of the analysis show that an indispensable constituent of the phrases conveying an increase in emotional tension is natural phenomena i.e. whirlpool, wind, and flame. In the following example the state of anxiety and excitement, chiefly raised by her feeling of love, is materialized with the verb to whirl. The image of energetic movement gradually comes down to give way to expectations achieved by a metaphor: Her thoughts whirled as she stood in the bustle of the market square and hope blossomed within her [1, p. 226]. It is also noteworthy that this type is often maintained by a mixture of the constituents of natural geocomplexes. As is obvious from the following passage, a contrast between calmness of the sky and roughness of the sea facilitates to create an image of how deep the heroine's feeling is: He smiled and Mary's heart seemed to lift; she felt as though she were floating high on a billowing cloud or sinking in the depths of the foaming sea. It was a strange sensation and she was not sure it was one she liked [1, p. 72].

The second type is mainly actualized by the use of such elements of nature as fire, land, air, and water e.g. `And what if I don't want to talk to you? ' she said, but her voice was trembling. She was as keen for a tumble as he was, Brandon thought in triumph and his entire body seemed bathed in heat [1, p. 242].

Quite significant in the distribution of the decrease in emotional tension is natural geocomplexes. For instance, the following example demonstrates an image of the rough sea to play a special role in organizing conceptual knowledge about Mary's feeling: Mary moved down the hill and stared out towards the sea which was topped by white foam like milk come straight from the cows. Her heart was filled with hope [1, p. 226].

Also the analysis has proved three possible ways involved in the creation of image of deep, desperate or long-lasting feeling of love. They may be used as means to achieve its expression. The following example illustrates a key image of a whirlpool explicitly associated with the character's experience: Suddenly she felt as though she was drowning in a whirlpool of emotions [1, p. 224]. According to the second way, they, being used preliminarily, predetermine the deepness of the feeling which is described afterwards by creating the image of something endless, immeasurable etc.: His bright hair was shining in the sunlight and Mali's heart leapt with joy as it always did at the sight of her husband [1, p. 36]. Also they may be used postliminarily to concentrate the climax at the end of the passage which apparently intensifies the expressiveness of the image created. Thus, each successive constituent is perceived much stronger than the preceding one: Then he 'd kissed her - repeatedly - before he 'd left for the newspaper office. The memory of his kisses stirring her from a deep sleep filled her with a warm glow of happiness [2, p. 33].

Images of inanimate objects, mostly lexical units used to mark elements of nature, natural phenomena, and natural geocomplexes, play an important role in the textual concept of love representation. On the level of textual narration their dynamic allows the author to convey both unpleasant feelings related to love experiences and an image of deep, desperate, and long-lasting feeling of love.

References

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8. Lakoff G. Metaphors We Live By / George Lakoff, Mark Johnson. - Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1980. - 256 p.

9. Piquer Piriz M.A. Notes on Metaphorical Schemata and the Search for Equivalence in Translating English and Spanish / Ana M. Piquer Piriz // Anuario de Estudios Filologicos. - 2002. - Vol. 25. - P. 363-374.

10. Rubin Z. Measurement of Romantic Love / Zick Rubin // Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. - 1970. - Vol. 16. - No. 2. - P 265-273.

11. Skolnick A. The Intimate Environment : Exploring Marriage and the Family / Arlene S. Skolnick. - NY : Harper Collins Publishers, 1992. - 507 p.

12. Wierzbicka A. Semantics, Culture, and Cognition : Universal Human Concepts in Culture-Specific Configurations Department of Linguistics / Anna Wierzbicka. - Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1992. - 496 p.

13. Список джерел ілюстративного матеріалу

14. Gower I. Proud Mary / Iris Gower. - London : Corgi Books, 1984. - 400 p.

15. Macomber D. 92 Pacific Boulevard / Debbie Macomber. - Ontario : Mira Books, 2009. - 384 p.

16. Steel D. Five Days in Paris / Danielle Steel. - London : Corgi Books, 1995. - 349 p.

17. Demina E. Lingvisticheskaya reprezentatsiya kontsepta "lyubov" v angliyskom yazyke / E. Demina. N. Kuznetsova // Vestnik Nizhegorodskogo universiteta im. N.I. Lobachevskogo, 2011. - Seriya : Filologiya. - № 6(2). - S. 167-168.

18. Moriakina I. Obrazy nezhyvoi pryrody u movnii kartyni svitu anhliitsiv (na materiali romaniv forsaitivskoho tsyklu Dzh. Hosuorsi) / I. Moriakina, D. Yaremko // Mova, kultura y osvita v suchasnomu sviti : zbirnyk naukovykh prats do 90-richchia doktora filolohichnykh nauk, profesora Romanovskoho O.K. - K. : Vyd. tsentr KNLU, 2008. - S. 162-167.

19. Teliya V. Metaforizatsiya i eye rol v sozdanii yazykovoy kartiny mira / V. Teliya // Rol chelovecheskogo faktora v yazyke : Yazyk i kartina mira. - M. : Nauka, 1988. - S. 173-204.

20. Allbritton D. Metaphor-Based Schemas and Text Representations : Making Connections Trough Conceptual Metaphors / David Allbritton, Gail McKoon, Richard Gerrig // Journal of Experimental Psychology : Learning, Memory, and Cognition. - 1995. - Vol. 21. - No. 3. - P. 612-625.

21. Fehr B. The Concept of Love Viewed from a Prototype Perspective / Beverley Fehr, James A. Russell // Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. - 1991. - Vol. 60. - No. 3. - P 425-438.

22. Kintsch W. The Role of Knowledge in Discourse Comprehension : A Construction-Integration Model / Walter Kintsch // Cognitive Modeling / edited by Thad A. Polka and Colleen M. Seifert. - Cambridge, Massachusetts, London : The MIT Press, 2002. - P. 5-48.

23. Lakoff G. Metaphors We Live By / George Lakoff, Mark Johnson. - Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1980. - 256 p.

24. Piquer Piriz M.A. Notes on Metaphorical Schemata and the Search for Equivalence in Translating English and Spanish / Ana M. Piquer Piriz // Anuario de Estudios Filologicos. - 2002. - Vol. 25. - P. 363-374.

25. Rubin Z. Measurement of Romantic Love / Zick Rubin // Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. - 1970. - Vol. 16. - No. 2. - P. 265-273.

26. Skolnick A. The Intimate Environment : Exploring Marriage and the Family / Arlene Skolnick. - NY : Harper Collins Publishers, 1992. - 507 p.

27. Wierzbicka A. Semantics, Culture, and Cognition : Universal Human Concepts in Culture-Specific Configurations Department of Linguistics / Anna Wierzbicka. - Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1992. - 496 p.

28. Sources of illustrative materials

29. Gower I. Proud Mary / Iris Gower. - London : Corgi Books, 1984. - 400 p.

30. Macomber D. 92 Pacific Boulevard / Debbie Macomber. - Ontario : Mira Books, 2009. - 384 p.

31. Steel D. Five Days in Paris / Danielle Steel. - London : Corgi Books, 1995. - 349 p.

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