Semanttinen yhteisalue kielikuvien analyysin apuna

Abstrakti

Common Semantic Ground as an Aid in Analysing. Metaphorical Expressions

My article discusses the metaphorical properties of language and the various manifestations of those properties. I set the stage by discussing the central issues of research into metaphorical expressions, and then proceed to introduce my concept of common semantic ground based on the various scientific views on metaphors. I also provide concrete examples on how my concept can be structured into graphical representations. Based on these definitions and examples, I subsequently apply my concept of common semantic ground to a more detailed analysis of poems with complex meanings.

The common semantic ground is based on two concepts: the overlapping fields of meanings in metaphorical expressions, and the idea of similarity established through analogies in the contrasted phenomena. A well-established paradigm about the relationship between the vehicle and tenor exists in the study of metaphor, but there have been few attempts to establish patterns of analysis in the study of metaphorical properties of a language. As I outline in my article, the vehicle and tenor are conjoined by their overlapping fields of meanings which I call the common semantic ground. This common ground contains the elements from both the source and target domains that enable both a meaningful connection and the mapping between the two domains. For example, in the expression “puu ojennetuin käsin” (cf. “a tree with outstretched arms”), the metaphor connects tree and man, and the common semantic ground is the set of properties shared by both concepts that enable the connection. As metaphorical items, the boughs of a tree and the arms of a man are portrayed as analogous.

As a method, the common semantic ground serves the analysis of constructing a metaphor’s meaning. It can also be used as a means of argumentation for thematic interpretations via the different layers of component parts in the imagery.