A Cognitive Semantic Study of Selected English Visual Medical Metaphors

الملخص

This study is an attempt to analyze a number of selected English visual medical metaphors in the light of three cognitive semantic theories: Lackoff & Johnson's (1980) Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), and their (1987) Image Schema Theory (IST), as well as Fauconnier and Turner's (2002) Conceptual Blending Theory (CBT).                        

       The study is based on the hypotheses that the selected cognitive theories can account for the cognitive realty and meaning construction in visual medical metaphors, and the possibility of having of more than one interpretations of these selected metaphors. The study also hypothesizes that that linguistic and extra linguistic elements have a complementary role in conveying the metaphor's intended message.                                                        

           To achieve the aims of the study and verify its hypotheses, five medical visual metaphors have been selected from two newspapers: Chicago Tribune, and the New York Journal. The selected medical posters have been analyzed in the light of an eclectic model based on Lackoff & Johnson's (1980) CMT, and their (1987) IST, as well as Fauconnier and Turner's (2002) CBT.