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Introducing Sign Language Literature, Folklore, and creativity Chapter 10 …
Introducing Sign Language Literature, Folklore, and creativity Chapter 10
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Three Types of Metaphors
Orientational Metaphor
The association between abstract concepts and directions (such as GOOD IS UP, BAD IS DOWN)
Particularly popular in sign languages, because they are spatial languages
Movement is a formational feature of all signs, and the choice of direction of movement may be governed by metaphor
Many BSL signs which have positive meaning are signed with an upward movement those with negative connotations move downward.
Ontological Metaphor
Allows us to talk about abstract ideas, events, states, emotions & so on as if they were concrete objects & substances
They are seen as objects that can be touched, moved, sent, kept in a certain location & so on
Ontological metaphors in sign languages are often represented through handling classifiers, which show how we manipulate objects & can also be used metaphorically to manipulate abstract concepts
Structural Metaphor
Uses rich & systematic ways of mapping internal patterns of source & target concepts - as in the example of LIFE IS A JOURNEY
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Such a systematic mapping between two concepts can produce a number of expressions based on each conceptual metaphor
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Poetic Metaphor: Extending, Elaborating, Questioning & Combining
Extending
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Poet uses a conventional metaphor of LIFE IS A JOURNEY but adds extra details such as his encounter with two roads, one of which is less traveled than the other
People are travelers, the achievement of the purpose of life is reaching the destination, obstacles in life are obstacles on a journey
In Dorothy Miles' The Staircase the characters encounter a huge staircase & climb all the way to the top to achieve a certificate. She extends its source domain by adding the details of the huge staircase & highlighting the importance of the gradual, step-by-step approach to the goal
Elaborating
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Personification of non-humans (anthropomorphism) is a pervasive feature of sign language literature. Personification is also identified as one type of conventional metaphor
In Richard Carter's Deaf Trees he not only personifies trees but also gives a quality of Deafness to them & creates extra empathy when trees & humans become 'comrades'
Questioning
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A commonly found example is to use the A LIFETIME IS A DAY metaphor but then indicate differences between the two concepts, such as repeatability of a day & mortality of human life