Culture, Body, and Language: Conceptualizations of Internal Body Organs across Cultures and Languages (Applications of Cognitive Linguistics)

One of the central themes in cognitive linguistics is the uniquely human development of some higher potential called the ""mind"" and, more particularly, the intertwining of body and mind, which has come to be known as embodiment. Several books and volumes have explored this theme in length. However, the interaction between culture, body and language has not received the due attention that it deserves. Naturally, any serious exploration of the interface between body, language and culture would require an analytical tool that would capture the ways in which different cultural groups conceptualize their feelings, thinking, and other experiences in relation to body and language. A well-established notion that appears to be promising in this direction is that of cultural models, constituting the building blocks of a group's cultural cognition. The volume results from an attempt to bring together a group of scholars from various language backgrounds to make a collective attempt to explore the relationship between body, language and culture by focusing on conceptualizations of the heart and other internal body organs across a number of languages. The general aim of this venture is to explore (a) the ways in which internal body organs have been employed in different languages to conceptualize human experiences such as emotions and/or workings of the mind, and (b) the cultural models that appear to account for the observed similarities as well as differences of the various conceptualizations of internal body organs. The volume as a whole engages not only with linguistic analyses of terms that refer to internal body organs across different languages but also with the origin of the cultural models that are associated with internal body organs in different cultural systems, such as ethnomedical and religious traditions. Some contributions also discuss their findings in re cover......Page 1 Frontmatter ......Page 2 Table of contents......Page 8 List of contributors......Page 10 Culture and language: Looking for the “mind” inside the body......Page 14 Gut feelings: Locating intellect, emotionand lifeforce in the Thaayorre body......Page 38 Did he break your heart or your liver? A contrastive study on metaphorical concepts from the source domain ORGAN in English and in Indonesian......Page 56 Contrastive semantics and cultural psychology:English heart vs. Malay hati......Page 86 Guts, heart and liver: The conceptualization of internal organs in Basque......Page 114 The Chinese heart as the central faculty of cognition......Page 142 The heart – What it means to the Japanese speakers......Page 180 How to have a HEART in Japanese......Page 202 The Korean conceptualization of heart: An indigenous perspective......Page 224 Conceptualizations of del ‘heart-stomach’ in Persian......Page 258 Expressions concerning the heart (libbā) in Northeastern Neo-Aramaic in relation to a Classical Syriac model of the temperaments......Page 278 Hearts and (angry) minds in Old English......Page 330 To be in control: kind-hearted and cool-headed. The head-heart dichotomy in English......Page 360 The heart as a source of semiosis: The case of Dutch......Page 384 The heart and cultural embodiment in Tunisian Arabic......Page 406 Backmatter ......Page 440 Culture And Language : Looking For The 'mind' Inside The Body -- Gut Feelings -- Did He Break Your Heart Or Your Liver? A Contrastive Study On Metaphorical Concepts From The Source Domain Organ In English And In Indonesian -- Contrastive Semantics And Cultural Psychology : English Heart Vs. Malay Hati -- Guts, Heart And Liver : The Conceptualization Of Internal Organs In Basque -- The Chinese Heart As The Central Faculty Of Cognition -- The Heart : What It Means To The Japanese Speakers -- How To Have A Heart In Japanese -- The Korean Conceptualization Of Heart -- Conceptualizations Of 'del' 'heart-stomach' In Persian -- Expressions Concerning The 'heart' In Northeastern Neo-aramic In Relation To A Classical Syriac Model Of The Temperaments -- Hearts And (angry) Minds In Old English -- To Be In Control : Kind-hearted And Cool-headed. The Head-heart Dichotomy In English -- The Heart As A Source Of Semiosis : The Case Of Dutch -- The Heart And Cultural Embodiment In Tunisian Arabic. Edited By Farzad Sharifian ... [et Al.]. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "The volume makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the intricate relationship between culture, body and language by focusing on conceptualizations of internal body organs in several languages. The studies explore how across various cultures internal body organs such as the heart have been used as the locus of conceptualizing feelings, thinking, knowing, etc. Such conceptualizations appear to be rooted in cultural systems such as ethnomedical and religious traditions. The volume engages with these themes using the analytical tools developed in cognitive linguistics and cognitive anthropology."--BOOK JACKET