ISSN: 2306-5737E-ISSN: 2658-4069
Acta Linguistica Petropolitana
Transactions of the Institute for Linguistic Studies
ISSN: 2306-5737E-ISSN: 2658-4069
Acta Linguistica Petropolitana
Transactions of the Institute for Linguistic Studies 

The metaphors of falling

DOI:10.30842/alp2306573716102
PDF, 880.98 kb
Rakhilina Ye. V., Reznikova T. I., Ryzhova D. A. Tipologiya metafor padeniya. Acta Linguistica Petropolitana. 2020. XVI(1): 64–114.

The paper discusses the metaphorical extensions of FALLING verbs, identified on a sample of 20 languages, including, besides several Standard Average European languages, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Aghul, Adyghe, Basque, and some other languages from different language families. The verbs under study are characterized by a wide range of figurative meanings, which are shown to be recurrent across languages, cf. the well-known pattern LESS IS DOWN, as well as the semantics of the onset of a season, transformation, surrender, lagging behind a group, and many others.

The study is conducted within the frame-based methodology: figurative meanings of the verbs with initial semantics of falling are revealed from dictionaries and corpus data, as well as via elicitation with the help of a context-based questionnaire specifically designed for these purposes. The revealed metaphorical usages of FALLING verbs in different languages are reported mostly in the corresponding papers of the present volume. This paper gives an overview of the attested figurative meanings of the verbs denoting uncontrolled downward motion and offers a typological analysis of the detected patterns.

Based on the typological data, we argue that the derived meanings should be traced back not to the idea of falling in general, but to a particular frame of falling, i.e. to a certain type of uncontrolled downward motion: falling from above (from an upper surface), loss of vertical orientation, destruction, or detachment. Thus, the onset of the time period goes back to falling from an upper surface, transformation is derived from loss of vertical orientation, surrender from destruction, and lagging behind a group from detachment.

Keywords
lexical typology, verbs of falling, metaphor, typology of metaphors
References
Bagirokova, Ryzhova (in press)
I. G. Bagirokova, D. A. Ryzhova. Metafory glagolov padeniya v adygeyskom yazyke [Metaphorical extensions of the verbs of falling in West-Circassian]. Izvestiya RAN. Seriya literatury i yazyka (in press).
Britsyn et al. 2009
V. M. Britsyn, E. V. Rakhilina, T. I. Reznikova, G. M. Yavorskaya (eds.). Kontsept BOL v tipologicheskom osveshchenii [The concept of PAIN from a typological perspective]. Kyiv: Vidavnichiy dim Dmitra Burago, 2009.
Brugman 1988
C. M. Brugman. The story of “over”: Polysemy, semantics, and the structure of the lexicon. New York: Garland, 1988.
Dolscheid et al. 2013
S. Dolscheid, Sh. Shayan, A. Majid, D. Casasanto. The Thickness of Musical Pitch: Psychophysical Evidence for Linguistic Relativity. Psychological Science. 2013. Vol. 24. Iss. 5. P. 613–621.
François 2008
A. François. Semantic maps and the typology of colexification: Intertwining polysemous networks across languages. M. Vanhove (ed.). From Polysemy to Semantic change: Towards a Typology of Lexical Semantic Associations [Studies in Language Companion Series, 106]. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2008. P. 163–215.
Georgakopoulos, Polis under revision
T. Georgakopoulos, S. Polis. Dynamic semantic maps of content words. The diachrony of time-related lexemes. Journal of Historical Linguistics, under revision.
Goto, Say 2009
K. V. Goto, S. S. Say. Chastotnye kharakteristiki klassov russkikh refleksivnykh glagolov [Frequency characteristics of Russian reflexive verbs]. V. A. Plungyan, E. V. Rakhilina, S. G. Tatevosov, K. L. Kiseleva (eds.). Korpusnye issledovaniya po russkoy grammatike [Corpus Studies on Russian Grammar]. Moscow: Probel-2000, 2009. P. 184–223.
Haspelmath 1990
M. Haspelmath. The Grammaticization of Passive Morphology. Studies in Language. 1990. Vol. 14. No 1. P. 25–72.
Heine, Kuteva 2002
B. Heine, T. Kuteva. World Lexicon of Grammaticalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Kashkin 2017
E. V. Kashkin. Komi yazyk i leksicheskaya tipologiya: glagoly padeniya [Komi and lexical typology: verbs of falling]. R. P. Popova (ed.). Permistika-16: Dialekty i istoriya permskikh yazykov vo vzaimodeystvii s drugimi yazykami: sbornik nauchnykh statey [Permistics-16. Dialects and history of the Permian languages in interaction with other languages: edited volume]. Syktyvkar: Pitirim Sorokin Syktyvkar State University Press, 2017. P. 86–94.
Kopecka, Narasimhan (eds.) 2012
A. Kopecka, B. Narasimhan (eds.). Events of Putting and Taking: A crosslinguistic perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2012.
Kruglyakova 2010
V. A. Kruglyakova. Semantika glagolov vrashcheniya v tipologicheskoy perspektive. Diss. … kand. filol. nauk [Semantics of rotation verbs in a typological perspective. Phil. cand. diss.]. Moscow: Russian State University for Humanities, 2010.
Kustova 2004
G. I. Kustova. Tipy proizvodnykh znacheniy i mekhanizmy yazykovogo rasshireniya. [Types of derived meanings and mechanisms of language extension]. Moscow: Yazyki slavyanskoy kultury, 2004.
Lakoff 1987
G. Lakoff. Women, fire, and dangerous things: What categories reveal about the mind. Chicago, London: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
Lakoff, Johnson 1980
G. Lakoff, M. Johnson. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.
List et al. 2018
J.-M. List, S. Greenhill, C. Anderson, Th. Mayer, T. Tresoldi, R. Forkel. CLICS2: An improved database of cross-linguistic colexifications: Assembling lexical data with the help of cross-linguistic data formats. Linguistic Typology. 2018. Vol. 22. Iss. 2. P. 277–306.
Majid, Bowerman (eds.) 2007
A. Majid, M. Bowerman (eds.). Cutting and breaking events: A crosslinguistic perspective. Cognitive Linguistics. 2007. Vol. 18. Iss. 2 [Special issue].
Maysak 2005
T. A. Maysak. Tipologiya grammatikalizatsii konstruktsiy s glagolami dvizheniya i glagolami pozitsii [Typology of Grammaticalization of the Constructions with Motion and Posture Verbs]. Moscow: Yazyki slavyanskoy kultury, 2005.
Maysak, Rakhilina 2007
T. A. Maysak, E. V. Rakhilina (eds.). Glagoly dvizheniya v vode: leksicheskaya tipologiya [The typology of Aquamotion verbs]. Moscow: Indrik, 2007.
Paducheva 2004
E. V. Paducheva. Dinamicheskie modeli v semantike leksiki [Dynamic models in lexical semantics]. Moscow: Yazyki slavyanskoy kultury, 2004.
Rakhilina, Reznikova 2013
E. V. Rakhilina, T. I. Reznikova. Freymovyy podkhod k leksicheskoy tipologii [A Frame-based methodology for lexical typology]. Voprosy yazykoznaniya. 2013. No. 2. P. 3–31.
Rakhilina et al. 2010a
E. V. Rakhilina, T. I. Reznikova, A. A. Bonch-Osmolovskaya. Tipologiya preobrazovaniya konstruktsiy: predikaty boli [A Typology of Construction Modifications: Pain Predicates]. E. V. Rakhilina (ed.). Lingvistika konstruktsiy [Linguistics of constructions]. Moscow: Azbukovnik, 2010. P. 456–540.
Rakhilina et al. 2010b
E. V. Rakhilina, T. I. Reznikova, O. S. Karpova. Semanticheskie perekhody v atributivnykh konstruktsiyakh: metafora, metonimiya i rebrending [Semantic Shifts in Attributive Constructions: Metaphor, Metonymy, and Rebranding]. E. V. Rakhilina (ed.). Lingvistika konstruktsiy [Linguistics of constructions]. Moscow: Azbukovnik, 2010. P. 396–455.
Speed et al. (eds.) 2019
L. J. Speed, C. O’Meara, L. San Roque, A. Majid. Perception Metaphors. [Converging Evidence in Language and Communication Research. Vol. 19]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2019.
Vostrikova 2003
N. M. Vostrikova Grammatikalizatsiya glagolov kauzatsii dvizheniya i izmeneniya polozheniya v prostranstve [Grammaticalization of caused-motion and posture change verbs]. A. S. Narinyani (ed.). Kompyuternaya lingvistika i intellektualnye tekhnologii: Trudy mezhdunarodnoy konferentsii «Dialog-2003» (Protvino, 11–16 iyunya, 2003 g.) [Computational Linguistics and Intellectual Technologies. Proceedings of the International Conference Dialogue-2003 (Protvino, 11–16 June 2003)]. Moscow: Russian State University for Humanities Publishing House, 2003.
Keywords
lexical typology, verbs of falling, metaphor, typology of metaphors
ScopusSCImago Journal & Country RankE-Library.ruCrossRefCyberLeninkaVAKERIH Plus