Paduch, Marek

English

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  61ZESZYTY NAUKOWE WYśSZEJ SZKOŁY PEDAGOGICZNEJ W RZESZOWIE  SERIA FILOLOGICZNA ZESZYT 38/2000   STUDIA ANGLICA RESOVIENSIA 1 Marek  PADUCH    METAPHORICAL  AWARENESS  OF  THE  NATIVE  SPEAKERS  OF  ENGLISH  IN  THE  CONCEPTUALISATION  OF  HAPPINESS The notion of meaning has always been high on the agenda of linguistic studies.  However,  meaning  receives  special  prominence  in  Cognitive Linguistics: cognitive linguists, among whom the outstanding theoretical figures are  Ronald  Langacker1  and  George  Lakoff2,  put  a  lot  of  emphasis  on  the semantic  unit.  According  to  them,  meaning  can  be  expressed  by  means  of conceptualisation and metaphorical extension. The concepts that can be partially understood and viewed via metaphorical mappings  seem  numerous.  In  fact,  the  emotional  domain  turns  out  to  be  an abundant  source  of  conveying  meaning  by  dint  of  conceptualisation.  In particular,  the  concept  of  HAPPINESS,  as  the  one  that  is  universally acknowledged, appears extremely interesting and adequate to be analysed and assessed on the basis of cognitive criteria and metaphorisation processes (Davitz 1969). Furthermore, the analysis of the concept of HAPPINESS presented in this paper is made in comparison with the definitions of HAPPINESS offered by ordinary dictionaries such as Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English or Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. To be more precise, conceptualisation of HAPPINESS is based on the definitions given by thirty native speakers of English3 aged sixteen plus subjected to the survey4 which was conducted in London, England, in November 1999. It  must  be  stressed  that  the  reasons  for  taking  such  an  approach  to  the problem of meaning in general and metaphor in particular highlighted on the grounds  of  the  conceptualisation  of  HAPPINESS  are  many.  Firstly,  the  1 See Langacker (1987). 2 See Lakoff (1980), Lakoff and Johnson (1980), Lakoff and Turner (1989). 3 See Appendix 1. 4 See Appendix 2.   62experiment is devised to elicit whether or not metaphor is grounded5 in people’s minds.  Secondly,  the  survey  allows  to  analyse  how  people  understand  the concept of HAPPINESS and whether or not they possess the cognitive abilities and skills at defining the concept. Thirdly, it is hoped that the experiment will permit to measure people’s perception of the world through metaphor. Finally, the  analysis  is  supposed  to  reveal  the  deficiency  of  ordinary  dictionary definitions. Let  us  now  proceed  to  carry  out  a  linguistic  analysis  of  the  concept  of HAPPINESS based on the survey, and bearing in mind the definitions of the concept offered by ordinary dictionaries. For example, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English gives the following definition of HAPPINESS: it is ‘the state of having feelings of pleasure, for instance because something good has happened to you; the state of being satisfied or not worried’.  To  the  contrary,  here  are  the  definitions  of  the  concept  of  HAPPINESS provided by the English respondents, according to the questions in the survey: a) What is HAPPINESS ?  ‘a  feeling  of  deep  contentment  or  bubbling  joy’,  ‘love’,  ‘a  positive emotion’, ‘having a good time’, ‘enjoying life’, ‘spending time with friends’, ‘comfort’,  ‘feelings  of  achievement’,  ‘a  feeling  of  peace  with  the world’, ‘a bubbly  feeling’,  ‘going  out  with  my  boyfriend’,  ‘what  I  feel  on  a  sunny morning’, ‘joy’, ‘gladness’, ‘gaiety’, ‘great joy’, ‘a feeling of rightness’, ‘what everyone seeks’, ‘a state of mind’, ‘emotional riches’, ‘enjoying life to the full’, ‘a good life’, ‘doing something you enjoy’, ‘a light carefree feeling’, ‘living a lifestyle you enjoy’, ‘a very nice feeling’, ‘chocolate’, ‘being alive’, ‘feeling content  in  a  comfortable  way’,  ‘when  everything  is  good’,  ‘a  family’,  ‘true contentment’;  b) What do you associate HAPPINESS with ?  ‘love’,  ‘freedom’,  ‘friendship’,  ‘a  family’,  ‘being  with  special  people’, ‘smiling  faces’,  ‘sunshine’,  ‘warmth’,  ‘contentment’,  ‘chocolate’,  ‘sex’, ‘shopping’, ‘being with my family and friends’, ‘health’, ‘financial security’, ‘life’, ‘friends’, ‘laughter’, ‘smile’, ‘fun’, ‘satisfaction’, ‘summer’, ‘going out with  my  boyfriend’,  ‘a  song’,  ‘peace’,  ‘holiness’,  ‘blessings’,  ‘harmony’, ‘money  in  my  pocket’,  ‘sharing’,  ‘my  home’,  ‘a  sense  of  being  useful  and helpful’; c) HAPPINESS is: ‘warmth’, ‘beauty’, ‘a family’, ‘greatness’, ‘enjoying life’, ‘spending time with friends’, ‘perfection’, ‘a positive emotion’, ‘doing God’s will on earth’, ‘a  5 The term applies to the cognitive definition of metaphor and puts emphasis on the fact that metaphorical mappings are generated and stored in people’s minds. Moreover, metaphors are used with  little  or  no  consciousness  as  the  upshot  of  people’s  reactions  to  various  kinds  of  life encounters.    63warm sun in winter’, ‘going out with my boyfriend’, ‘loveliness’, ‘elusiveness’, ‘all that is wanted in life’, ‘feeling better than good’, ‘love’, ‘enjoying oneself’, ‘being  with  someone  special’,  ‘the  most  important  part  of  your  life’, ‘contentment’, ‘being with people you want to be with’, ‘a brilliant feeling’, ‘a bath  full  of  chocolate’,  ‘one  of  the  most  wonderful,  almost  perfect  feeling’, ‘contentment with life’, ‘smiling for no reason’; d) How would you draw HAPPINESS ?                         64 The definitions provided by the respondents show that the English think metaphorically  and,  as  a  result,  define  HAPPINESS  by  dint  of  metaphorical concepts.  Furthermore,  metaphorical  definitions  are  about  93  per  cent  of  all definitions given by the respondents. This can be demonstrated by the following graph:            Here are the ways of how people view HAPPINESS metaphorically: HAPPINESS IS BUBBLING JOY, HAPPINESS IS LOVE, HAPPINESS IS HAVING A GOOD TIME, HAPPINESS IS ENJOYING LIFE, HAPPINESS IS SPENDING TIME WITH FRIENDS, HAPPINESS IS COMFORT, HAPPINESS IS GOING OUT WITH MY BOYFRIEND, HAPPINESS IS JOY, HAPPINESS IS GLADNESS,  HAPPINESS  IS  GAIETY,  HAPPINESS  IS  GREAT  JOY, HAPPINESS IS EMOTIONAL RICHES, HAPPINESS IS ENJOYING LIFE TO THE  FULL,  HAPPINESS  IS  A  GOOD  LIFE,  HAPPINESS  IS  DOING SOMETHING YOU  ENJOY,  HAPPINESS  IS  CHOCOLATE,  HAPPINESS  IS BEING  ALIVE,  HAPPINESS  IS  A  FAMILY,  HAPPINESS  IS  TRUE CONTENTMENT, HAPPINESS IS FREEDOM, HAPPINESS IS FRIENDSHIP, HAPPINESS IS BEING WITH SPECIAL PEOPLE, HAPPINESS IS SMILING FACES, HAPPINESS IS SUNSHINE, HAPPINESS IS WARMTH, HAPPINESS IS SEX, HAPPINESS IS SHOPPING, HAPPINESS IS FRIENDS, HAPPINESS IS HEALTH, HAPPINESS IS FINANCIAL SECURITY, HAPPINESS IS SMILE, HAPPINESS  IS  FUN,  HAPPINESS  IS  LIFE,  HAPPINESS  IS  LAUGHTER, HAPPINESS  IS  SUMMER,  HAPPINESS  IS  HOLINESS,  HAPPINESS  IS  A SONG, HAPPINESS IS PEACE, HAPPINESS IS BLESSINGS, HAPPINESS IS MONEY  IN  MY  POCKET,  HAPPINESS  IS  SHARING,  HAPPINESS  IS HARMONY,  HAPPINESS  IS  MY  HOME,  HAPPINESS  IS  BEAUTY, HAPPINESS IS GREATNESS, HAPPINESS IS PERFECTION, HAPPINESS IS LOVELINESS,  HAPPINESS  IS  ELUSIVENESS, HAPPINESS IS ENJOYING ONESELF, HAPPINESS IS A BATH FULL OF CHOCOLATE, HAPPINESS IS 0102030405060708090100 PercentageMetaphorical Non- MetaphoricalKind of Definition  65SMILING FOR NO REASON, HAPPINESS IS A WARM SUN IN WINTER, HAPPINESS  IS  DOING  GOD’S WILL ON EARTH, HAPPINESS IS BEING WITH  SOMEONE  SPECIAL,  HAPPINESS  IS  BEING WITH  PEOPLE YOU WANT TO BE WITH, HAPPINESS IS SAFETY, HAPPINESS IS A PINT OF BEER, HAPPINESS IS £ 1.000.000, HAPPINESS IS A MOTHER AND HER CHILD, HAPPINESS IS A BIG SMILE, HAPPINESS IS LAMBS IN SPRING, HAPPINESS IS SUN AND MUSIC, HAPPINESS IS A BRIGHT SPRING DAY, HAPPINESS  IS  WINNING  A  LOTTERY  TICKET,  HAPPINESS  IS TOGETHERNESS,  HAPPINESS  IS  PEOPLE  DANCING AND  SINGING  IN BEAUTIFUL SURROUDINGS.   In addition, the following graph indicates which metaphorical concepts of HAPPINESS are most common among the respondents:          The  survey  also  shows  that  people  conceptualise  HAPPINESS  based  on their own experiences (60 per cent), on what they have indirectly acquired (3 per cent), and in both ways (37 per cent). This can be illustrated as follows:           0102030405060 PercentageSMILE LOVE FAMILY FRIENDS SUNSHINEKind of Concept01020304050607080PercentageDirect Indirect BothKind of Knowledge  66Moreover, the survey reveals that people use metaphorical concepts while defining  the  concept  of  HAPPINESS  irrespective  of  age:  96  per  cent  of teenagers conceptualise HAPPINESS via metaphor; so do 90 per cent of people aged 21–40; about 93 per cent of the respondents who are over 40 define the concept by dint of metaphor. This can be demonstrated by the following graph:       To summarise, the English respondents define the concept of HAPPINESS generating  such  metaphorical  expressions  as:  HAPPINESS  IS  LIFE, HAPPINESS IS HEALTH, HAPPINESS IS WARMTH, or HAPPINESS IS A FAMILY. Nevertheless, each of the three groups creates metaphors that seem to be distinctive of the given age: the teenagers view HAPPINESS as A BATH OF CHOCOLATE,  MONDAYS,  GOING  OUT  WITH  A  BOYFRIEND,  or SUMMER; more experienced people see the concept through PERFECTION, HARMONY, SMILE, or FRIENDS; finally, those over 40 depict HAPPINESS via TOGETHERNESS, A SONG, PEACE, or BLESSINGS. Also,  it  should  be  emphasised  that  both  women  and  men  tend  to conceptualise HAPPINESS by means of both generic and specific metaphorical concepts: for example, women understand HAPPINESS as A FAMILY, LOVE, CHOCOLATE, or SUNSHINE; whereas men perceive the concept as FRIENDS, SMILE, A PINT OF BEER, or LAMBS IN SPRING. In addition, the number of women and men who make use of metaphor in defining HAPPINESS is exactly the same, as the following graph indicates:     80828486889092949698100 Percentage16 - 20 21 - 40 41 +Age of Respondents5060708090100 PercentageWomen Men Sex  67To sum up, the experiment shows that the English depict HAPPINESS via a large number of metaphorical concepts producing such metaphorical mappings as:  HAPPINESS  IS  LOVE,  HAPPINESS  IS  A  FAMILY,  HAPPINESS  IS SMILE, HAPPINESS IS FRIENDS, HAPPINESS IS SUNSHINE, HAPPINESS IS HEALTH, HAPPINESS IS A PINT OF BEER, HAPPINESS IS WINNING A LOTTERY  TICKET,  etc.  Furthermore,  two  factors  are  found  to  affect  their understanding of the concept of HAPPINESS, namely their personal encounters and what they have indirectly experienced. More interestingly, the only criterion that makes a distinction among the respondents’ definitions seems to be the age. However, the definition of HAPPINESS turns out to be founded on neither sex nor education of the respondents. Obviously, the experiment proves that, to a large extent, the English think metaphorically  and,  consequently,  conceptualise  HAPPINESS  by  dint  of metaphorical concepts. Moreover, the analysis substantiates the pervasiveness of metaphor in everyday experience and, therefore, receives a valuable practical dimension. Thus,  it  appears  clear  that  people  tend  to  make use of metaphor regardless of the age, sex and education, which supports Ortony’s conviction of the omnipresence of metaphor in people’s experiences (Ortony 1993). All  in  all,  the  paper  highlights  the  importance  of  the  metalinguistic definition for the need of providing a full understanding of a given concept; as a result, the analysis confirms the insufficiency of the dictionary definition and exposes many contributions to the linguistic study made by non-linguists and non-cognitivists, suggesteded by Skrzypczak (1997). Besides, focusing on the Cognitive Approach to meaning, it is believed that the paper contributes to the subtle  problem  of  the  semantic  unit  in  general  and  intriguing  question  of metaphor as a powerful cognitive device in particular.    68Appendix 1 Description of the English Respondents:  Number  Name  Age  Sex  Education 1  Alison  16  female  GCSE 2  Ann  16  female  GCSE 3  Jane  18  female  GCE 4  Jennifer  18  female  GCE 5  Linda  19  female  GCE 6  Alan  17  male  GCSE 7  Ian  17  male  GCSE 8  Kevin  17  male  GCSE 9  Mark  18  male  GCE 10  Martin  19  male  GCE 11  Barbara  23  female  higher 12  Diana  29  female  GCE 13  Fiona  34  female  GCE 14  Jo  35  female  higher 15  Nicola  38  female  GCSE 16  Andrew  24  male  higher 17  David  25  male  higher 18  James  32  male  higher 19  Michael  35  male  GCSE 20  Richard  39  male  GCE 21  Caroline  44  female  GCE 22  Clare  46  female  GCSE 23  Emma  51  female  higher 24  Mary  56  female  higher 25  Rose  66  female  GCSE 26  Charles  45  male  GCSE 27  George  46  male  GCE 28  John  55  male  higher 29  Peter  56  male  higher 30  William  62  male  GCSE    69Appendix 2 SURVEY 1. Please answer the following questions:  a)  What is HAPPINESS ?  ............................................................................................................. b)  What do you associate HAPPINESS with ?  ............................................................................................................. c)  HAPPINESS is ....................................................................................  d)  How would you draw HAPPINESS ?      2. Please complete the following :  2.1. Your definitions of HAPPINESS in a), b), c), and d) are based on* :  a)  what you have directly experienced,  b)  what you have learnt (from books, at school, etc.),  c)  both. 2.2. Personal information :  a)  age – ....................  b)  sex – ......................  c)  education – .................................................   * Circle the appropriate answer.   70References  Davitz, J. (1969) The Language of Emotions. New York: Academic Press.  Hornby, A. S. 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Metaphorical awareness of the native speakers of English in the conceptualisation of happiness

Metaphorical awareness of the native speakers of English in the conceptualisation of happiness

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