Gyula Dávid:
Idioms and Conceptuality
Abstract:
Traditionally, idioms are regarded as sets of words, whose overall meaning is different from what is suggested by their constituents. This study, based on the research of a large databank consisting of thousands of English idioms, however, examines the question from a different perspective. It seeks to find the answer whether the seemingly unsystematic array of idioms can be processed through a comprehensive conceptual approach. The assumptions made are as follows: First, the overwhelming majority of idioms yield to conceptual categorization. Second, the conceptual framework is based on underlying examples of metaphor, metonymy and blending, rooted in mapping phenomena of the source domain onto the target domain. Third, these three major means of mapping reveal consistence in the processing and analysis of idiomaticity.
