Body metaphors--reading the body in contemporary culture.
This paper addresses the linguistic reframing of the human body in contemporary culture. Our aim is to provide a linguistic description of the ways in which the body is represented in modern English language. First, we will try to focus on body metaphors in general. We have collected a sample of 300 words and phrases functioning as body metaphors in modern English language. Reading the symbolism of the body we are witnessing changes in the basic metaphorical structuring of the human body. The results show that new vocabulary binds different fields of knowledge associated with machines and human beings according to a shared textual frame: human as computer and computer as human metaphor. Humans are almost blended with computers and vice versa. This metaphorical use of the human body and its parts reveals not only currents of unconscious though but also the structures of modern society and culture.
Skara
Danica
D
Department of English Language and Literature, University of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia. dskara@unizd.hr
D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D003469:Culture; D018594:Human Body; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008037:Linguistics; D019365:Metaphor