Conceptual Metaphor of Happiness/Joy in Lithuanian Comics

Saule Juzeleniene,Skirmante Sarkauskiene,Rita Baranauskiene

doi:10.18844/gjhss.v2i9.1084

Saule Juzeleniene, Skirmante Sarkauskiene + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.18844/gjhss.v2i9.1084

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Abstract

This article analyses happiness in Lithuanian Comics albums. This will yield, enrich, and qualify Forcevilleâ€™s (2005a), Eardenâ€™s (2009) earlier findings on the visual representation of the Idealized Cognitive Model of anger in the Asterix album La Zizanie, Bart Eerdenâ€™s finding in anger investigations in â€œAnger in Asterix: The metaphorical representation of anger in comics and animated filmsâ€, as well as insights made by Kazuko Shihara and Yoshihiro Matsunaka in â€œPictorial metaphors of emotion in Japanese comicsâ€. On the other hand we also try to extend Forcevilleâ€™s view to other types of emotion, such as happiness. To attain this goal, we examine pictorial manifestations of emotion in Lithuanian comics. The source of this type of the manifestation is visual or pictorial metaphor, where meanings are conveyed via pictorial or visual signs. The target is emotion, which belongs to a more abstract domain of psychological experience. In this kind of metaphor, the picture can be interpreted as representing emotion of happiness. Data are taken from Lithuanian comic books and Internet sites, where comics have been presented. The data and the analysis we are providing in this article aims to reveal that there are pictorial metaphors that manifest conceptual metaphors that are also expressed verbally and that methodological framework constructed for the analysis in the papers by Forceville at all is applicable to other emotions and culture specific pictorial manifestations.Â Â Â

Highlights

In this article it is aimed to analyse multimodal metaphors used in Lithuanian comics
As Eerden exemplifies (Earden, 2009), in cognitive metaphor research, metaphorical expressions are the verbal manifestations through which Idealized Cognitive Models (ICMs) or Folk Models (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980, 1999; Lakoff, 1987) can be investigated
To sum up this section, we argue that (1) the general schema of the happiness metaphors HAPPY IS UP, HAPPY IS LIGHT is applicable to Lithuanian emotion metaphors, expressed by pictorial signs, i.e. runes, indexes, colours as well as verbal signs; (2) the source domain LIGHT is expressed by using the runes denoting rays, play of contrasts between white and black which connotes the opposition of good and evil; (3) The metaphor HAPPINESS IS UP / HAPPINESS IS BEING OFF THE GROUND is represented by the indexical hands raised upwards and runes expressing hearts, flowers, stars)

Summary

Introduction

In this article it is aimed to analyse multimodal metaphors used in Lithuanian comics. Based on verbal evidence in several languages, Kovecses argues that people structurally conceptualize emotions metaphorically. “he has a ferocious temper” and “he unleashed his anger” draw on ANGER IS A CAPTIVE ANIMAL or ANGER IS A HOT FLUID IN A CONTAINER: She is boiling with anger These metaphorical source domains address various aspects of the concept of anger (Kovecses, 2000). The concept of happiness is characterized by a number of more limited source domains, including UP, LIGHT, RAPTURE /HIGH. It seems to have some very specific ones as well, such as AN ANIMAL THAT LIVES WELL and PLEASURABLE PHYSICAL SENSATION (Kovecses, 2000). The nature and use of these signs appear to confirm that these are not just creative metaphors in the sense of Black (1979) and Forceville (1996) but manifestations of structural metaphors (Earden, 2009)

Manifestation ways of Non-verbal Conceptual Metaphors

Conceptual Metaphor HAPPINESS IS LIGHT b c a

Conclusions