Conceptualization, Symbolism and Metonymy as Mechanisms of Metaphorical Meaning in Idiomatic Expressions: Interlinguistic Comparison
Conceptualization, Symbolism and Metonymy as Mechanisms of Metaphorical Meaning in Idiomatic Expressions: Interlinguistic Comparison

Summary/Abstract: Idiomatic expressions are linguistic carriers of culture, collective mentalities and metaphorical representation. One of the most fascinating endeavors in the study of idiomatic expressions is the comparative analysis of phrases from various languages, which reveals similarities and differences between people and their perceptions of the world. This article analyses idioms from English, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian, investigating the underlying mechanisms of their metaphorical meaning. Conceptualization, symbolism and metonymy are some key semantic devices that impregnate idiomatic expressions with connotative meaning. The difference between a concept and a symbol is not very evident; the former denotes a thought, an opinion, or a fact about a certain entity and the latter is an immaterial connection between the concrete and the abstract. A metonymical analogy is based on the replacement of an idea with one of its attributes or constituents. These mechanisms generate metaphorical meaning in idioms and the interlinguistic comparison of lexically or semantically equivalent phrases reveals interesting parallels and contrasts.

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