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Elaborating time in space: the structure and function of space–motion metaphors of time

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 May 2016

KEVIN EZRA MOORE
KEVIN EZRA MOORE*
Affiliation:
San José State University
*
†Address for correspondence: e-mail: kevin.moore@sjsu.edu
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Abstract

This paper studies the principles according to which spatial and motion concepts metaphorically structure temporal concepts in some languages. There are two types of space–motion metaphor of time, distinguished by whether or not the metaphor is structured by a person’s perspective. “Christmas is approaching” and “We are approaching Christmas” are perspectival. “New Year’s follows Christmas” is not. This contrast in deixis and frame of reference is linguistically relevant whether the contrast has to do with imagination or external reality. Study of experiential motivations and analysis into primary metaphors helps reveal the particular ways spatial and motion concepts function in each type of metaphor. One focus is accounting for the contrasting temporal meanings that words for in-front and behind can have. For example, “Ahead of us” is later than Now, while “ahead of Christmas” is earlier than Christmas. We find that the temporal ‘directions’ expressed in the contrasting frames of reference are not opposites. Rather, they are motivated by different kinds of temporal experience. This project investigates the fundamental spatial relations that structure temporal concepts; for example co-location vs. separation. But since motion involves time, purely spatial structure is limited. Conceptual blending analysis reveals that the source and target frames of the perspectival metaphors share an aspectual – i.e., temporal – generic structure. Thus a dichotomy between ‘space’ and ‘time’ is of limited utility in describing space–motion metaphors of time. Instead, the analysis has to deal with the specific spatial and temporal concepts that function in each metaphor.

Keywords

spacetimesemanticsprimary metaphorblendingconceptual structuredeixisviewpointframes of referenceexperiential motivationmental spaces
Type
Research Article
Information
Language and Cognition , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , June 2017 , pp. 191 - 253
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Copyright
Copyright © UK Cognitive Linguistics Association 2016 

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Footnotes

*

I would like to thank Kyoko Hirose, Yukio Hirose, Tuomas Huumo, Takashi Shizawa, Chris Sinha, Karen Sullivan, Eve Sweetser, and Len Talmy for very helpful discussions.

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