Euphemistic Metaphors in English and Spanish Epitaphs. A Comparative Study

Following the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Th eory, it is the aim of this paper to analyse the conceptual organisation underlying death-related metaphorical expressions in English and Spanish. With this in mind, this paper presents a comparative study of death metaphors in a sample of epitaphs f...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Crespo Fernández, Eliecer
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2013
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
Repositorio:RUIdeRA. Repositorio Institucional de la UCLM
OAI Identifier:oai:ruidera.uclm.es:10578/42399
Acceso en línea:http://www.atlantisjournal.org/
https://hdl.handle.net/10578/42399
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Conceptual metaphor
Conceptualizaciones interculturales
Cross-cultural conceptualisations
Epitafio
Epitaph
Eufemismo
Euphemism
Metáfora conceptual
Taboo of death
Tabú de la muerte
Descripción
Sumario:Following the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Th eory, it is the aim of this paper to analyse the conceptual organisation underlying death-related metaphorical expressions in English and Spanish. With this in mind, this paper presents a comparative study of death metaphors in a sample of epitaphs from Highgate Cemetery (London, UK) and from the Cemetery of Albacete (Albacete, Spain) focusing specifi cally on those aimed at substituting the notions of ‘death’ and ‘dying’. The results obtained reveal that the conceptual organisations that underlie the euphemistic metaphors for death in English and Spanish derive both from our common bodily experience and from specifi c cultural constraints. Although the set of conceptual metaphors for the domain of death is similar in both languages, the Spanish epitaphs show a clear preference for source domains in which Jewish-Christian beliefs and political issues play a crucial role, whereas the English epitaphs tend to display a more optimistic, life-like approach to death.