1887
Volume 15, Issue 2
  • ISSN 2210-4070
  • E-ISSN: 2210-4097
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

This study examines fear metonymy in one Swedish and one Japanese crime novel. A thematic analysis is employed to establish conceptual fear metonymies grounded in physiological effects, behavioural reactions, and body organs. The types of linguistic manifestations in the novels are analysed, along with their pragmatic function within the novels and narratological aspects of their use.

A total of 39 conceptual fear metonymies were identified, 14 of which have not been previously recognised in research on fear metonymy. The conceptual fear metonymies identified are largely consistent across the Swedish and Japanese novels, reinforcing the notion that human embodied cognition clearly exhibits cross-cultural patterns.

The linguistic manifestations of conceptual fear metonymies exemplify the “Show, don’t tell” technique in creative writing. Most of them are concise and literal in nature. Conventional phrases are predominantly metaphtonymies and exhibit some language/culture-specific characteristics. Creative linguistic expressions, meanwhile, reflect the author’s unique style and further emphasise the emotional state of the characters to the reader. In certain scenes, expressions based on multiple conceptual fear metonymies combine to generate a heightened level of intensity, whereas in others, a single expression effectively conveys fear.

Finally, fiction emerges as a highly conducive material for the analysis of emotion metonymy.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/msw.24031.hil
2025-10-21
2025-11-13
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Ansah, G. N.
    (2014) Culture in Embodied Cognition: Metaphorical/Metonymic Conceptualizations of FEAR in Akan and English. Metaphor and Symbol, 29(1), 44–58. 10.1080/10926488.2014.859483
    https://doi.org/10.1080/10926488.2014.859483 [Google Scholar]
  2. Bondeson, S.
    (2011) Konsten att döda: Så skriver du en kriminalroman. [The Art of killing: How to write a crime novel.] Ordfront.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Braun, V., & Clarke, V.
    (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
    https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa [Google Scholar]
  4. Csillag, A.
    (2019) Fear Expressions in English and Russian Metaphors, Metonymies and their Interaction. InGaál-Szabó, P., Csillag, A., Veres, O., & Kmeczkó, S. (Eds.), CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS: New Perspectives in English and American Studies (pp.155–166). Debreceni Református Hittudományi Egyetem.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Dąbrowska, A.
    (2023) Fear is an illness of the brain: A cognitive account of a novel constructive scenario of fear. Lodz Papers in Pragmatics, 19(1), 71–85. 10.1515/lpp‑2023‑0004
    https://doi.org/10.1515/lpp-2023-0004 [Google Scholar]
  6. Ekman, P.
    (2016) What Scientists Who Study Emotion Agree About. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(1), 31–34. 10.1177/1745691615596992
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615596992 [Google Scholar]
  7. Hillbom, A.
    2015 Kroppens spark: Om fysiska reaktioner som uttryck för känslor i tre samtida svenska romaner. [The Language of the Body: On physical reactions illustrating people’s emotions in three modern Swedish novels.] InÖstman, C. (Ed.), Det skönlitterära språket: Tolv texter om stil [The Language of Fiction: Twelve Studies on Style] (pp.33–58). Morfem.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Kirino, N.
    (1997) OUT. Kodansha.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Kuzmics, H.
    (2015) Using fiction as sociology: How to analyze emotions with the help of novels. InFlam, H. & Kleres, J. (Eds.), Methods of exploring emotions (pp.25–35). Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Kövecses, Z.
    (1990) Emotion concepts. Springer-Verlag. 10.1007/978‑1‑4612‑3312‑1
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3312-1 [Google Scholar]
  11. (2003) Metaphor and emotion: Language, culture, and body in human feeling. Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. (2020) Emotion concepts in a new light. Rivista Italiana di Filosofia del Linguaggio. 10.4396/SFL2019I7
    https://doi.org/10.4396/SFL2019I7 [Google Scholar]
  13. Kövecses, Z., & Radden, G.
    (1998) Metonymy: Developing a cognitive linguistic view. Cognitive Linguistics, 9(1), 37–77. 10.1515/cogl.1998.9.1.37
    https://doi.org/10.1515/cogl.1998.9.1.37 [Google Scholar]
  14. Lakoff, G.
    (1987) Women, fire, and dangerous things: What categories reveal about the mind. University of Chicago press. 10.7208/chicago/9780226471013.001.0001
    https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226471013.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  15. Langacker, R.
    (1993) Reference-point constructions. Cognitive Linguistics, 4(1), 1–38. 10.1515/cogl.1993.4.1.1
    https://doi.org/10.1515/cogl.1993.4.1.1 [Google Scholar]
  16. Larsson, S.
    (2006) Flickan som lekte med elden. [The Girl who played with fire.] Norstedts.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Littlemore, J.
    (2015) Metonymy: Hidden shortcuts in language, thought and communication. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9781107338814
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107338814 [Google Scholar]
  18. Littlemore, J., & Tagg, C.
    (2018) Metonymy and text messaging: A framework for understanding creative uses of metonymy. Applied Linguistics, 39(4), 481–507. 10.1093/applin/amw018
    https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amw018 [Google Scholar]
  19. Paul, N., Satsangi, A., & Ghosh, S.
    (2024) Cognitive Semantic Analysis of Fear Expressions in Bangla and Hindi. SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics, 21(1), 92–119.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Pinelli, E.
    (2017) The conceptualisation of fear in Italian and Russian: Different degrees of lexicalisation of metonymies. InBaicchi, A. & Pinelli, E. (Eds.), Cognitive modelling in language and discourse across cultures (pp.283–297). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Radden, G., & Kövecses, Z.
    (1999) Towards a theory of metonymy. Metonymy in language and thought, 41, 17–60. 10.1075/hcp.4.03rad
    https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.4.03rad [Google Scholar]
  22. Ströbel, L.
    (2015) Linguistic Realizations of the Concept of FEAR. InGamerschlag, T., Gerland, D., Osswald, R. & Petersen, W. (Eds.), Meaning, Frames, and Conceptual Representation (pp.219–236). Düsseldorf university press. 10.1515/9783110720129
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110720129 [Google Scholar]
  23. Ungerer, F., & Schmid, H. J.
    (1996) An introduction to cognitive linguistics. Longman.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Zibin, A., & Hamdan, J.
    (2019) The conceptualisation of FEAR through conceptual metonymy and metaphor in Jordanian Arabic. International Journal of Arabic-English Studies, 19(2), 239–262. 10.33806/ijaes2000.19.2.1
    https://doi.org/10.33806/ijaes2000.19.2.1 [Google Scholar]
  25. Zwicky, J.
    (2021) Show, don’t tell. Theoria, 87(4), 897–912. 10.1111/theo.12301
    https://doi.org/10.1111/theo.12301 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/msw.24031.hil
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/msw.24031.hil
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): crime fiction; fear; Japanese; metonymy; Swedish
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error