What does our face mean to us

Dados Bibliográficos

ID20484110
AutoresNing Yu (0009-0009-1820-3205, University of Oklahoma, autor correspondente)
Ano2001
Volume9
Fascículo1
Páginas1-36
Data de publicação2001-10-19
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoPragmatics & Cognition (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0929-0907 • E-ISSN: 1569-9943
EditoraJohn Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1075/pc.9.1.02yu
OpenAlexW1994587702
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas21

This study is a semantic analysis of metonymic and metaphoric expressions involving body-part terms for the face in Chinese. These expressions are discussed regarding four perceived roles of face, namely, as highlight of appearance and look, as indicator of emotion and character, as focus of interaction and relationship, and as locus of dignity and prestige. It is argued that the figurative extensions are based on some biological facts about our face: it is the most distinctive part on the interactive side of our body capable of revealing our inner states. Referring to English the study shows that the terms for the face in both languages have developed figurative meanings along similar routes with similar stops. It also shows that the concepts of “face and facework”, admittedly ubiquitous in all cultures, are manifested more richly in Chinese than in English — a reflection of cultural differences in values attached to those concepts. Finally, a hypothetical “Triangle Model” is proposed to account for the relationship between language, culture, body, and cognition

Dignity · Face negotiation theory · Gesture · Linguistics · Literal and figurative language · Metaphor · Metonymy · Prestige · Sociology · Categorization, perception, and language · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Philosophy · Psychology · Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism