A Cross-Cultural Analysis of the Metaphorical Conceptualization of Sadness in Modern English and Vietnamese

Abstract

Abstract: Metaphor is extremely ubiquitous in language (Paprotte and Dirven [1]) and we are especially dependent on it when we discourse on abstract concepts. The revolutionary argument of conceptual metaphor theory is that “abstract thought is only possible through the use of metaphor” (Goatly, [2]). For this reason, metaphor is necessary and frequently utilized to express emotions (Fainsilber & Ortony, [3]). Emotion, as a fundamental component of the human psych, involves a complex subjective experience, a combination of feeling and thought. This paper shows how sadness, an abstract concept, is metaphorically conceptualized in English and Vietnamese. The paper also discusses the commonalities and mismatches in conceptualizing Sadness between the two languages.   

Keywords: Conceptual metaphors, sadness, cross-cultural, English metaphors, Vietnamese metaphors.