Semantic construal in metaphorical expressions

The example of spatiality

Abstract

The study scrutinises the development of metaphorical meaning in Hungarian expressions referring to spatiality. The main presuppositions of investigating metaphorical meaning creation are (i) the distinction between conceptual representation and semantic structure, (ii) the theoretical extension of the usage-based principle, and (iii) the thesis of dual grounding. Adopting the description of construal in Cognitive Grammar, the development of metaphorical meaning can be grasped as the process of intensive reconfiguration of the semantic schema initiated by the autonomous structure in the dependent structure. The main conclusion of the analysis of expressions connected to spatiality is that metaphorization is not limited to the conceptual representation traditionally regarded as target domain, but it also affects the source conception, i.e. the notion of space.