Fler huvuden väntas falla – metafor och metonymi i svenska somatismer med lexemet 'huvud'

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to give a detailed analysis of the semantics of the Swedish body part term huvud (head). The study covers all types of linguistic units including the component huvud (idioms, compounds), both conventionalized everyday expressions and occasional uses. The theoretical basis of the analysis is the cognitive theory of metaphor and metonymy formulated by Lakoff and Johnson (1980). A large part of semantic extensions of huvud are associated with the head as the upper part of the human body, containing the brain and sense organs. These features lead to metonymies: HEAD FOR THINKING ABILITY AND PERCEPTION and metaphor HEAD IS POSITION OF COMMAND. The head itself is conceptualized metaphorically as a CONTAINER in which thoughts, memories, emotional and physical states are stored.