Synesthesia or sensory fusion is represented through cross-modal expressions in language. In synesthesia, there is a kind of meaning transfer between words of different modalities. The present study aims at exploring mechanisms involved in transferring predicates from o More
Synesthesia or sensory fusion is represented through cross-modal expressions in language. In synesthesia, there is a kind of meaning transfer between words of different modalities. The present study aims at exploring mechanisms involved in transferring predicates from one sense modality to another. And also we explore factors involved in interpreting cross-modal expressions in Sa’adi’s Boostan using tenets of cognitive semantics such as embodied meaning, cultural factors and evaluative content of sensory terms along with the role human's mental architecture in deriving different literal and non-literal meanings from these expressions. The data include cross-modal expressions collected from Sa’adi’s Boostan and analysis is carried out in a descriptive method. Results show that our understanding of meaning transfer between sensory modalities is syncretic rather than metaphorical. Therefore, predicate transfer in cross-modal expressions in Sa’adi’s Boostan is done through mechanisms such as experiential correlations between different concepts, conceptual metonymy and evaluative valence of sense words. Furthermore, there are psychologically primitive concepts for sense words in Sa’adi’s Boostan that span all domains of sensory experience and are activated in presence of certain stimuli to trigger derivation of various literal meanings. Finally, Iranian Culture and lifestyle in Saadi's period play their role as a filter for preventing elements that are not in accordance with Persian culture from appearing in linguistic realization.
Manuscript profile
