Definition:
In a conceptual metaphor, the conceptual domain from which metaphorical expressions are drawn. Unlike the target domain, which is abstract, the source domain is concrete, based on sensory experience.
See also:
- Cognitive Linguistics
- Metaphor
- Metaphorical Cluster
- Structural Metaphor
- Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Metaphor
Examples and Observations:
- "The conceptual domain from which we draw metaphorical expressions to understand another conceptual domain is called source domain, while the conceptual domain that is understood this way is the target domain. Thus, life, arguments, love. theory, ideas, social organizations, and others are target domains, while journeys, war, buildings, food, plants, and others are source domains. The target domain is the domain that we try to understand through the use of the source domain."
(Zoltán Kövecses, Metaphor: A Practical Introduction. Oxford Univ. Press, 2002) - "Metaphorical concepts fulfill all their functions . . . through a network of metaphorical expressions. . . . [L]et us take the following example:
Conceptual metaphor:
" . . . Metaphors connect two conceptual domains: the target domain and the source domain. In the course of metaphorical processes the source domain corresponds to the target domain; in other words, there is a mapping or a projection between the source domain and the target domain. The target domain X is understood in terms of the source domain Y. For example, in the case of the metaphorical concept mentioned above, LOVE is the target domain whereas JOURNEY is the source domain. Whenever JOURNEY is mapped onto LOVE, the two domains correspond to each other in a way which enables us to interpret LOVE as a JOURNEY."
LOVE IS A JOURNEY
Metaphorical expressions:
this relationship is foundering,
we are going nowhere,
this relationship is a dead-end street,
we are at a crossroads, etc.
(András Kertész, Cognitive Semantics and Scientific Knowledge. John Benjamins, 2004)
Also Known As: image donor, secondary subject
