Metaphors and metonymies for the (conceptualization and expression of the) state of no emotion in English and Greek

Abstract

The vocabulary of emotion terms has been treated both within and across cultures. Emotion terms, especially terms of universal emotion concepts, have been largely discussed. What has received little or no attention at all is the state of no emotion. The paper explores this state in English and Greek. It discusses the terms and the mechanisms (metaphors and metonymies) that feature in expressions showing no emotion. It will be argued (a) that the interplay between metaphor and metonymy is a very important operation for the conceptualization of no emotion; (b) in addition to shared experience, the culture-specific schemas govern this state in the two languages.