Duality of Patterning

 “It is virtually impossible for us to conceptualize time without metaphor” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999: 139)  “Very little of our understanding of time is purely temporal. Most of our understanding of time is a metaphorical version of our understanding of motion in space” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999: 139)  The spatialization of time stands as the favorite form of conceptualizing time in many languages (in the morning, at 5 o’clock, on Tuesday)

 The Location of the Observer → The Present  The Space in Front of the Observer → The Future  The Space behind the Observer → The Past (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999: 140)

 The Moving Time Metaphor (MTM) → Time is dynamic (Observer is static)  The time has come when there are no typewriters.  Observer Coming Time  (Static) (Dynamic)  (Ground) (Figure)

 The Moving Observer Metaphor (MOM) → Time is static (Observer is dynamic)  We’ve reached March already.  Observer Reaching Time  (Dynamic) (Static)  (Figure) (Ground)

 The MTM and the MOM are not interchangeable or symmetrical.  They are actually cases of “figure-ground reversal,” and are, therefore, inconsistent with one another.  Indeed, “in one, times are objects that move past a stationary observer; in the other, times are locations in a landscape that an observer moves over” (Lakoff and Johnson, 1999: 149).

 TIME IS A RESOURCE  You have some time left.  You’ve used up all your time.  I don’t have enough time to do that.  He wasted an hour of my time.  This shortcut will save you time.  He uses his time efficiently.  I can’t spare the time for that.  (Lakoff and Johnson, 1999: 161)

 You’re wasting my time.  This gadget will save you hours.  How do you spend the time these days?  That flat tire cost me an hour.  I have invested a lot of time in her.  I don’t have enough time to spare for that.  You’re running out of time.  You need to budget your time.  Put aside some time for ping pong.  Is that worth your while?  Do you have much time left?  He’s living on borrowed time.  You don’t use your time profitably.  I lost a lot of time when I got sick.

 Similar metaphorical concepts and similar metaphorical expressions;  Similar metaphorical concepts but different metaphorical expressions;  Different metaphorical concepts but similar metaphorical expressions;  Different metaphorical concepts and different metaphorical expressions (Hiraga, 1991: pp. 151–161).

 Concerning (i), Hiraga gives the example of TIME IS MONEY as shared by American English and Japanese, and realized by the same metaphoric expressions.  With regard to (ii), she mentions the fact that American English and Japanese agree on LIFE IS A SPORT, but disagree on the kind of game in the realization of the conceptual metaphor. Thus, while the Americans have baseball jargon, the Japanese allow sumo words to realize the conceptual metaphor.  Regarding (iii), she shows how American English and Japanese share metaphoric expressions of sweetness, but in American English SWEETNESS IS GOOD while in Japanese SWEETNESS IS BAD.  Concerning the last combination, she shows that American English and Japanese do not share conceptual and linguistic metaphors about the conceptualization of ideas. In American English, IDEAS ARE IN THE MIND while in Japanese IDEAS ARE IN HARA (BELLY).