DOCSLIB.ORG

Blending of Conceptual Physics and Mathematical Signs∗

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Blending of Conceptual Physics and Mathematical Signs∗ Blending of Conceptual Physics and Mathematical Signs∗ Tra Huynh† and Eleanor C. Sayre‡ Kansas State University, Physics Department, 116 Cardwell Hall, 1288 N. 17th St. Manhattan, KS 66506-2601 (Dated: September 26, 2019) Mathematics is the language of science. Fluent and productive use of mathematics requires one to understand the meaning embodied in mathematical symbols, operators, syntax, etc., which can be a difficult task. For instance, in algebraic symbolization, the negative and positive signs carry multiple meanings depending on contexts. In the context of electromagnetism, we use conceptual blending theory to demonstrate that different physical meanings, such as directionality and location, could associate to the positive and negative signs. With these blends, we analyze the struggles of upper-division students as they work with an introductory level problem where the students must employ multiple signs with different meanings in one mathematical expression. We attribute their struggles to the complexity of choosing blends with an appropriate meaning for each sign, which gives us insight into students' algebraic thinking and reasoning. I. INTRODUCTION ics literature and a lack of a strong theoretical framework that accounts for a homographic property of signs, which Mathematics is important in understanding physics, would give us better insights to students' reasoning and but many students struggle with integrating mathemat- struggles. ical formalism. The language of mathematics, like other We pull out two conceptual spaces which might be affil- languages, includes homographs and homonyms: a sym- iated with sign in physics: location and direction. Using bol in mathematics can bear multiple meanings, possi- the machinery of conceptual blending, we show how those bly causing trouble for language learners. This can be two spaces may blend with sign to produce five different especially prevalent (or problematic) when mathematics blends. We illustrate the blends in a one-dimensional is used in other scientific contexts, such as physics, when problem from electrostatics, first with a principled solu- the meaning of a symbol can be more specific, yet diverge tion and then with two student solutions. Our goal is from the standard mathematical conventions at the same to present substantial theoretical discussion grounded in time. a simple physical scenario, to show how even a simple Signs, both negative and positive, are important in problem and the relatively limited space of signs have both math and physics. Building on Vlassis' work in el- rich conceptual complexity undergirding them. This is ementary algebra [28], a map of how the negative sign not an exhaustive accounting of all that students can do is used includes three natures: unary (structural signi- with sign, or even with this problem. fier), binary (operating signifier), and symmetric func- Our work is in contrast to prior work which suggested tions. For example, the signs in the metaphor of floors in that two input spaces have only one resulting blend, and a building can play different roles, such as moving from that difficulty in blending arises from difficulty choosing one floor to another (binary - `going up two') and estab- appropriate input spaces or running a blend. lishing the location of a floor (unary - `the second floor'). Successful sense-making of a mathematical expression re- quires students to flexibly and suitably ascribe meaning II. SIGNS IN EDUCATION RESEARCH to signs. Yet, algebra students often fail to consider ex- plicitly that the minus sign could have a double status or Historically, the concept of negativity was attached to meaning [28]. the operation of subtraction. In mathematics history, In physics, signs can signify a direction (\towards"), the minus sign is first introduced to describe a quantity a flavor (\negative charge"), a location (\−3^x"), or an yet to be subtracted. A precise difference between the operation between two terms (\−kx−cv"). The complex- minus sign that assigns a negative number and an op- ity of reasoning with signs in physics, especially negative eration (subtraction) was not clearly defined until the arXiv:1909.11618v1 [physics.ed-ph] 25 Sep 2019 signs and negative quantities, has focused primarily on development of algebra, when negative numbers gained the results that reasoning with signs is hard, especially the status of mathematic objects [14]. at the introductory level. However, mechanisms for why Significant research on how we make sense of negative reasoning with signs is hard have been elusive. More- numbers has been conducted within the context of math- over, there is both a lack of connection with mathemat- ematics education since the 1980s. Lakoff and N´u~nez [15] suggest that negative number sense could be ac- quired by extending and stretching their set of ground- ∗ Portions of this paper previously appeared in preliminary work ing metaphors for counting-number arithmetic to the set [13]. of integers. Various instructional models have been de- † [email protected] veloped that employ metaphor to better teach negative ‡ [email protected] numbers and the operations on them to children [1, 14]. 2 In contrast, Vlassis [28] argues that it is not the nature count for multiple meanings, the authors used the Vlas- of the negative number itself but the negative sign itself sis' categorization scheme to ask students to explicitly that causes difficulties. explain what physical meaning is embodied in individ- In physics, negative and positive signs embody addi- ual negative and positive quantities in different mechan- tional characteristics for quantities. The meaning of such ics and electromagnetism contexts. The results show signs varies specifically with context. For example, nega- that even though students' flexibility in interpreting the tivity in reasoning about energy can be particularly chal- meanings of signs is highly context-dependent, they gen- lenging [16, 24]. Two common ontologies for energy are erally struggle with the symmetrical meaning more than substance (energy contained in objects) and vertical lo- unary and binary functions. Moreover, combining more cation (higher or lower energy level) [7, 23]. Each ontol- than one nature of negativity in a single calculation ap- ogy has both advantages and drawbacks in making sense pears to present significant challenges to introductory of different aspects of negativity. For example, the sub- students. stance ontology is helpful in thinking of the transference Altogether, these disparate accounts of signs in math- of energy but appears to be a hindrance in the case of neg- ematics and physics suggest that students struggle with ative substance or negative energy, where the vertical lo- flexibly choosing and applying specific meanings of cation ontology is more appropriate and convenient[6, 7]. signs, from children to intermediate-level undergraduate Therefore, accounting for the sign contexts while flexi- physics students. This is not surprising: there are multi- bly choosing the signs' meaning is significant for making ple meanings of the negative sign which may vary among sense in physics. problems and within a given problem or expression. As a scalar, energy itself does not have a direction. However, when it comes to vector quantities, positive and negative signs carry the additional meaning of direction- III. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ality, which has been shown to cause additional trouble for students. Middle school physics teachers inappropri- We turn conceptual blending theory to help us make ately interpret the signs of acceleration using the speed sense of the different meanings of signs in physics. model [25]: accelerating is always in the positive direc- tion and decelerating is always in the negative direction. The speed model makes sense from a person-centric mo- A. Conceptual blending theory tion perspective: we usually move forwards and think of that as the positive direction. Walking backwards is rare; Conceptual blending theory was developed by Faucon- if we need to go back, we usually turn around and walk nier and Turner [9] to account for how people create forwards. meaning. The theory posits a mental network model Reasoning about sign for both scalar and vector that processes and forms new meaning (Figure 1). The quantities is complicated by mathematical formalism in mental network model is composed of at least two input physics; in one-dimensional problems, we often treat spaces containing information from discrete domains, a quantities flexibly as either vectors or scalars. For exam- generic space containing common information and struc- ple, consider the kinematics equation for final velocity as tures, and a blended space where new meaning emerges. a function of initial velocity, acceleration, and time: The input elements in one space connect to their coun- terparts in the other spaces via vital relations, such as v⃗f = v⃗i + at⃗ (1) time, space, change, cause-effect, identity, etc. When If an object is slowing down, there must be something projected into the blended space, these vital relations subtracted from v⃗i [18]; the consequent minus sign can could be compressed into the same types, or more often, be interpreted to be an operation (remove at⃗ from v⃗i) different types of relations in the blended space. or as a comparison between relative directions (of v⃗i and The process of generating new meaning in the blended a⃗) or simply as a negative acceleration (as in the speed space involves three operations: composition, comple- model). Students may be unaware of the multiple
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Language, Cognition, Interaction. Conceptual Blending As Discursive
    LANGUAGE, COGNITION, INTERACTION. CONCEPTUAL BLENDING AS DISCURSIVE PRACTICE Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Philosophie des Fachbereichs 05 der Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen vorgelegt von Vera Stadelmann aus Innsbruck Gießen 2012 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Dekan: Prof. Dr. Magnus Huber 1. Berichterstatter: Prof. Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee 2. Berichterstattter: Prof. Dr. Helmuth Feilke LANGUAGE, COGNITION, INTERACTION ! TABLE OF CONTENTS Erklärung………………………………………………………………………... iv Acknowledgments ………………………………………………………………. v List of abbreviations and acronyms …………………………………………….. vi List of tables ……………………………………………………………………... vii List of figures ……………………………………………………………………. viii List of transcripts ………………………………………………………………... x Transcription conventions ……………………………………………………… xi 1. LANGUAGE, COGNITION, INTERACTION. CONCEPTUAL BLENDING IN A SOCIAL-INTERACTIONAL COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS …………………………………………………………. 1 1.1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………….. 1 1.2. Conceptual blending as discursive practice: Preview …….………………... 5 2. MENTAL SPACES AND CONCEPTUAL INTEGRATION THEORIES …. 8 2.1. Mental Spaces Theory ……………………………………………………... 9 2.2. Conceptual Integration Theory ……………………………………………. 16 2.2.1. Constitutive principles ……………………………………………. 19 2.2.2. Governing principles ……………………………………………... 22 2.2.3. Blending typology ………………………………………………… 25 2.3. Critical discussion …………………………………………………………... 28 2.3.1. Post-hoc vs. ad-hoc ……………………………………………….. 29 2.3.2. The Generic Space
    [Show full text]
  • From Conceptual “Mash-Ups” to “Bad-Ass” Blends
    From Conceptual “Mash-ups” to “Bad-ass” Blends: A Robust Computational Model of Conceptual Blending Tony Veale School of Computer Science and Informatics University College Dublin, Belfield D4, Ireland. [email protected] Abstract songwriters of his generation, had been a Rhodes Conceptual blending is a cognitive phenomenon whose scholar, a U.S. Army Airborne Ranger, a boxer, a instances range from the humdrum to the pyrotechnical. professional helicopter pilot – and was as politically Most remarkable of all is the ease with which humans outspoken as Sean Penn. That’s what a motherfuckin’ regularly understand and produce complex blends. badass Kris Kristofferson was in 1979.” While this facility will doubtless elude our best efforts Pitt comes off poorly in the comparison, but this is at computational modeling for some time to come, there are practical forms of conceptual blending that are precisely the point: no contemporary star comes off well, amenable to computational exploitation right now. In because in Hawke’s view, none has the wattage that this paper we introduce the notion of a conceptual Kristofferson had in 1979. The awkwardness of the mash-up, a robust form of blending that allows a comparison, and the fancifulness of the composite image, computer to creatively re-use and extend its existing serves as a creative meta-description of Kristofferson’s common-sense knowledge of a topic. We show also achievements. In effect Hawke is saying, “look to what how a repository of such knowledge can be harvested lengths I must go to find a fair comparison for this man automatically from the web, by targetting the casual without peer”.
    [Show full text]
  • Enriching the Blend: Creative Extensions to Conceptual Blending
    Enriching the Blend: Creative Extensions to Conceptual Blending in Music Danae Stefanou,*1 Emilios Cambouropoulos*2 *School of Music Studies, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece [email protected], [email protected] in a musical composition). In this case, ‘intra-musical’ ABSTRACT conceptual blending in music is often conflated with the notion of structural blending (e.g. Kaliakatsos-Papakostas et In this paper we critically investigate the application of Fauconnier & al. 2014, Ox 2012) and Fauconnier and Turner’s theory is Turner’s Conceptual Blending Theory (CBT) in music, to expose a primarily applied to the integration of different or conflicting series of questions and aporias highlighted by current and recent structural elements, such as chords, harmonic spaces, or even theoretical work in the field. Investigating divisions between melodic-harmonic material from different idioms. different levels of musical conceptualization and blending, we Nevertheless the recourse to intra-musicality, and its implicit question the common distinction between intra- and extra-musical identification with structure, is not a neutral gesture; in fact it blending as well as the usually retrospective and explicative brings a number of questions to the fore, including: application of CBT. In response to these limitations, we argue that more emphasis could be given to bottom-up, contextual, creative and • What is a musical concept? collaborative perspectives of conceptual blending in music. This • What constitutes structural blending in music and how discussion is illustrated by recent and in-progress practical research does it relate to / differ from cross-domain blending and developed as part of the COINVENT project, and investigating mapping? structural and cross-domain blending in computational and social • What can blending theory tell us about music not only as creativity contexts.
    [Show full text]
  • A Roadmap for Visual Conceptual Blending
    Let’s Figure This Out: A Roadmap for Visual Conceptual Blending Joao˜ M. Cunha, Pedro Martins and Penousal Machado CISUC, Department of Informatics Engineering University of Coimbra jmacunha,pjmm,machado @dei.uc.pt { } Abstract The computational generation of visual representation of concepts is a topic that has deserved attention in Computational Creativity. One technique that is often used is visual blending – using two images to produce a third. However, visual blending on its own does not necessarily have a strong conceptual grounding. In this paper, we propose that visual conceptual blending be used for concept representation – a visual blend comple- mented by conceptual layer developed through elabora- tion. We outline a model for visual conceptual blending that can be instantiated in a computational system. Introduction It is often said that an image is worth more than a thousand words. Such is aligned with the views from Petridis and Chilton (2019) who state that visual advertisements – specif- Figure 1: Examples of visual blends produced by Vismantic ically when visual metaphors are used – are much more per- for bird/horse (top row) and Emojinating for freedom, car suasive than plain advertisements or text alone when con- factory and sun (bottom row). veying a message. Visual metaphors result from a process of visual blend- ing grounded on a conceptual level. The technique of Vi- sual Blending (VB) consists in merging two or more visual but, as far as we know, no concrete computational model has representations (e.g. images) to produce new ones. On the been proposed. other hand, Conceptual Blending consists in integrating two Existing research that relates to the proposal of a visual or more mental spaces – knowledge structures – in order to conceptual blending model somehow comes short of achiev- produce a new one, the blend(ed) space (Fauconnier, 1994; ing such goal.
    [Show full text]
  • A Cognitive-Semantics Analysis of Political Cartoons <Stay out of My
    Linguistic Research 35(1), 117-143 DOI: 10.17250/khisli.35.1.201803.005 Multimodality and cognitive mechanisms: A cognitive-semantics analysis of political cartoons <stay out of my hair>* Iksoo Kwon**1․Jung Hwi Roh (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies) Kwon, Iksoo and Jung Hwi Roh. 2018. Multimodality and cognitive mechanism: A cognitive-semantics analysis of political cartoons <stay out of my hair>. Linguistic Research 35(1), 117-143. This paper aims to explore multimodality within a framework of cognitive semantics by conducting a case study of political cartoons <stay out of my hair> with special focus on the optimal manifestations of conceptual metaphors (Lakoff and Johnson 1999) and blends (Fauconnier 1997) in them. It looks into the cartoons which have been published from January to August in 2017 to illustrate escalating tensions over the issue of developing nuclear weapons in North Korea between North Korea and the United States after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. Total 26 relevant cartoons were collected from multiple public webpages, which use the original hairstyles of the political figures to satirize their political actions or to show conflicts and their unpleasant emotions. This study provides a qualitative analysis of five selected cartoons that represent the sub-types to clarify how hair constitutes the overall construal of the cartoon within a framework of cognitive semantics. It supports the claim that cognitive mechanisms such as conceptual metaphor and blending are not confined to verbal artefacts, but they are pervasive in multimodal manifestations since multimodal data as well as linguistic data are outcomes of human cognition (Dancygier and Vandelanotte 2017).
    [Show full text]
  • George Lakoff and Mark Johnsen (2003) Metaphors We Live By
    George Lakoff and Mark Johnsen (2003) Metaphors we live by. London: The university of Chicago press. Noter om layout: - Sidetall øverst - Et par figurer slettet - Referanser til slutt Innholdsfortegnelse i Word: George Lakoff and Mark Johnsen (2003) Metaphors we live by. London: The university of Chicago press. ......................................................................................................................1 Noter om layout:...................................................................................................................1 Innholdsfortegnelse i Word:.................................................................................................1 Contents................................................................................................................................4 Acknowledgments................................................................................................................6 1. Concepts We Live By .....................................................................................................8 2. The Systematicity of Metaphorical Concepts ...............................................................11 3. Metaphorical Systematicity: Highlighting and Hiding.................................................13 4. Orientational Metaphors.................................................................................................16 5. Metaphor and Cultural Coherence .................................................................................21 6 Ontological
    [Show full text]
  • Conceptual Blending and Metaphor Theory 2.1
    CHAPTER TWO CONCEPTUAL BLENDING AND METAPHOR THEORY 2.1 Metaphor Metaphor has fascinated and bothered philosophers since the ancient Greeks. Aristotle was the rst to de ne metaphor, and three compo- nents of his explanation have in uenced metaphorical analysis up to the twenty- rst century: the argument that metaphor is located at the level of word, rather than larger linguistic unit; his understanding of metaphor as deviant, non-literal word usage; and his belief that meta- phor is motivated by pre-existing similarity.1 Medieval commentators were chary of metaphor, seeing it primar- ily as a stylistic device. Metaphor may have been necessary in sacred discourse, because speaking of divine truths directly was impossible. But metaphor outside of sacred texts was dangerous. Later empiricist and rationalist philosophies also believed metaphor to be deceptive; literal language was the only satisfactory way to assert truth claims or to speak accurately. For them, metaphor undermined correct reasoning and should be avoided. As John Locke said, . [I]f we would speak of things as they are, we must allow that . all the arti cial and gurative application of words eloquence hath invented, are for nothing else but to insinuate wrong ideas, move the passions, and thereby mislead the judgment; and so indeed are perfect cheats. and where truth and knowledge are concerned, cannot but be thought a great fault, either of the language or person that makes use of them.2 Early twentieth century philosophy distinguished between language’s “cognitive” and “emotive” purposes; scienti c knowledge could be stated literally, and its truth veri\ ed independently.
    [Show full text]
  • Goal-Driven Conceptual Blending: a Computational Approach for Creativity
    Goal-Driven Conceptual Blending: A Computational Approach for Creativity Boyang Li, Alexander Zook, Nicholas Davis and Mark O. Riedl School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta GA, 30308 USA {boyangli, a.zook, ndavis35, riedl}@gatech.edu Abstract example is the lightsaber from Star Wars : a lightsaber Conceptual blending has been proposed as a creative blends together a sword and a laser emitter, but it is an cognitive process, but most theories focus on the independent concept that does not inform hearers about the analysis of existing blends rather than mechanisms for properties of swords or laser emitters. During blend the efficient construction of novel blends. While creation, contents are still projected from the input spaces conceptual blending is a powerful model for creativity, into the blend, but the blend is not meant to convey there are many challenges related to the computational information about the input spaces. application of blending. Inspired by recent theoretical We share the belief that theories of creativity should be research, we argue that contexts and context-induced computable (Johnson-Laird 2002), yet most accounts of goals provide insights into algorithm design for creative blending focus on analyses of existing blends and have not systems using conceptual blending. We present two case studies of creative systems that use goals and fully described how novel blends are constructed contexts to efficiently produce novel, creative artifacts cognitively or algorithmically. In particular, three key in the domains of story generation and virtual procedures required for blending lack sufficient details characters engaged in pretend play respectively. necessary for efficient computation: (1) the selection of input spaces, (2) the selective projection of elements of input spaces into the blend, and (3) the stopping criteria for Introduction blend elaboration.
    [Show full text]
  • Fictive Interaction Blended Networks in the Daily Show
    UNIVERSIDAD DE SALAMANCA FACULTAD DE FILOLOGÍA DEPARTAMENTO DE FILOLOGÍA INGLESA TESIS DOCTORAL FICTIVE INTERACTION BLENDED NETWORKS IN THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART CONCEPTUALIZING POLITICAL HUMOR DISCOURSE NOT ONLY FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES PAULA FREITAS REBELO DA FONSECA DIRECTORA: DRA. PILAR ALONSO RODRÍGUEZ 2016 Tesis doctoral presentada por Dña. Paula Freitas Rebelo Da Fonseca bajo la dirección de la Prof. Dra. Pilar Alonso Rodríguez VºBº Prof. Dra. Pilar Alonso Rodríguez Salamanca 2016 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to begin with a famous African proverb adapted to fit this context: it takes a village to write a thesis. When I started on this educational journey four years ago, I knew it would not be easy, and that sweat, tears, fear and frustrations would be a constant. I was very fortunate to have received help, support and sound advice from so many people along the way. I would like to express my humble gratitude to the village that helped me reach my destination and complete this doctoral thesis. I apologize if I forget to mention anyone’s name, but there are so many people and so little space. First and foremost, I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Pilar Alonso. Your academic excellence and scientific rigor were the main reasons why I chose you. Thank you for being my mentor and for encouraging my research and for allowing me to grow as a researcher. Your attentiveness, sound advice, honesty, encouraging words and patience helped me throughout this journey. I could not have chosen a better person. ¡Muchísimas Gracias! A special thanks to Esther Pascual, the “mother” of fictive interaction, you not only provided me with sound feedback on my work, but also gave me the opportunity to meet amazing people who are also studying your conceptual phenomenon.
    [Show full text]
  • Conceptual Blending, Metaphors, and the Construction Of
    Conceptual Blending, Metaphors, and the Construction of Meaning in Ice Age Europe: An Inquiry Into the Viability of Applying Theories of Cognitive Science to Human History in Deep Time By Timothy Michael Gill A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in Charge: Professor Margaret Conkey, Chair Professor Rosemary Joyce Professor Kent Lightfoot Professor Eve Sweetser Fall 2010 Copyright Timothy Michael Gill, 2010 All rights reserved Abstract Conceptual Blending, Metaphors, and the Construction of Meaning in Ice Age Europe: An Inquiry Into the Viability of Applying Theories of Cognitive Science to Human History in Deep Time by Timothy Michael Gill Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology University of California, Berkeley Professor Margaret Conkey, Chair Although the peoples of Ice Age Europe undoubtedly considered the drawings, engravings and other imagery created during that long period of prehistory to be deeply meaningful, it is difficult for people today to discern with any degree of accuracy or reliability what those meanings may have been. Grand theories of meaning have been proposed, criticized, and in some cases rejected. The development over the last few decades of modern cognitive science presents us with another angle of approach to this difficult problem. In this dissertation I review two related cognitive science theories, Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Conceptual Integration
    [Show full text]
  • Conceptual Blending, Creativity, and Music As I Noted in My Opening Comments, Creativity Is an Elusive Subject
    MSX0010.1177/1029864917712783Musicae ScientiaeZbikowski 712783research-article2017 Article Musicae Scientiae 2018, Vol. 22(1) 6 –23 Conceptual blending, creativity, © The Author(s) 2017 Reprints and permissions: and music sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav https://doi.org/10.1177/1029864917712783DOI: 10.1177/1029864917712783 journals.sagepub.com/home/msx Lawrence M. Zbikowski University of Chicago, USA Abstract This article explores the use of conceptual blending theory for the study of creativity, especially as creativity is manifested in musical utterances. The first part of the article offers an overview of blending theory and describes two aspects of the theory that present challenges to the study of creativity in general, and to music in particular. The second part of the article offers an application of blending theory to Dido’s lament from Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, with an emphasis on the ways concepts prompted by language and music blend together to create a rich, and highly creative, world for the imagination. Keywords analogy, conceptual blending, creativity, metaphor, music analysis, Purcell, song analysis Creativity is a famously elusive subject, and never more so than when dealing with the ephem- eral and seemingly immaterial facts of musical sound. One resource for exploring musical crea- tivity that has recently attracted attention, in part because it provides tools for dealing with both the commonplace and the exceptional in music, is research on conceptual blending. The notion that concepts from two disparate domains can be blended together to create new con- cepts has proven quite productive for the study of language and – more generally – the process of conceptual blending has been proposed as a basic mechanism of human thought (Fauconnier & Turner, 2002).
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Metaphor, Metonymy, and Conceptual Blending in Understanding Advertisements: the Case of Drug-Prevention Ads1
    Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses 19(2006): 169-190 The Role of Metaphor, Metonymy, and Conceptual Blending in Understanding Advertisements: The Case of Drug-prevention Ads1 Javier Herrero Ruiz University of La Rioja [email protected] ABSTRACT Over the last years, there has been a growing interest in the analysis of advertisements from the point of view of pragmatic theory (cf. Brierley, 1995; Myers, 1994; Rein, 1982; Tanaka, 1994). Nevertheless, pragmatic studies of the language of advertising from a cognitive perspective are scarce (cf. Turner & Fauconnier, 2000; Coulson, 2000; Sánchez & Gómez, 2002). In this connection, the aim of this study is twofold: first, we attempt to provide additional evidence about the role of metaphor, metonymy, and conceptual blending in the proper understanding of a set of drug-prevention ads and, second, we shall demónstrate that, in addition to determining the semantics of the slogans, the underlying mappings also constrain the choice of their related visual layouts; thus, the overall communicative effects brought about by the advertisement are further reinforced. With this purpose in mind, we have drawn a corpus of sixteen drug-prevention advertisements, both in Spanish and English, which include slogans and images. The adverts under consideration have been entirely retrieved from the net, and contain expressions such as "keep your eyes open," "there is a long Ufe ahead," or "turn away from drugs." We shall show that the interpretation of such examples ultimately exploits metaphor (e.g. FUTURE TIME IS IN FRONT OF EGO, KNOWING IS SEEING) and metonymy (e.g. EFFECT FOR CAUSE), either independently or in interaction, and conceptual blending.
    [Show full text]