Among all emotions, natural for a human being, anger presents such
a variety of physical and mental reactions that it creates a wide range of
semantic variations due to metaphorical and metonymical extension. Anger is an
emotional response to a grievance, which may appear to be real or imagined, it
may have its roots in a past, present experience or it may be in anticipation
of a future event. Anger can be an active or a passive emotion. In case of
"active" emotion the angry person "lashes out" verbally or
physically at an intended target whether justified or not. When anger is a
"passive" emotion it is characterized by silent sulking,
passive-aggressive behavior (hostility) and tension. Common factors that can
lead to irritability
include fatigue,
hunger,
pain, sexual
frustration, the use of certain drugs; hormonal
changes, bipolar
disorder. The most common symptoms of anger, which often motivate
associations by similarity or proximity (in metaphorical or metonymical
expressions) are heightened blood
pressure, increase of stress hormones,
shortness of breath, heart palpitations, trembling, heightened senses, stiffness
of posture, increased physical strength, speech and motion are faster and more
intense, tense muscles, criticism, irritation, hatred, silence, passive aggressive
behavior, resentment-bitterness, envy, jealousy, insecurity, low self-esteem, self-loathing, condemning, depression, anxiety; apathy,
sleeplessness [7].
Idioms usually use a concrete
vehicle to denote an abstract target. Idioms are typically used for stylistic
effect to mark an attitude or evaluation; therefore they are often vivid,
hyperbolic, or flippant [1, 126-127]. The
role of conceptual metaphors in immediate idiom comprehension is significant. People
access the appropriate conceptual metaphors, such as “anger is heat”, when
processing some idioms, such as “blow your stack”, but not when they read
idioms, such as “jump down your throat”, which have similar figurative meanings
that are motivated by different conceptual metaphors. Common patterns of
metaphoric thought have the constraining role in figurative language
understanding [2].
Idioms are
conventional expressions, which suggest the particular emotion or attitude of the person using
them. More than 105 emotion idioms are used to express anger. They form the
largest group of figurative idioms of emotions in the English language [3].
On the basis of
a group of metaphorical and metonymical expressions of anger in English,
including idioms, the following conceptual metaphors and metonymies are
identified:
1. ANGER IS HOT
FLUID IN A CONTAINER (to made one’s blood boil, anger reaches boiling point).
2. ANGER IS HEAT (a heated argument, in the heat of the moment, to get all hot, to lose one’s cool).
3. ANGER IS FIRE (inflammatory remarks, to add fuel to
the fire, to do a slow burn, to breathe fire, to blow a fuse).
4. THE
PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF AN EMOTION STAND FOR THE EMOTION (to be quivering with rage, gnashing
of teeth, to be tight-lipped,
to have/throw a fit, in a rush
of blood, one’s blood is up, to
burst a blood vessel).
5. ANGER IS A STORM
(a storming meeting, a storm/tempest in a teacup).
6. INSANE BEHAVIOR
STANDS FOR ANGER (to have a fit, ,to climb the wall, to hit the roof/ceiling, to go crazy, to
go bananas).
7. ANGER IS A DANGEROUS
ANIMAL (to have a fierce temper, to go ape).
8. ANGRY BEHAVIOR
IS AGGRESSIVE ANIMAL BEHAVIOR (to bite one’s
head off, to show one’s teeth, to
be eaten alive, to ruffle one’s
feathers, to pull/yank one’s chain, to rattle one’s cage).
9. AGGRESSIVE
VISUAL BEHAVIOR STANDS FOR ANGER (to give
a dirty look, to look daggers at).
10. THE CAUSE OF ANGER
IS A PHYSICAL ANNOYANCE (to be a pain in
the neck, to tread/step on anyone’s toes, a slap in the face, to be kicked
in the teeth, to knock sideways, to be cut to the quick, to stick in one’s
gullet/throat, to be at each other’s throats, to get in one’s hair, to
get under one’s skin, to breathe down one’s neck, a pain in the
ass/butt/backside, a sore point/spot, to grate/get on one’s nerves).
11. ANGRY CRITICISM
IS DISCHARGE OF FIREARMS OR ARTILLERY (to
be shot down in flames, to go ballistic).
12. GREAT ANGER IS
AN EXPLOSION (to blow one’s stack, to blow one’s top).
13. ATTEMPT AT OR
LOSS OF CONTROL STANDS FOR ANGER (to keep/get a grip on oneself, to lose
one’s head, to fly off the handle, to foam at the mouth).
14. REVENGE STANDS
FOR ANGER (to wring one’s neck, to be out for/after one’s scalp, to want one’s
head on a plate/platter, to pick/pull something to pieces, to tear a strip off someone,
the knives are out to be at daggers drawn).
15. SWEARING STANDS
FOR ANGER (smart-ass, son of a bitch, son of a gun) [3;4;5;6].
The conceptual
metonymy and metaphor are the most productive conceptual patterns in the field
of English idioms of anger.
Therefore, the conventionalized linguistic expressions are generally motivated
by underlying cognitive patterns.
1.
Allan K. Natural Language
Semantics. – Blackwell Publishers, 2001. – 529 p.
2.
Gibbs
R.W., Bogdanovich J.M., Sykes J.R., Barr D.J. Metaphor in Idiom Comprehension // Journal of Memory and Language.
– 1997. – Vol. 37, # 2. - Pp. 141-154.
3.
Jian-Shiung Sh. English Idioms Of Anger: A Case
Study Of Metaphor And Metonymy. – http://www.la.nsysu.edu.tw/new/datas/3-publication/1-journal/4-content/english/E-abstract/NO.20/08.pdf.
4.
Kövecses Z. A
cognitive linguistic view of metaphor and therapeutic discourse. – http://www.clas.ufl.edu/ipsa/journal/2001_kovecses01.shtml.
5.
Lakoff
G. The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor. – http://www.wam.umd.edu/ ~israel/lakoff-ConTheorMetaphor.pdf.
6.
Turner M., Fauconnier
G. Metaphor, Metonymy, and Binding. - http://markturner.org/metmet.html.
7.
Wikipedia. – http://www.answers.com/topic/anger.