“What’s COVID-19 Vaccine Like?” – From A Cognitive Frame to A Similative Proposition
Keywords:
Simile, figurative framing, similative proposition, cognitive linguistics
Abstract
Frames and propositions are supposed to be cognitive acts that play a significant role in the perception of reality and the enactment of discursive practices. The linguistic scrutiny of the Covid-19 pandemic discourse could shed light on how the figurative language, similes in particular, are conceptualized by the cognitive structures and represented discursively as surface-level manifestations of the pandemic reality. Thus, the present research is concerned with the analysis of discursive as well as cognitive structures of the figurative language to delineate on relevant theoretical stances. To scrutinize how similes work on a discursive dimension, a discourse analysis is applied, which qualitatively characterizes the concordance lists of the target lingual units obtained from The Coronavirus Corpus https://www.english-corpora.org/corona/. As for the investigation of the cognitive basis of similes, source and target entities/ concepts are identified to focus on the propositional structures. The paper argues that similes as opposed to metaphors explicitly expound propositions and communicative frames in the discourse to avoid incipient cognitive ambiguity of the comparison. The two-fold cognitive shift is evident, which morphs a cognitive proposition into a textual one and lessens the exact sameness. Moreover, discursive elaboration of a simile as a short explanatory phrase transforms into a mini explanatory narrative to provide rational for the novel source concepts of comparison (i.e., computer software, technology, and adventure), which could be rather complex for the human mind to perceive. As it appears, similes may come forward as more tangible cognitive-discursive structures that assist the human mind to cope with novel cognitive comparisons.
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References
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28. Guliashvili, Nino. (2022). “Invader or Inhabitant?” – Competing Metaphors for the COVID-19 Pandemic. Health Communication, 38(10), 2099-2105. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2054101
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31. Israel, Michael, Jennifer Riddle Harding, and Vera Tobin. (2004). On simile. In M. Achard and S. Kemmer (Eds.), Language culture, and mind (pp. 123-135). Stanford: CSLI Publications.
32. Kintsch, Walter, and van Dijk, Teun A. (1978). Toward a model of text comprehension and production.” Psychological Review, 85(5), 363–394. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.85.5.363
33. Kintsch, Walter. (1998). Comprehension: A paradigm for cognition. Cambridge University Press.
34. Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
35. Langacker, Ronald W. (1987). Foundations of cognitive grammar, vol.1: Theoretical prerequisites. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
36. Langacker, Ronald W. (2008). Cognitive Grammar: A Basic Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
37. Miller, Mark, R. (2021). Language choice about COVID-19 vaccines can save lives.” Journal of Communication in Healthcare, 14(2), 99-101. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17538068.2021.1892285
38. Moder, Carol Lynn. (2012). Two puzzle pieces: Fitting discourse context and constructions into cognitive metaphor theory. In Barbara Dancygier, José Sanders, and Lieven Vandelanotte (Eds.), Textual choices in discourse: A view from cognitive linguistics (pp. 157-183). AM/PH: John Benjamins.
39. Nerlich, Brigitte, and Rusi Jaspal. (2021). Social representations of ‘social distancing’ in response to Covid-19 in the UK media. Current Sociology, 69(4), 566-583. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392121990030
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41. Olza, I Inés, Veronika Koller, Iraide Ibarretxe-Antuñano, Paula Pérez-Sobrino, and Elena Semino. (2021). The #reframecovid initiative: From Twitter to society via metaphor. Metaphor and the Social World, 11(1), 99–121. doi:10.1075/msw.00013.olz
42. Pérez-Sobrino, Paula, Elena Semino, Iraide Ibarretxe-Antuñano, Veronika Koller, and Inés Olza. (2022). Acting like a hedgehog in times of pandemic: Metaphorical creativity in the #reframecovid collection. Metaphor and Symbol, 37(2), 127-139. DOI: 10.1080/10926488.2021.1949599
43. Park, Alice. (2020). Covid-19 vaccine shipped, and Drug Trials Start. Time. 25 Febr. https://time.com/5790545/first-covid-19-vaccine/
44. Perfetti, Charles A., and Anne M. Britt. (1995). Where do propositions come from? In C. A. Weaver III, S. Mannes, & C. R. Fletcher (Eds.), Discourse comprehension: Essays in honor of Walter Kintsch (pp. 11-34). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
45. Proper, David, and Nancy Cutler. (2021). Here’s where you can make appointment for a COVId-19 vaccine this week in the Hudson Valley. lohud. 4 Feb. https://www.lohud.com/story/news/coronavirus/2021/02/04/covid-19-vaccine-westchester-rockland-putnam-appointments/4386518001/
46. Romano, Manuela. (2017). Are metaphors and similes interchangeable? A case study in opinion discourse. Review of Cognitive Linguistics, 15(1), 1-33. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/rcl.15.1.01rom
47. Roncero, Carlos, Roberto G. Almeida, Laura Pissani, and Lola Patalas. (2021). Metaphor is not like a simile: Reading-time evidence for distinct interpretations for negated tropes. Metaphor & Symbol, 36(2), 85–98. doi:10.1080/10926488.2021.1882258
48. Semino, Elena. (2008). Metaphor in Discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
49. Semino, Elena. (2021). ‘Not soldiers but fire-fighters’– metaphors and Covid-19. Health Communication, 36(1), 50–58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1844989
50. Schon, Donald, A. (1993). Generative metaphor. In Andrew Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and Thought (pp. 137-163) Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
51. Shafer, Jack. (2022). The Dangerous Appeal of Neil Young’s Righteous Censorship. POLITICO. 31 Jan. 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/01/31/dangerous-appeal-neil-young-censorship-00003923
52. Sullivan, Karen. (2013). Frames and Constructions in Metaphoric Language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
53. Tribune Desk. (2020). US firm ships 1st batch of coronavirus vaccine. Dhaka Tribune. 7 Mar. https://www.dhakatribune.com/world/2020/03/07/us-firm-ships-1st-batch-coronavirus-vaccine
54. Tversky, Amos. (1977). Features of similarity. Psychological Review, 84(4), 327–352. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.84.4.327
55. van, Dijk, Teun A. (2020). Critical Review of Framing Studies in Social Movement Research. Barcelona: Center of Discourse Studies.
56. van, Dijk, Teun A. (2023). Frame analysis. Discourse Studies, 25(2), 151-152. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614456231155086
2. Addison, Catherine. (1993). From Literal to Figurative: An Introduction to the Study of Simile. College English, 55(4), 402-419. https://doi.org/10.2307/378650
3. Aisenman, Ravid, A. (1999). Structure mapping and simile-metaphor preference. Metaphor and Symbolic Activity, 14(1) 45–51. doi: 10.1207/s15327868ms1401_5
4. Ang, Matthias. (2021). Ho Ching describes Covid-19 vaccine as instruction tape for cells to target virus. Mothership. 20 Feb. https://mothership.sg/2021/02/ho-ching-vaccine-explanation/
5. Aristotle. 1954. Rhetoric. Trans. W. R. Roberts. New York: Modern Library.
6. Bovair, Susan, and David Kieras. (1985). A Guide to Propositional Analysis for Research on Technical Prose. In B. Britton and J. Black (Eds.), Understanding Expository Text: A Theoretical and Practical Handbook for Analyzing Explanatory Prose (pp. 315-362), Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
7. Bowdle, Bran F., and Dedre Gentner. (2005) The career of metaphor. Psychological Review, 112(1), 193– 216. doi: 10.1037/0033-295X.112.1.193
8. Castillo-M.D, Rafael. (2021). Do COVID survivors still need to be vaccinated? LIFESTYLE.INQ. 21 July. https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/386013/do-covid-survivors-still-need-to-be-vaccinated/
9. Chiappe, Dan L, and John M. Kennedy. (2000). Are metaphors elliptical similes? Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 29(4), 371–398. doi:10.1023/A:1005103211670
10. Chiappe, Dan L, John M. Kennedy, and Penny Chiappe. (2003). Aptness is more important than comprehensibility in preferences for metaphors and similes. Poetics, 31(1), 51–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-422X(03)00003-2
11. Craig, David. (2020). Pandemic and its metaphors: Sontag revisited in the Covid-19 era. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 23(6), 1025–1032. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549420938403
12. Croft, William, and Allan D. Cruse. (2004). Cognitive Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
13. Crisp, Peter. (2002). Metaphorical propositions: a rationale. Language and Literature, 11(1), 7-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/096394700201100102
14. Cuenca, Maria Josep. (2015). Beyond compare: Similes in interaction. Review of Cognitive Linguistics, 31(1), 140-166. https://doi.org/10.1075/rcl.13.1.06cue
15. Cullen, Paul. (2020). German doctor: COVID-19 vaccine ‘could prove to be the biggest mistake’. LifeSite. 10 Sep. https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/german-doctor-covid-19-vaccine-could-prove-to-be-the-biggest-mistake
16. Dancygier, Barbara, and Eve Sweetser. (2014). Figurative language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
17. Davies, Mark. (2019). The Coronavirus Corpus. https://www.english-corpora.org/corona/
18. Döring, Martin, and Brigitte Nerlich. (2022). Framing the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic: Metaphors, Images and Symbols.” Metaphor and Symbol, 37(2), 71-75. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926488.2021.2004378
19. Druckman, James, N. (2001). The implications of framing effects for citizen competence. Political Behavior, 23(3), 225–256. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1015006907312
20. Epton, Tracy. (2021). COVID: The three barriers that stop people from being vaccinated. The Conversation. 18 June 18. https://theconversation.com/covid-the-three-barriers-that-stop-people-being-vaccinated-162617
21. Entman, Robert, M. (2008). Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm. Journal of Communication 43, 51-58. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01304.x
22. Gentner, Dedre, and Brian Bowdle. (2008). Metaphor as structure-mapping. In Raymond Gibbs Jr. (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought (pp. 109 -128). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
23. \Gibbs, Raymond, W. Jr., and Herbert L. Colston. (1995). The cognitive psychological reality of image schemas and their transformations. Cognitive Linguistics, 6(4), 347-378. https://doi.org/10.1515/cogl.1995.6.4.347
24. Goffman, Erving. (1974). Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of the Experience. New York: Harper Colophon.
25. Glucksberg, Sam, and Boaz Keysar. (1990). Understanding metaphorical comparisons: Beyond similarity. Psychological Review, 97(1), 3-18. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.97.1.3.
26. Glucksberg, Sam. (2001). Understanding Figurative Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press, DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195111095.001.0001
27. Glucksberg, Sam, and Catrinel Haught. (2006). On the relation between metaphor and simile: When comparison fails. Mind & Language, 21(3), 360–378. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0017.2006.00282.x
28. Guliashvili, Nino. (2022). “Invader or Inhabitant?” – Competing Metaphors for the COVID-19 Pandemic. Health Communication, 38(10), 2099-2105. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2054101
29. Guliashvili, Nino. (2022). Coronavirus Pandemic through Similes. Dataset, Harvard Dataverse, V2, 2022. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/2VUPKT
30. Hart, Christopher. (2023). Frames, framing and framing effects in cognitive CDA. Discourse Studies, 25, 247-258.
31. Israel, Michael, Jennifer Riddle Harding, and Vera Tobin. (2004). On simile. In M. Achard and S. Kemmer (Eds.), Language culture, and mind (pp. 123-135). Stanford: CSLI Publications.
32. Kintsch, Walter, and van Dijk, Teun A. (1978). Toward a model of text comprehension and production.” Psychological Review, 85(5), 363–394. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.85.5.363
33. Kintsch, Walter. (1998). Comprehension: A paradigm for cognition. Cambridge University Press.
34. Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
35. Langacker, Ronald W. (1987). Foundations of cognitive grammar, vol.1: Theoretical prerequisites. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
36. Langacker, Ronald W. (2008). Cognitive Grammar: A Basic Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
37. Miller, Mark, R. (2021). Language choice about COVID-19 vaccines can save lives.” Journal of Communication in Healthcare, 14(2), 99-101. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17538068.2021.1892285
38. Moder, Carol Lynn. (2012). Two puzzle pieces: Fitting discourse context and constructions into cognitive metaphor theory. In Barbara Dancygier, José Sanders, and Lieven Vandelanotte (Eds.), Textual choices in discourse: A view from cognitive linguistics (pp. 157-183). AM/PH: John Benjamins.
39. Nerlich, Brigitte, and Rusi Jaspal. (2021). Social representations of ‘social distancing’ in response to Covid-19 in the UK media. Current Sociology, 69(4), 566-583. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392121990030
40. O’Leary, Kim. (2021). Covid-19 cases update Ireland with 1,059 new cases reported. DublinLive. 1 Oct. https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/covid-19-cases-update-ireland-21739580
41. Olza, I Inés, Veronika Koller, Iraide Ibarretxe-Antuñano, Paula Pérez-Sobrino, and Elena Semino. (2021). The #reframecovid initiative: From Twitter to society via metaphor. Metaphor and the Social World, 11(1), 99–121. doi:10.1075/msw.00013.olz
42. Pérez-Sobrino, Paula, Elena Semino, Iraide Ibarretxe-Antuñano, Veronika Koller, and Inés Olza. (2022). Acting like a hedgehog in times of pandemic: Metaphorical creativity in the #reframecovid collection. Metaphor and Symbol, 37(2), 127-139. DOI: 10.1080/10926488.2021.1949599
43. Park, Alice. (2020). Covid-19 vaccine shipped, and Drug Trials Start. Time. 25 Febr. https://time.com/5790545/first-covid-19-vaccine/
44. Perfetti, Charles A., and Anne M. Britt. (1995). Where do propositions come from? In C. A. Weaver III, S. Mannes, & C. R. Fletcher (Eds.), Discourse comprehension: Essays in honor of Walter Kintsch (pp. 11-34). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
45. Proper, David, and Nancy Cutler. (2021). Here’s where you can make appointment for a COVId-19 vaccine this week in the Hudson Valley. lohud. 4 Feb. https://www.lohud.com/story/news/coronavirus/2021/02/04/covid-19-vaccine-westchester-rockland-putnam-appointments/4386518001/
46. Romano, Manuela. (2017). Are metaphors and similes interchangeable? A case study in opinion discourse. Review of Cognitive Linguistics, 15(1), 1-33. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/rcl.15.1.01rom
47. Roncero, Carlos, Roberto G. Almeida, Laura Pissani, and Lola Patalas. (2021). Metaphor is not like a simile: Reading-time evidence for distinct interpretations for negated tropes. Metaphor & Symbol, 36(2), 85–98. doi:10.1080/10926488.2021.1882258
48. Semino, Elena. (2008). Metaphor in Discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
49. Semino, Elena. (2021). ‘Not soldiers but fire-fighters’– metaphors and Covid-19. Health Communication, 36(1), 50–58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1844989
50. Schon, Donald, A. (1993). Generative metaphor. In Andrew Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and Thought (pp. 137-163) Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
51. Shafer, Jack. (2022). The Dangerous Appeal of Neil Young’s Righteous Censorship. POLITICO. 31 Jan. 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/01/31/dangerous-appeal-neil-young-censorship-00003923
52. Sullivan, Karen. (2013). Frames and Constructions in Metaphoric Language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
53. Tribune Desk. (2020). US firm ships 1st batch of coronavirus vaccine. Dhaka Tribune. 7 Mar. https://www.dhakatribune.com/world/2020/03/07/us-firm-ships-1st-batch-coronavirus-vaccine
54. Tversky, Amos. (1977). Features of similarity. Psychological Review, 84(4), 327–352. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.84.4.327
55. van, Dijk, Teun A. (2020). Critical Review of Framing Studies in Social Movement Research. Barcelona: Center of Discourse Studies.
56. van, Dijk, Teun A. (2023). Frame analysis. Discourse Studies, 25(2), 151-152. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614456231155086
Published
2024-01-31
How to Cite
Guliashvili, N. (2024). “What’s COVID-19 Vaccine Like?” – From A Cognitive Frame to A Similative Proposition. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 20(2), 174. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2024.v20n2p174
Section
ESJ Humanities
Copyright (c) 2024 Nino Guliashvili
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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