A Cognitive Grammar account of time motion ‘metaphors’: A view from Japanese

Abstract
This article focuses on motion metaphors of time and complements Moore’s (Cognitive Linguistics 17: 199–244, 2006) analysis, which insightfully discusses time metaphors, from the standpoint of Japanese data. The present paper argues that time metaphors should be analyzed in terms of Langacker’s (Observations and speculations on subjectivity, John Benjamins, 1985, Cognitive Linguistics, 1: 5–38, 1990a, Concept, Image, and Symbol: The Cognitive Basis of Grammar, Mouton de Gruyter, 1990b) subjective/objective construal if Japanese data are considered. More specifically, the present analysis classifies time metaphors in terms of the ground’s subjective/objective construal and depends on whether they are deictic or not. When the ground is placed offstage, a given expression is non-deictic and can have the order meaning. This article emphasizes that the order meaning is produced by the ground’s objective construal and that this cognitive ability is crucial for comparing two events or persons. By focusing on the ground’s subjective/objective construal, the difference between Japanese mae and saki can be captured. The present paper will show that the application of the Cognitive Grammar approach to Japanese temporal expressions can supplement existing metaphor theories and that the cognitive linguistic theory of subjectivity is a useful tool with respect to capturing the properties of Japanese temporal expressions.

from Cognitive Linguistics