Metaphors in the construction of the meaning of idioms

Abstract

The metaphorical relation has already been described as comparison, contrast, analogy, similarity, juxtaposition, collision, fusion, etc. besides the fact of having received different interpretations vis-a-vis its nature, operation, and function. Considering that metaphor is indispensable to the functioning of language and thought, and taking Lakoff & Johnson's conceptual theory as a parameter, we will explore in this work some conceptualized representations in metaphorized expressions of Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish. With this we will be trying to orient the analysis towards the process of disemantization which takes place when the words composing a phrasal unity undergo a metaphoric process, losing the nominative characteristic function they have when considered separately. In this study, we also intend to make brief comments on the scholars’ approaches to metaphoric cognition issues, and specially to show the role of metaphor in the construction of meaning in idiomatic metaphoric expressions.