Metaphor, metonymy and image-schemas: an analysis of conceptual interaction patterns

In Cognitive Linguistics the study of conceptual interaction has attracted the attention of many scholars. Analyses have primarily focused on the role of image-schemas in the construction of metaphors and on the types of interplay that can take place between metaphor and metonymy. In this paper, we examine the role three image-schemas (namely, the CONTAINER, PART/WHOLE and EXCESS schemas) play in conceptual interaction, especially in relation to metonymy. Our analysis reveals that image-schemas have two basic functions: they structure the relationship that exists between the source and target domain of a metonymic mapping and they provide the axiological value of an expression. Finally, we discuss that the pervasiness of image-schematic structure in conceptual interaction between metaphor and metonym