Body parts in language: A cognitive semiosis of human mind

AbstractThe aim of the present paper is two-fold: it shows how language reflects human cognitive grid universally in utilizing body parts in semiosis; and it attempts to delineate the extent of cultural differences as manifested in the linguistic variation of such semiosis. The framework adopted is the metaphoric Lakovian cognitive approach and the evidence draws on expressions in which human body parts have been used in the linguistic semiosis of Farsi and English. The examples are limited to instances of the ‘head’ area, e.g., hair and eyes. Results corroborate the researcher's hypothesis that metaphors are deeply rooted in human cognitive abilities of semiotic representations while languages as semiotic systems are limited to their cultural choices of semiotic mechanisms cognitively available to them