관용어에 나타난 신체어의 의미 확장 = The Meaning Expansion of Body Terms in Korean and English Idioms

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of this study is to explore how to expand the meanings of human body terms to effectively communicate in Korean and English idioms. The body terms analyzed for this study are 'head', 'eye', 'mouth', and 'hand'. The results obtained from the study are as follows. First, each of the body parts is conceptualized as a container, with a bounding surface and an in-out orientation, which results in the metaphorical concept [HEAD/EYE/MOUTH/HAND IS A CONTAINER]. Different metaphorical expressions are produced on the ground of the metaphorical concept. Second, those body terms are often used to metonymically refer to entities and substances. For instance, 'head' is often used to stand for 'mind' on the ground of the metonymical concept [THE WHOLE FOR THE PART]. 'Mind' is also viewed and experienced as a 'machine', based on the metaphorical concept [MIND IS A MACHINE], which is the ground of different metaphorical expressions pervasive in our daily life. This is because the concrete concept is more salient to be recognized and comprehended than the abstract concept is. Third, the body terms are also used to refer to the whole person, such as 'There are lots of the body terms are expanded metaphorically and metonymically to show some physical character of the person referred to, like '메기입이 말이 없구나'. In this case, the body term '입' is combined with the word '메기' identifying an animal based on some physical similarity, resulting in the metaphorical expression '메기입'. This metaphorical expression in context is expanded into the metonymic expression referring to the person with a wide and large mouth, on the ground of the metonymic concept [THE PART FOR THE WHOLE]. To go into details, the metaphoric expression '메기입' is used as a way of conceiving of one thing (사람의 입) in terms of another (메기의 입), and of understanding the wide and large mouth of the person referred to. The metonymic expression '메기입이' has a referential function, which allows us to use '메기입' to stand for 'the person with a wide and large mouth like a catfish'. This can not be found in English idioms.
In conclusion, there are many cases in Korean and English idioms in which the speaker uses the body terms metaphorically or/and metonymically expanded to show some physical character of the person referred to and his attitudes of the mind. This serves for the hearer to easily and clearly understand the information and the intention that the speaker tries to convey. The hearer also understands the expanded meanings of the body terms using his physical experiences, background knowledge, and ability of inference. This study showed that the meaning expansion of the body terms is an effective way of communication.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Ⅰ. 서론
• Ⅱ. 비유어와 의미 확장
• 2.1 관용어와 의미 확장
• 2.2 은유와 의미 확장
• 2.3 환유와 의미 확장
• Ⅲ. 신체어의 의미 확장
• 3.1 '머리'의 의미 확장
• 3.2 '눈'의 의미 확장
• 3.3 '입'의 의미 확장
• 3.4 '손'의 의미 확장
• Ⅳ. 결론
• <참고문헌>