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Manusya, Journal of Humanities

Publication Date

2005-01-01

Abstract

This paper examines the love metaphors used by contemporary Thai songwriters in their modern Thai songs. The theoretical framework for the study is the theory of conceptual metaphor (Lakoff, 1987, 1993; Lakoff and Johnson, 1980; Lakoff and Turner, 1989). The data, approximately 3,615 songs from Grammy Entertainment Company, were collected from books, tapes, and the internet and were compiled from 1983 to 2000. Only 502 metaphorical expressions describing love were found. This research revealed that the songwriters intend to convey far more than the surface meaning of their words. The theory of conceptual metaphor helps to explain the correspondences between a source domain and a target domain (love). Love metaphors allow us to comprehend love in terms of more clearly delineated concepts. In this study, twenty-two concepts were found which the songwriters use to conceptualize "love". I also found that the abstract concept of "love" can generally be understood in terms of image schema. This is where "love" is described with reference to physical objects and spatial relations. The conceptual metaphors reflect a schema of love as CONTAINER, PART-WHOLE, SOURCE-PATH-GOAL, and LINK.

First Page

14

Last Page

29

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