Exploring the metaphoric value of idioms : a taxonomy of Spanish conceptual metaphors and idioms.

In 1980, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson challenged the traditional view of metaphors by showing their prevalence in everyday speech. Instead of a literary device, Lakoff and Johnson proposed that metaphors are commonly used to connect two concepts because humans employ a metaphoric thought process that allows us to understand one abstract entity in terms of another. Evidence of these “conceptual metaphors” is found in linguistic manifestations that demonstrate a metaphorical mapping from one domain onto another. Many investigations have further examined conceptual metaphors in various languages in order to understand cultural and linguistic implications. The present study first examines current literature to find previously identified conceptual metaphors for Spanish, then uses Spanish idioms as data to offer support for already known conceptual metaphors and to aid in the identification of new ones. Finally, all are combined in a taxonomy of Spanish conceptual metaphors and idioms.