A construção metafórica e metonímica do signo em língua de sinais brasileira: uma análise cognitivo-cultural

Abstract

This article has the objective to analyze metaphors and metonymys in the construction of conceptual gestures related to feelings and mental actions by deafs. The research is developed in the framework of Cognitive Conceptual Metaphor theory, originally formulated by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and expanded later by Kövecses (2005), in relation to cross-cultural variability of metaphor. The relationship of metonymy is addressed also by the aforementioned theoretical and, in this article, receives special attention the work done by Wilcox (2000) Wilcox, Wilcox and Jarque (2004) and Littlemore (2015) about conceptual connections in sign language. The empirical basis of the study is formed by signs of Brazilian deafs concerning to affectivity (anguish and hatred) and cognition and/or mental processes (learn and reason). The analysis of these signs points out that, in the Brazilian Sign Language, there are metaphors and metonymys based on mappings, witch shows that parts of our bodies receive and expel feelings, besides acting and moving objects in a visible metonymycal relation part for whole.