A análise da expressão convencional cabra sob a perspectiva da teoria dos modelos cognitivos idealizados

Abstract

The conventional expression cabra (goat) is a polysemic expression both from the point of view of Lexical Semantics and from the point of view of Cognitive Semantics. This is so because as well as dictionaries and all data we analyzed originated from documentary sources - novels regional, cordel literature, urban dictionaries and specialized publications - and field data collected from the application of five surveys, pointed to an understanding of a cabra (goat) as an ordinary man, a manly and courageous man; as a good character man, and even as violent man. Thus, our research investigated the polysemic aspect of the conventional expression cabra (goat) based on the tenets of Cognitive Semantics, especially based on the Theory of Conceptual Metaphor formulated by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and the Theory of Idealized Cognitive Models (ICM theory), formulated by Lakoff (1987), according to these postulates, polysemy can be addressed with basis on the Propositional ICM of Radial Category. In this perspective and from the analyzes undertaken with our main objective to examine the correspondences between metaphorical / conceptual thinking, language and culture of the polysemy of that expression, we found that based on metonymic and metaphorical mappings the Propositional ICM MAN forms a cluster of models (or radial cluster) with other ICMs CABRA (GOAT) and HOMEM CABRA (GOAT MAN), structuring the relationship between the non metaphorical meaning animal and metaphorical meanings, cabra macho (male goat), cabra da peste (plague goat), resident of rural area, mestizo and cangaceiro (bandit) from two schemes. In the others words, according to the results of our research, the Propositional ICM MAN structures a polysemy of the conventional expression cabra (goat) to organize: on one hand, understandings shared by the speakers from Fortaleza in contemporary society, based on which the prototypical meaning animal establishing metaphorical extensions to the meanings more representatives man (subject), cabra macho (male goat) and cabra da peste (goat plague) and metaphorical extensions to the meanings less representatives mestizo, a resident of rural area, hired killer, cangaceiro (bandit) ; on the other hand, understandings shared by members of the rural community in northeastern of Brazil in a given time based in which the prototypical meaning animal establishing metaphorical extensions to the meanings more representatives resident of rural area, mestizo, and cangaceiro (bandit) and metaphorical extensions to the meanings less representatives cabra da peste (goat plague), cabra macho (goat male) and cabra bom (good goat).