A study of conceptual metaphors in Liravi dialect terminology within the framework of cognitive linguistics

Cognitive science is the scientific study of the mind and all manifestations of intelligence and consciousness, such as thinking, perception, memory, emotion, reasoning, and all unconscious cognitive processes. Cognitive linguistics, based on new cognitive understandings, has redefined metaphor in the last three decades; metaphor is no longer just a literary device but, under the title of "conceptual metaphor," is understood as one semantic or conceptual domain being understood and experienced through another. The aim of this research is to examine the semantics of 32 Liravi dialect terms based on cognitive theory. In this study, we first collected Liravi dialect terms based on the theory of migration, categorized into three groups – metaphorical terms, metonymic terms, and terms based on conventional knowledge – using both field and library research methods. Subsequently, the conceptual motivations behind these categories were investigated to understand the meaning of the terms largely through metaphor. Furthermore, by studying the motivations and understanding the conceptual domains related to each motivation, the terms were categorized. The research results indicate that the metaphors present in this dialect are understood and constructed by modeling experiential and fundamental concepts of the human mind.