December 5, 2014 | 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Cost:
Free
Contact:
Phone
812.465.7089
Email:
mjstacer@usi.edu

Additional Information

USI is pleased to announce the Fall 2014 schedule for the Liberal Arts Faculty Colloquia series. This information is also available on the Liberal Arts Faculty Colloquia website https://www.usi.edu/liberalarts/special-programs/liberal-arts-faculty-colloquia.

Please note that there is variation in the day of the week, time, and location for each colloquium.

Light refreshments will be served at each colloquium. The public is invited to attend this free event. Please direct all questions to mjstacer@usi.edu

Dr. Mohktar Al-Zuraiki
Contract Assistant Professor of Intensive English
Intensive English Program

“Dancing on the heads of snakes: The linguistic and political life of a metaphor in Yemeni political discourse”

Friday, December 5, 2014, 3 pm in Kleymeyer Hall (LA 0101)

Within the context of Cognitive Linguistics, Oakley and Coulson (2008) argue that integrating linguistic, cultural, and situational knowledge is essential for understanding political metaphor. Drawing on Oakley and Coulson, this paper accounts for the linguistic extensions that the metaphor “dancing on the heads of snakes” witnessed as it was used by Yemeni politicians and journalists to defend and condemn political actions and policies. It explains how “dancing” changed to “sitting,” “standing,” “walking,” and “writing,” and how “snakes” shifted to “pigs,” “viruses” and “heads.” These re-mappings of the metaphor support approaches that integrate cognitive linguistic theory into analyzing metaphor in ongoing discourse.