A study of metaphorical culture of “head”

Abstract

Metaphor exists everywhere, which is not only a figurative use of language, but also a cognitive tool and a way of thinking. “Head” has a lot of metaphorical senses in English, for instance, “To hit a ball with your head” and “The side of a coin that has a picture of someone’s head on it”. These unique metaphorical senses are closely related to the football and coin culture in foreign countries. Taking the different senses of “Head” as the object of study, this paper analyzes the generation and cognitive styles of the metaphorical senses of “Head” from the perspective of Conceptual Metaphor Theory, and further explores the cultural factors behind these metaphorical senses of “Head”.