From usage patterns to meaning construction: Evidence from ear and eye figurative constructions

Abstract

Abstract The present study investigates the meaning construction emerging from figurative constructions involving ear and eye in Modern Greek. The study concerns authentic language data retrieved from a corpus search. Analysis takes into consideration the embodiment hypothesis, the development of chained metonymies and the interaction of metaphor and metonymy as the motivation for the usage patterns under investigation. The constructions analyzed reveal that the sense of vision is prioritized over hearing. Furthermore, constructional parameters of meaning show how ears and eyes are perceived in MG language and culture. Eye is attributed the agent role in the constructions, while ear is the entity acted upon. Moreover, eyes are mainly perceived as reflections of different dimensions of the selfhood, while ears are perceived as containers. A broader polysemy thus emerges for the eye than for the ear.