Tsui, Heart Expressions in the Gã Bible

Abstract

The paper explores the metaphorical and metonymic expressions of the heart in Gã (a West African language) within the framework of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory propounded by Lakoff and Johnson. The aim is to examine the ways in which tsui, ‘the heart’ is used in the Gã Bible to express human experiences. The data are gathered from personal conversations with Gã scholars and the Gã Bible. The data revealed the underlying conceptual metaphoric and metonymic patterns and their expressions of various aspects of emotions, modes of rationality and interpersonal relationship in the Gã language. This demonstrates that there is a clear relationship between the linguistic systems of a people and their conceptual and cultural experiences.