THE ROLE OF ICONIC PRINCIPLE IN UNDERSTANDING METAPHORS (FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS)

Abstract

This paper aims to show how the iconic principle helps in understanding indirect meaning introduced by conceptual metaphors. It will be an attempt to prove that at a conceptual level metaphors make use of “the reversed iconic principle”. The discussion will begin by focusing on the idea of an icon in relation to language. It will then move on to the principle of iconicity and its components: iconic sequencing, iconic proximity, iconic quantity and how they are realised in metaphors. The presentation will be complemented with such notions as “structural complexity” and “processing complexity” as elements crucial for approaching the iconic principle.