98 degrees

STRAIGHT:AnImageSchemaandits

metaphoricalextensions*

ALANCIENKI

Abstract

Inthisarticle,IpropoSTRAIGHTäsanimageSchema,discusstheevidence

forthisclaim,andexaminetherelationshipbetweensomeofthespecific

propertiesofthisimageSchemainourexperienceandhowtheyare

gonJohnsons(1987)criteriafor

animageSchema,Ireviewrearchonthespecialroleofstraightlinesin

visualperception,andconsidertherelationsbetweenspatialandforce-

dynamicpropertiesofstraightbodilyformsandmovements,andofstraight

objectswhichwecommonlyencounterinourexperience,particularlyin

industrializedsocieties.

AnexaminationofmetaphoricalexpressionsinEnglishandRussianshows

thatdomainsinthelanguagescommonlycharacterizedbySTRAIGHTNESS—

oritsopposites—includetime

f

events,discour,thought,control,socialnorms,

morality

t

truth,mplessupportfindingsfromprevious

rearchthatadualitycommonlyexistsinSystemsofmetaphorsbetween

almodelsofthetargetdomainsare

alsodiscusdäsafactorwhichmotivatesthemetaphoricalcharactenzation

ofadomainäsSTRAIGHTornot,andwhetherthatSTRAIGHTNESSivaluatedäs

positiveornegative.

Keywords:imageSchema;metaphor;morality;perception;straight.

ceforSTRAIGHTäsanimageSchema

SinceJohnson(1987)prentedbisargumentsforrecognizinganumber

ofimageSchemasäsrecurrentpatterns,shapes,and/orregularitiesofour

actions,perceptions,andconceptions,thebulkoftherearchensuing

fromthisstudyhasfocusdonthemetaphoricalextensionofimage

Johnson(1987:106)notesthatthe

listofimageSchemashediscussismerelyalectionofthohebelieves

CognitiveLinguistics9-2(1998),107-1490936-5907/98/0009-0107

©WalterdeGruyter

aremostsignificant,fewhaveextendedthislineofrearchtopropo

andjustifyothers(Mandler[1992]andKrzeszowski[1993]beingnotable

exceptions).Inthisarticle,IpropoSTRAIGHTäsanimageschema,

discusstheevidenceforthisclaim,andexaminetherelationshipbetween

someofthespecificpropertiesoftheimageSchemainourexperienceand

theirextensionintoabstractdomains.

IwillrelyonJohnson'scriteriaforwhatconstitutesanimageschema,

namelythat,"[a]nimageschemaisarecurring,dynamicpatternofour

perceptualinteractionsandmotorprogramsthatgivescoherenceand

structuretoourexperience"(Johnson1987:xiv).Tablelprentswhat

theyaregroundedinspatialexperience,mostimageSchemasdiscusd

intheliteraturecanbecharacterizedinvisuallyperceivable,spatialterms;

however,theyshouldnotbethoughtofästiedtoanysingleperceptual

article,then,Iwillconsidertheprevalenceofthe

STRAIGHTimageschemaintheenvironmentandourmanipulationof

objects,inourbodilyformandmovements,äswelläsinhumanvisual

perception.

perception

Workingonthepremithatpartofthecriteriaforbeinganimageschema

isthatagivenformconstitute"arecurring,dynamicpatternofour

perceptualinteractions",itisworthnotingtheparticularroleplayedby

chprovidesstrongevidencethat

thevisualSystemquicklyassumesandusfactorssuchäscollinearity

(straightness),curvature,symmetry,andcotermination(twoormore

terminationsatacommonpoint).Specifically,äsFoster(1984:87-88)

summarizes,datafromveralkindsofvisualtaskssuggestthatin

particularthecollinearityofpointsorelementsinapatternhasaspecial

sthattheevidencecomesfrom

allistofImagesSchemas(fromJohnson1987:106).

CONTAINERBALANCECOMPULSION

BLOCKAGECOUNTERFORCERESTRAINTREMOVAL

ENABLEMENTATTRACTIONMASS-COUNT

PATHLINKCENTER-PERIPHERY

CYCLENEAR-FARSCALE

PART-WHOLEMERGINGSPLITTING

FULL-EMPTYMATCHINGSUPERIMPOSITION

ITERATIONCONTACTPROCESS

SURFACEOBJECTCOLLECTION

STRAIGHT109

experimentsinperceptualgrouping(experimentswhichdatebacktothe

Gestaltpsychologists),invisualdetectionwithinanoifieldornontarget

array,invisualacuitymeasurements,invisualtexturediscrimination,and

invisualdiscriminationofbrieflyprenteddotfigures.

Straightlinesaremoreeasily(morequickly)perceivedthancurved

lines,andaccordingtoRock(1983:95),visualdescriptioningeneralis

oftenmadeintermsofclonesstoordistancefromspecificsalientvalues,

suchässtraightness,verticality,fthemostsalient

propertiesofaform,straightnessislikelytobementionedfirstina

descriptioniftheformexhibitsit(Rock1983:95).Horizontalandvertical

slraightlinesinparticulararemoreeasilyperceivedthanobliquestraight

lines(AttneaveandOlson1967).Thisbringsupthefactthatwithterms

suchässtraight,one'sframeofreferencecanbeaformorgestalt(the

straightedgeofthetable),oritcanbeanorientation,suchäsvertical

(Thatpictureonthewallisnotstraight)(ZubinandChoi1984).Notethat

inthelatterca,theantonymofstraightinEnglishmightbeskewed,

unlikeintheformerca,whereitmightbecurved,benl,ernal

frameofreferencecanactuallybedeterminedbyveraldifferentbias

inorientationlection:gravitationalvertical,theorientationofthe

obrver'sbody,orthetop-bottomaxisoftheretina(Palmer,toappear).

Whiletheareallconsistentwitheachotherforthecanonicalupright

obrver,theycancomeintoconflictwitheachotheriftheobrver's

headorbodyaretiltedwithrespecttogravity.(SeealsoClark's[1973]

discussionofgroundlevel,gravity,andegoäsreferenceframesofour

spatialorientation,andLeyton's[1992:350-351]discussionofthedis-

tinctionbetweenorientationandgestaltäsamatterofexternalversus

internalstructure.)

Foster(1983)specificallydescribessomeofthecomplicationsinvolved

,

whenattentionisdistributedoveranumberofelementsinthefieldand

effectivevisualprocessingtimeisrestricted,discriminationofcurved

linesischaracterizedbycoar,discreteprocesscorrespondingtothe

categoriesstraight,justcurved,r,witha

smallnumberofStimuliandunlimitedviewingtime,performanceis

characterizedbysmooth,continuousprocessallowingforfinegrain

tion,curvesare

knowntobepsychologicallygmentedattheirnegativeminima(their

"valleys")(Leyton1992:17),andthereforepartitioningismorelikelyto

r,astraightline,given

itssymmetryandsingularityofform,itsobviouslackofcurvature

extrema,andthusitsone-partnature,ismorelikelytobe"simultaneously

available"forscanninginvisualperception(andmentalconception).

Platt,äarlyäs1960,suggestedthatinadults,fewornovisualscanning

movementsatallarerequiredtoestraightlinesässtraightdueto

learnedbehavior.

Theperceptionofstraightlinesdoeshavesomethingincommon,

however,htiinesremain

straightwhenviewedfromdifferentperspectives,andcurvedlinesremain

curved;itisrarethatanentirecurvedformwouldfallinthesameplane

ästhelineofvisionandthusbeperceivedäeofthe

properties,collinearityandcurvilinearityofpointsorlineshavebeen

called(WitkinandTenenbaum1983)nonaccidentalproperties,thatis,

theywouldonlyrarelybeproducedbyaccidentalalignmentsofviewpoint

reeofcurvedness,however,doeschangewith

perspective,whilethestraightformremainsstraight:collinearity,and,for

example,Connectivity(twolinesintercting)areamongtheveryfewtypes

ncyof

curvatureisprerved,however,oversmallportionsofacurve(eLöwe

1985:eh.3.1.1).

Furthermore,äsLöwe(1985:eh.5.1)discuss,wemakeinferences

(caudbydiscontinuitiesinthegeometryofanobject),markings(inthe

reflectanceofasurface),andshadowsallowinferencesabouttheflatness

erman(1987:119)discuss,

"certainpropertiesofedgesinatwo-dimensionalimagearetakenbythe

visualSystemässtrongevidencethattheedgesinthethree-dimensional

worldcontainthosameproperties".Fromcollinearityinanimage,we

caninfercollinearityinthree-dimensionalspace,sinceitisunlikelythat

allthepointsorlinesarecoplanarwiththelineofsight.

Anotherimportantaspectofsurfacereflectivityisthataflatsurface

(suchässtillwateroramirror)reflectsamoreaccurateimageofthe

worldäsweeitthanacurvedorwavysurfacedoes.

lationofobjects—hapticperception

hingsintoorderoftenmeansto

puttheminrows,tinAmericansociety,

whenstandinginaline,peopleusuallyassumetheorderofarelatively

straightrow(anextremeexamplebeingrowsofsoldiersstandingat

attentioninanarmy).Whenstandinginline(i.e.,inaqueue),forexample

whenwaitingforsomething,oneusuallyindicatesone'spositioninthe

quencebystandingonthatsideoftheprecedingpersonthatisfurthest

fromthoprecedinghimorher,resultinginafairlystraightline,

especiallyifthelineisshort.

STRAIGHT111

Thereisalsoarelationbetweenstraightnessandsymmetry(ebelow),

namelytheinherentsymmetryofstraightlinesversusthemerelypossible

inforcestheregularityofstraightness

(its"orderliness")versustheirregularityofbeingbent,twisted,etc.

ationbetweentwo-andthree-dimensionalforms,andbetween

ee-dimensionalcounterparts

strialized

societieswearesurroundedbytheflatfloor,ceiling,walls,andtabletops

whichwegenerallyassumearefirm,solid,andcapableofSupportto

ontrastwiththecurvy,soft,andsupplesurfacesof

substanceslikeskinandclothing.(Innon-industrializedsocietieswhere

therearefewermanufacturedartifacts,thepropertiesofinorganicsub-

stanceswouldpresumablybelesssalientineverydaylife.)Theassump-

tionwecommonlymakethatsomething"straight"isalso"solid"and

"continuous"likelyderivesfromaconnectionwecommonlyencounter

betweentheSTRAIGHTimageSchemainflatformsandtheforce-dynamic

propertythatsuchformscommonlyexhibitofbeingmoreresistantto

eresistanceofastraightobjectorflatsurfaceis

overcomebyanotherforce,theobjectorsurfacebecomesbentorcurved.

n(1987:29)notesthatoneofthechiefways

inwhichimageSchemamergeäsmeaningfulpatternsforusisthrough

riencetheconnectionbetweenspatialand

force-dynamicaspectsofstraightnessconstantlythroughmuscularactiv-

ganylimbstraightwithoutoutsidesupportnormallyentails

tensingthemuscles,ernEnglish

wordstraightitlfderivesfromthepastparticipleoftheMiddleEnglish

verbstrecchen'streich'

HeritageDictionary,3rded.,s.v."straight").Onegainscontroloverone's

musclesbytensingthem,whichSupportstherelationbetweentheideas

ofstraightnessandcontrol.

Coordinationandbodilycontrolconstitutealargelyunconsciouspart

sasignificantrelationbetweenourbodies

beingstraight,up,andincontrol;resistingtheforceofgravity,Standing

upstraight,stthis

withtherelationbetweenbeingbent,down,andalackofcontrol;when

submittingtoaforceorinfluencingfactor(e.g.,fatigue),thebodyisbent

over,slouched.

Thequalitiesofstraightness,control,andbeingup,strong,andfirm,

therefore,commonlygrouptogetherinourexperiencegivenhowour

bodiesfunction,withacontrastinggroupingbeingbent/curved,lackof

control,down,weak,r,wedonotallshareembodied

experienceinexactlythesameway,andthenatureandsalienceofcertain

imageSchemasmaydifferintheexperienceofmalesandfemalesbad

r,andifsohowthedifferencesaffect

men'sandwomen'screativemetaphoricalextensionofimageSchemas

intoabstractdomainsisjustbeginningtobeexplored(eMcGraw,in

preparation).

ntofobjects;ker(1993:2-4)

makesadistinctionbetweenimageSchemasandconceptualarchetypes.

HedescribesimageSchemasslightlydifferentlythanJohnsondoes,

namely,view,theCONTAINER

Schemaischaracterizedästheabilitytoconceiveofaninclusionrelation,

andthePATHSchemaästheimage-schematicabilitytomentallyscanfrom

ker

callsprototypicalexamplesofimageSchemas"conceptualarchetypes".

Thus,aphysicalContaineranditsContentsrveäsourconceptual

rly,

Langacker(1993:2-4)obrves,physicalmotionistheconceptual

archetypeoftheimage-schematicabilityofmentalscanning.

ThebasisformetaphorssuchäsUNCOMPLICATEDACTIONisMOTION

ALONGASTRAIGHTPATH(tobediscusdbelow)canbefoundnotonly

inourexperiencewithobjects,butalsoinourexperienceofbodilymotion.

Itiasytoprovethattheshortestpathbetweentwopointsisastraight

experiencethisintermsofgoingsomewhere,andgenerally

foranymotionbringingtwoobjectstogether,e.g.,bringingacuptoone's

slesstimetogetsomewhereviaastraightpathrather

thanacurvypathgivenatrateofmovement.

Thisonceagainraistheconnectionbetweenthespatialandforce-

dynamicaspectsofthisimageSchema:thetraceofanentitymovingunder

theinfluenceofasingle,constant,undisturbedforceisastraightline.

CompareLeyton(1992:79):"[T]hetraceismemoryofmovementthat

oncetookplace",withmemoryunderstoodhereäitherinternal

(aneuronalstate)orexternal—

esntiallyanotherwayofcharacterizingtheimageSchematransfor-

mationbetweena"zero-dimensional"movingtrajectorandtheone-

dimensionalpathitfollows,äsdescribedbyLakoff(1987:442-443).One

canalsothinkofitisäsatransformationbetweenthedynamic(the

movementoftheobject)andthestatte(theobject'spath).

NotethatwhereasthedefaultPATHSchemaisstraight,thedefault

etupandwalksomewhere,even

presumablywithsomegoalinmind,yourarelywalkinaverystraight

lineunlessyouconcentrateonit,i.e.,unlessyouexertasignificantdegree

STRAIGHT113

iscontrolwhichisatissuewhen

someoneisgiventhesobrietytestofwalkingastraightline,alesttoe

whethertheyareundertheinfluenceofalcohol,whichesntiallyactsäs

anoutsideforceinhibitingtheirinteraalcontrol.

htnessandsymmetry

Leytonexploresindetailthecrucialrolesplayedbysymmetryand

heprinciplesheexplores

arethatwenormallyInterpretanasymmetryintheprentäshaving

originatedfromasymmetryinthepast(his"AsymmetryPrinciple",

1992:9),whileasymmetryintheprentisunderstoodäshavingalways

existed("SymmetryPrinciple",1992:10).Thestraightreprentsonekind

tthatitrvesäsaStandard

ofexactnessandameansbywhichtojudgeotherthingsmakesn

givenitsprototypicalStatus:compareevidenceprentedbytheGestalt

psychologiststhatarbitraryshapesareenintermsofmoresymmet-

ricalversionsofthemlves(Goldmeier1936[1972]),andRosch's(1975,

1978)findingsthatnon-prototypicalobjectsareinterpretedintermsof

prototypicalones,ch

hardertoagreeonwhata"Standardbentform"isthanitistoagreeon

whatastraightlinelookslike.

Theinteractionbetweenspatialandforce-dynamicfactorsmanifests

itlfagainintheconnectionbetweenthesymmetryofthestraightform

(1992:13)describestheconnectionin

termsofwhathecallsthe"StabilityPrinciple",whichstatesthat"the

moreSymmetrieaconfigurationis,themorestableitisunderstoodto

be".Leytonexplains,"Onecandefinestabilityästemporalsymmetry;

i.e.,theabnceofchangethroughtime"(1992:12).Bycontrast,äshe

statesinthe"Energy-AsymmetryPrinciple","asymmetryistakentobe

memoryoftheenergytransferredtoanobjectinacausalinteraction"

(1992:78).Asymmetrieobjects(suchästhothatarebent,twisted,

warped,etc.)areunderstoodtohavebeenaflfected(andeffected)bya

objectthatweexpect

tobestraight,fromourpreviouxperience,isnot,weinferthatithas

otevenbecapableoffulfillingitspre-

viousfunctionanymore,e.g.,expect,fromour

previouxperience,thatagivenentitywillmoveinastraightpath,and

thenweobrvethatitdoesn't,wecaninferthatthechangeinmotion,

theinstability,resultedfromtheimpositionofsomenewforce.

Whilewehavebeenimplyingthatnon-straightformsarenotSymmet-

rie,itistruethatasimplecurvecanbeSymmetriealongone,possibly

114ACienki

straight,r,mostofthenon-straightformsweencounterin

oureverydayexperiencerarelyhaveasingleaxisofsymmetry,andusually

haveacomplexofthem,ofteninanasymmetricarrangement.

htness,linearscales,san

assumptionofStraightnessinherentinlinearscales(bothintheimage

SchemaSCALE,andinconcreteexamples,suchäsrulers),axesofpolarity

(front/back,up/down,right/left),werenotstraight,

formeasurement,

forexample,wouldloitsuniformityandthusitscharacteräsacertain

kindofStandardifitwerecurved.

ThedefaultPATHisalsoassumedtobestraightincognitivelinguistic

theoryäswell,wherethePATHimageSchemaisinevitablydepictedwith

assumptionwhichmakesitpossibletospeakof

metaphorssuchäsLINEARSCALESAREPATHS(Lakoff1993:214);thefact

thatthePATHimageSchemaisstraightiswhatallowsittorveästhe

nimageSchemas,therefore,group

togetherinourexperience(Quinn1991:70;Cienki1997),afactwhich

hasimportantimplicationsforthecoherenceofmetaphorsthathave

imageSchemasästheirsourcedomains.

AIGHTversusmanynon-straights

STRAIGHTis,therefore,asignificant,recurringregularityinoureveryday

interactionwiththeworld,inourperception,andsocialinteraction.

Furthermore,wehaveenthatstraightobjects,orobjectswithstraight/

flatsurfaces,s

withnon-straightforms(bent,twisted,curved)sharecertaintraitsby

virtueoftheirOppositiontoStraightness,butdifferästohowtheyarenot

straight,andcorrespondingly,theydifferfromeachotheraccordingto

thedegreeofforceand/ortheprocessinvolvedinbringingthemtothat

,curved,andothermanifestationsofnon-straightopenforms

donotfulfillthecriteriaforanimageSchema:giventhelackofconsistency

intheirnature,theydonotformacoherent,recurringpatterninour

perceptualinteractionsandmotorprograms.(NotethatJohnson[1987]

ussimilarcriteriatojustifyBALANCEäsanimageSchema,butnot

imbalance.)Thecircle,however,äsaregularlycurvedclodformwhich

wecommonlyencounterinourexperiencewithregulärrecurringprop-

erties,mayalsofitthecriteriaforanimageSchema(andisclearly

manifestedäsonepatternforCYCLE),butthisquestionremainstobe

exploredmorefully.

Wewillnowturntohowthegestaltofpropertiesassociatedwith

straightobjectsandwithmotionalongstraightpathsaccountsforsome

STRAIGHT115

patternsofpolymyfoundcross-linguisticallyintermsrelatingto

straightness.

orsbadonSTRAIGHTandvariationsfromit

Theterm"metaphor"hasdevelopedatechnicalnincontemporary

cognitivelinguisticrearch,thatof"across-domainmapping[froma

sourcedomainontoatargetdomain]intheconceptualSystem"(Lakoff

1993:203).Iwillfollowthepracticeintheliterature(startedwithLakoff

andJohnson1980)ofttingoffmetaphorsbywritingtheminsmall

capitalsintheformofamnemonicwhichsuggeststhemapping:TARGET-

DOMAINissouRCE-DOMAiN.1Inthecontextofsuchrearch,"[t]heterm

'metaphoricalexpression'referstoalinguisticexpression(aword,phra,

orntence)thatisthesurfacerealizationofsuchacross-domain

mapping..."(LakoffandJohnson1980:203),thatis,thattowhichthe

wordmetaphortraditionallyrefers.

Theprimaryfocuswillbeoncontemporary,synchronicdata,2but

relevantdiachronicInformationwillnotbeexcluded.3Inaddition,occa-

sionalreferencewillbemadetomanualgestureswhichfrequentlyaccom-

ionaleforthis

canbefoundinrearchbyKendon(1980),Calbris(1990),andMcNeill

(1992)whichunderscorestheintegralrelationbetweengestureandspeech

ationsbetweengestureandmetaphorare

exploredmorefullyinCienki(inpressb).

NowwewillturntotheuofSTRAIGHTinmetaphorsinEnglish,

followinglistisnotintendedtobeacompleteinventoryofallthe

metaphorsandmetaphoricalexpressionswhichemploytheSTRAIGHT

imageSchemainthegivenlanguages,butratheräsanintroductionto

therängeofcontextsinwhichsuchmetaphorsappear.

anEnglish

Ifweconsiderasamplingofmetaphoricalexpressionswhichdrawon

STRAIGHTästhesourcedomain,äsin(1),wecaneavarietyoftarget

domainswhichthetermisudtocharacterize;amongthemarediscour,

thought,order,morality,andexpectedsocialbehavior.

(1)tomestraight.

'teventhinkstraight.

ightenuparoom

owthestraightandnarrow

rmandgostraight

116ACienki

ButhowdoesSTRAIGHTfunctionmetaphoricallyinthewayweunderstand

andtalkaboutthedomains?Whatexactlyisbeingcharacterizedäs

"straight"?WewillethatSTRAIGHTisintegrallytiedininacoherent

waytoothermetaphorsbywhichweconceptualizethedomainsunder

omeofthemetaphorscharacterizethetargetdomain

intermsofastraightobject,manyinvolveprocess,andthereforethe

sourcedomainofteninvolvesstraightmotion(alongapath).

orsfordiscour,truth,rofmeta-

phoricalexpressionsbadontheSTRAIGHTimageSchemarefertotelling

thetruth,ormoreprecily,tobeingmaximallyinformative,äsin(2).

(2)TOSPEAKINAMAXIMALLYINFORMATIVEWAYISTOTRANSFERWORDS

ALONGASTRAIGHTPATH

tomestraight.

omethingstraightfromtheheart[withone'strueemotions]

dhimflatoutthatshewasn'tinterested.

AsSweetr(1987a)discuss,thedefaultmodeofdiscourwhichwe

assumeinoureverydayinteractionsistheinformationalmode;"the

defaultpurpoofanutteranceisnotjoking,politeness,orframe-

bargaining"(Sweetr1987a:45).Sweetrarguesthatthisassumption

constitutespartofourculturalmodelofcommunication,andthatGrice's

(1975:45)maximofinformationality("Makeyourcontributionäsinfor-

mativeäsisrequired")isrevealedäspartofamoregeneralculturalmodel,

themetaphorin(2)involvestellingthetruth,beinghonest,butalso

somethingmore:tellingthetruth,butinahighlypolite—oreveninavery

shyorrerved—manner,maynotbeinterpretedäs"tellingitstraight".

Theuofstraight,äspertheexamplesin(2),

logicbehindthisuofstraightcanbebestunderstoodinthecontextofthe

oft-cited"conduitmetaphor"propodbyReddy(1993[1979]).

TheCONDUITmetaphor,whichmightbemoreaccuratelydescribed

äsametaphoricallybadmodel,reprentsanotheraspectofthebroader

culturalmodelwhichiscommonlyemployed,byAmericansandmany

others,

oftheconceptualmetaphorscomprisingthemodelwhicharerelevantto

theprentdiscussionincludethefollowing(adaptedfromVanparys'

[1995]InterpretationofReddy[1979]intermsof"metaphorical

equations"):

(3)REOBJECTS

/SENTENCES/TEXTSARECONTAINERS

REOBJECTSINWORD/SENTENCE/TEXTCONTAINERS

ICATIONISTRANSFERRINGWORD/SENTENCE/TEXTCONTAINERS

STRAIGHT117

AsGibbs(1994:151)describesthemodel,"communicationconsistsof

findingtherightword/containerforyouridea/object,ndingthisfilled

Containeralongaconduitorthroughspacetothelistener,whomustthen

taketheidea/objectoutoftheword/container".Partofourknowledgeof

conduitsandpathsinspace(thesourcedomain)thatismappedontothe

targetdomainofcommunicationisthattheshortestdistancebetweentwo

imumnumberofentitiescanproceedmost

efficientlythroughaconduitoralongapathnotonlyiftheconduitorpath

isstraight,butalsoiftherearenoobstructionsaroundwhichthemoving

ore,accordingtotheCONDUIT

metaphoricalmodel,themaximallyinformativeandeffectivewaytocom-

municateone'sideasoremotionsisinastraightmanner.(CompareSweetr

f!987b]andEmanatian[1996]onmetaphoricaldiscourjourneys.)

Whilemotionalongastraightpathcanproceedinonedirectionorthe

other,theactofgivingorndingcanonicallyinvolvesandercausing

somethingtobeconveyedawayfromhim/ingtothe

CONDUITmodel,speakinghonestly(technically:inamaximallyinformative

way)involvesndingtheWORD/SENTENCE/TEXT-CONTAINERinonedirection

(i.e.,straight)tothelistener/herwi—e.g.,whenoneis

notmaximallyinformativeofone'sbeliefsorfeelings(hypocritical)oris

deceitful—ischaracterizedässpeakinginmorethanonedirection,Note

theexpressionsin(4),whichIcharacterizeäs"complementary"antonyms

ofthetypeofexpressionsin(2),äsperCru's(1986)

general,"straight"and"non-straight"arecomplementaryinthenthat

they"exhaustivelydividesomeconceptualdomainintotwomutually

exclusivecompartments"(Cru1986:198).Asdiscusdinction1.4,the

category"non-straight"reallyencompassavarietyofforms(bent,curved,

twisted,etc.).(Examplesofnon-straightmetaphoricalexpressionswillbe

indentedslightlysotheycanbedistinguishedmoreeasily.)

(4)goutofbothsidesofyourmouth[beinghypocritical]

kwithaforkedtongue[tobedeceitful]

Themetaphorin(5)iscoherentnotonlywiththeCONDUITmetaphorical

modelofcommunication,butalsowiththecanonicalmodeofface-to-face

encounterwhenspeakingwithsomeoneinmostEuropeanandNorth

Americancultures.

(5)TOBEMAXIMALLYINFORMATIVEISTOBE(OREENTED)STRAIGHT

rect[tosaywhatisonone'smind]

raightäsanarrow[someonewhoishonest]

'sarealstraightshooter.

d."Lookmestraightintheeyeandteilme..."

Speakinghonestlyentailssayingwhatonethinks,andlookingstraight

intosomeone'yesisconsidered,inmostWesterncultures,oneofthe

iningthestraight

lineofsightfromeyetoeyeisonewaythatisoftenud,consciouslyor

unconsciously,actiis

reflectedinotheridioms,suchäsweethingyetoeye(weunderstand

eachotherorthinkthesameway).Ofcour,barringtelepathy,the

communicationofthoughtsfromonepersontoanotherisnevertruly

eCroft's(1991:167-168)diagramdescribingtheasymmetry

incausationtypesbetweenmentalandphysicalInitiatorsandendpoints:

äsCroft(1991:167-168)explains,while"physicalobjects(orstatesof

affairs)canaltermentalstatesäswelläsactonotherphysicalobjects"

directly,"[a]nycausationtypethatinvolvesaninitiating'mental'-level

entitymustbemediatedbyaphysicalentity,specifically,themental-level

entity'sownbody".

Theexamplesin(5)contrastwiththewavy,snake-likehandgesture

thatsometimesaccompaniesdescriptionsofsomeoneästrickyorslippery.

Notealsotheoriginofprevaricate:

edly,deviatefromone'scourorpathofduty'

knock-kneed*(AmericanHeritageDiclionary,3rded.,s.v."prevaricate").

Notetheassociationofmaximalinformativeness(andrelatednotions

suchäshonesty)withbeingorientedforwardäswellässtraight:

(6)TOBEMAXIMALLYINFORMATIVEISTOBEORIENTED(STRAIGHT)-

FORWARD

raightforward

rightappraisal

front(aboutsomething)

Whilethemetaphorsconcernspeechäsamotioneventaccordingto

theCONDUITmodel,othershighlightspeechäetaphors

arecoherentwiththeCONDUITmodel,butdifferinthattheyrefertothe

movementofthetransferredWORD/SENTENCE/TEXTCONTAINERäsanentity;

nbeenäsametaphorical

extensionoftheimage-schematransformationbetweenthedynamicand

essionxemplifyingthe

metaphors,speechitlfcanbedescribedässtraightorbent,äsin(7)

and(8).TheSTRAIGHTNESSofhonest,candidspeechcarriesoverinto

two-dimensionalreprentationsässquare,äsin(7c).

(7)MAXIMALLYINFORMATIVESPEECHISASTRAIGHTOBJECT

httalk

n'tgetastraightansweroutofhim.

STRAIGHT119

eanswer

someone/togetthestraightdopeonX[colloquial:toteil

someoneortofindoutthecompletetruthaboutX]

Thismetaphorhasveralcomplements,badonthevariouswaysof

alteringsomethingthatisstraight:

(8)thetruth[tolietosomedegree]

mlocution[avoidingthetruth](garound

thebush)

ss-examinertwistedthewordsofthewitness.

tion

AmericanSignLanguage(ASL)providesaninterestingbasisforcom-

'isreprentedinASLbyholdingtherightindexfinger

straightuptothelipsandmovingit(straight)forwardinasmallarc.

For*liehowever,therightindexfingerbeginsbypointingtotheleft

whileheldagainstthelipsandismovedinasinglemotionfromrightto

left,apparentlyreprentingthelieäswordsdivertedratherthancoming

outstraight,thatis,truthfully.

Relatedtothemetaphorsofdiscourjourneysisthemetaphor

STORIESAREJOURNEYS(eJohnson's[1993:169]analysis).Inthedomain

ofnarrative,äsinmanyothers,thepresumedpathofmotionisstraight,

rative,

eventsthatcontinuewithlittleunexpectedchangekeepgoingstraight

through,whileachange,especiallyanunexpectedornegativeone,isa

metaphoricalturn,äsin(9).(CompareLeyton's[1992:78]"Energy-

AsymmetryPrinciple"discusdinction1.3.)

(9)TOCHANGEISTOTURN/BEND/TWIST

tookaturnforthewor.

ängeturnofevents

withaquirkytwist

intheplot

Thereisapresumptionofstraightmotion,inertia,unlesstheforceof

onicallywe

canethesametypeofmetaphorintheexpressiontotkwartsomeone's

plansäsinpreventingtheirrealization(thwart

SomemetaphorsbadonSTRAIGHTdrawonourexperienceofstraight

objectsäsbeingsolidandcontinuous,äsin(10).

(10)ANUNINTERRUPTEDSEQUENCEISSTRAIGHT

ghtinpoker[fivecardsinquence]

ghtticketinpolitics[aballotcastforallthecandidates

ofoneparty]

Similarly,asubstancethatisplainorpureissometimesdescribedäs

"straight".WhereassomethingCHANGEDisTURNED/BENT/ETC.,something

unchanged,mplesin(lla-c)

refertopurealcoholicdrinks.

(11)UNALTEREDISSTRAIGHT

htwhiskey

ketodrinkvodkastraight.

eadrinkstraightup[withoutice]

ghtpitch[acontinuoustonenotfluctuatinginvolumeor

frequency]

Thetruth,äsonekindofmaximallyinformativespeech,issometimes

describednotonlyässtraight,butalsoäspureorplain.

(12)TRUTHISPLAIN

in(andsimple)truth

dulterated(unvarnished,naked)truth

Acolloquialphrameaningtoteilsomeonesomethinghonestlyand

directlyistoteilthemflatout,i.e.,plainlyandcompletelywithnoevasion.

Incontrast,todeviatefromthepuretruth,e.g.,toexaggerate,isto

embellishthetruth,tometaphoricallyaddontoit.

Onewayweinwhichweconceptualizetruth,then,isäsanobject(e

Lakoff[1993]ontheOBJECTVersionoftheeventstructuremetaphorical

model).Itissomethingwecanmetaphoricallyposss(knowingthetruth

äshavingthetruth),transfer,particularlythroughspeech("teilmethe

truth"äsgiveittomestraight),anddesiretohave(/wantthetruthand

lwantitnow—ACHIEVINGAPURPOSEisACQUIRINGADESIREDOBJECT).As

theexamplesinthisctionshow,theintegralconnectionbetweenspatial

andforce-dynamicaspects(thelatternotionunderstoodinthenof

Talmy[1985]and[1988])oftheimageSchemaSTRAIGHTiscarriedover

sspokenofnotonlyässtraightin

AmericanEnglishlanguageandculture,butalsoässolidandhard,

ressionsthetruthhurtsandthecoldhardtruth(orfacts).Part

ofthenatureofbeingsolidisnothavingsignificantgapsorholes;

similarly,thetruthisideallywhole(htakenwhentestifyingin

UScourtstoteilthetruth,thewholetruth,andnothingbutthetruth)in

thatnewInformationwhichthelistenerwouldprobablydeemrelevant

tetheetymologyoftruefromPIE*deru~l

dreu-etree',probablyanoak,fromwhichthespecialn'firm,solid(äs

wood)'ledtoitsassociationwithtruth(Pokorny1959:II,214).Converly,

whatisdishonestisdescribedässlipperyandunstable(nshaky

moralground).

STRA/GHT121

Theasymmetryprinciple(ection1.3)isapparentinthemetaphors

concerningtruthinwhichthemetaphoricalsourcedomainisSTRAIGHT

somethinguntrueisnormallyconsideredaviolationof,

ordeviationfrom,theassumedGricean"maximofquality"to"tryto

makeyourcontributiononethatistrue"(Grice1975:46),justäsan

asymmetricform(bent,twisted,etc.)iscognitivelyinteetedäshaving

originatedthroughanalterationofsomeoriginally"plainer"Symmetrie

etaphorsalsorelatetoforce-dynamicaspectsoftheimage

rceisrequiredtobendsomethingfurther,justäsamore

extremelieentailsafurtherdeviationfromthetruth(e.g.,reallybending

theiruth).(SeeSweetr1987aforadetailedstudyondifferentformsof

lying.)Manyofthemetaphors,therefore,reflecttheeffectsofforceson

ANABSTRACTENTiTYASANOBJECTsuchthattheychangetheobject'sform.

ThisisanadditionalroleofmetaphoricalforceswithOBJECTmetaphors

beyondthatobrvedinLakoff(1993:226)—"[cjausareforces

(controllingthemovementofposssions,namelygivingortakingaway)".

Ourknowledgethataflatsurfacemoreaccuratelyrefiectsimagesthan

acurvedoneprovidesanotherexperientialbasisformetaphorsrelating

totruthäs"straight"—aflatreflectantsurfaceprovidesatrueimage,one

consistentwithourexperienceof"nonreflected"edmeta-

phorfortruthisTRUTHisLIGHT,e.g.,blindedbythetruth;candidlcandor<

Latincandere4toglow,bewhite'(eDanaher,inpreparation).Anexperi-

entialconnectionprovidingcoherencebetweenthisandtheSTRAIGHT

metaphorsfortruthmaypossiblybeourperceptionthatlighttravelsina

y,themetaphorsconnectingSTRAIGHT,TRUTH,and

LIGHTareinturncoherentwithanother,well-knownmetaphor,namely

KNOWINGisSEEING(discusdindetailinSweetr1990).

AsSweetr(1987b,1992)pointsout,thoughtprocessareoften

conceivedofmetaphoricallyäsmotionthroughamentallandscape

(entailingsuchmetaphorsäsMENTALSTATESARELOCATIONS).Sweetr

(1987a)andEmanatian(1996)discusshowthemetaphorTHOUGHTis

MOTIONALONGAPATHisintegrallyrelatedtoculturallysharednotionsäs

antmodelofrious

thoughtinAmericansociety(butnotexclusivetoit)emphasizesits

logicalnature,andvalueisplacedonthequentialdevelopmentof

tentwiththis

model,logicalthoughtisunderstoodmetaphoricallyäsmotionalonga

straightpath,andillogicalorinsanethoughtsorjudgments,äswelläs

thoforwhomsuchthoughtischaracteristic,arebent,warped,con-

torted,etc.(SeevanLeeuwen-Turaovcovä[1991a,1994,and1996]on

theparallelebetweenvocabularyforphysicalandmental"abnormality"

inmanyIndo-Europeanlanguages.)

122ACienki

(13)ORDERLY(LOGICAL)THOUGHTisSTRAIGHT

kstraight[inalogicalmanner]

etthisstraight[tounderstandsomethingcorrectly]

Tobemorespecific,(13a)involvesmotionalongastraightpath,whilein

(13b)makingnoutofsomethoughtsinvolvesmetaphoricallyputting

OBJECTSinalogical,linear,straightorder.

(14)ILLOGICALTHOUGHTISNOTSTRAIGHT

rtedlineofreasoning

utedlogic

icewarpsthejudgment.

(15)INSANEISNOTSTRAIGHT

atwistedmind[wheretwistedmindStands

metonymicallyfortwistedthoughts]

'rebent/twisted/warped![colloquial—jokingthat

someoneiscrazy;thisisametonym:personStandsfor

theirbehavior/thoughts]

c."Oh,she'sgoneroundthebend!"

um

-'awayfrom'+/Fra'afurrow'

ceptualizationoftime

commoninEuropeanandAmericanculturesinvolvesthemetaphorTIME

isAMOVINGOBJECT(LakoffandJohnson1980:41-45).Thedefault

isnormalassumption

isinvalid,äsinsomesciencefictionstorieswherecharacterscanexperience

pastorfutureeventsoutofquence,itiscalledatimewarp.

In(16),IMMEDIATEreferstotheshortestpossibleperiodoftimeina

evantframeworkhereistheLOCATIONversionof

theevent-structuremetaphoricalmodel(Lakoif1993)whichencompass

suchmetaphorsäsSTATESARELOCATIONS,ACTIONSARESELF-PROPELLED

MOTIONS,MEANSAREPATHS,and

Johnson(1980)discusstwoversionsofthismetaphoricalmodelinrelation

totime,oneinwhichthefuturemovestowardus(thedeadlineis

approaching)andanotherinwhichweandtheprentmoveforward

towardthefuture(we'renearingthedeadline).Themetaphoricalexpres-

sionsfortimediscusdherereflectthecondversion,suchthatweor

ion

performedstraightoff,straightaway,orstraightaheadoccurswithno

otheractionconstruedäsinterveningalongthemetaphoricalpathoftime

betweentheprentandthetimeoftheaction.

STRAIGHT123

(16)IMMEDIACTIONISMOTIONALONGASTRAIGHTPATH

oversomethingstraightoff

ghtawaydenial

c."straightaheadonthenewsisastoryabout..."[ontheradio]

ow(right

Thepreviouslydiscusdmetaphorshownin(11),UNALTEREDis

STRAIGHT,isalsocoherentwiththemetaphorswhenpartofonenarra-

tiveistransferredunalteredintothecontextofanothernarrative,äsin

(lle).ThemetaphoralsotiesintotheCONDUITmetaphoricalmodelfor

language,äsin(llf).

(11)UNALTEREDisSTRAIGHT[continued]

undslikealine(orscene)straightoutofaWoody

Allenfilm.

straightfromthehor'smouth.[tofindoutsomething

directlyfromthepersonwhoisthesourceofthatInformation]

Themetaphorsin(17)and(18)reprentelaborationsofthemetaphors

fortheLOCATIONversionofevents(inparticularMEANSAREPATHS)and

borationsdescribethetypesofactionsor

process(simpleversuscomplex)accordingtothetypesofmetaphorical

pathstheyfollow(straightversusnon-straight).Thespontaneouscollo-

cationstraight-lineextrapolationin(17b)isanelaborationoftheevent-

structuremetaphoräsappliedtothought(THOUGHTisMOTIONALONGA

PATH),referringtoanewideadevelopedfromanoldonewithoutmuch

elaboration.

(17)UNCOMPLICATEDACTIONISMOTIONALONGASTRAIGHTPATH

ghtforwardapplicationoftherules

b."Weethis[propodnewtypeof]bombäsastraight-line

extrapolationofanexistingdevice."[NationalPublicRadio

newsbroadcast]

Categorizationisalwaysdependentontherelevantdegreeofresolution,

andthesameistrueformotionsthatwecategorizeä

asufficientlyfine-grainlevelofresolution,r,

eventhoughthepathsomeonefollowsmayinvolvesometurns,wemay

describeitässtraightiftherewerenostopsordetoursinvolvedthatare

deemedsignificantinthegivencontext(Johnnywasgoodthatdayand

wentstraighttoschoolwithoutstoppingatthecandystöre).Perhapsthis

isanexampleofametonymy,STRAIGHTMOTIONSTANDSFORMOTIONWITH

attheworddirectitlfcomesfrom

PIE*reg-£tomoveinastraightline'.Butwhethermetonymyora

differenceinscopeofcategorizationisinvolvedhereisnotcriticalforthe

emsmoresignificantisthecorrelationbetween

STRAIGHTinitsstaticanddynamicrealizations:straightmotioncorrelates

withmotiontowardsagoalthatisnotsignificantlyalteredbychangesin

directionorbreaksincontinuity(wecamestraighthome)justässtraight-

nessinobjectsoftencorrelatesingestaltfashionwithsolidnessand

continuityinourexperienceofthematthebasiclevel(understandingthis

terminthenofRöschetal.[1976]).Example(18)andothernon-

straightmetaphors,therefore,reprentcasinwhichthedeviationfrom

straightnessissalientenoughinthegivencontexttobesignificant.

(18)COMPLICATEDACTIONISMOTIONALONGANON-STRAIGHTPATH

aboutwayofdoingthings

ousprocess

acircuitousroutetogetsomewhere[i.e.,an

unnecessarilycomplexwaytogetsomethingaccomplished;

here,inreferencetosomethingthatwasnotaprimarilya

motionevent]

Wesawin(10)

followingexamples,(lOc,d),

highlighttwometaphoricalaspectsofTIMEreifiedASALINEARSCALE:that

itisastraightline,unbrokenandcontinuous,andthatitisdirectional

inthenthatariesofentitiesareaddedupthroughtime.

(10)ANUNINTERRUPTEDSEQUENCEISSTRAIGHT[COntÜlUed]

ed14daysstraight(=inarow).

asongstraightthrough[withoutstopping]

theSTRAIGHTmeta-

phorsinEnglishrelatetoorderandcontrol—ofone'sposition,motion,

andotheraspectsofbehavior,reflectingthecoherencebetweenthe

aspectsofourexperienceäroundassumption

fortheemstobethatorderinsomecontextsismetaphorically

STRAIGHT,eveniftheordercreateddoesnotinvolvestraightnessina

nonmetaphoricaln(cf.[19a]).

(19)ORDERISSTRAIGHT

misstraightagain.

yourducksinarow[colloquial:tofollowproper

procedure,e.g.,tohavethenecessarydocumentsforsome

bureaucraticprocesspreparedcorrectly]

;regulär

pattern,ormodel'

STRAIGHT125

Giventhatnormal(default,"good")action,speech,andthoughtare

characterizedmetaphoricallyäsmotionalongastraightpath,acoherent

metaphoristhatCORRECTisSTRAIGHT,(20).Ifwrongdoinginvolves

metaphoricalstrayingfromthispath,(21),thencorrectingwhatiswrong

involvesstraighteningäsin(20a).

(20)CORRECTISSTRAIGHT

ightenoutwhatsomeoneeididwrong

'ettherecordstraight

bysaying...

t

(21)WRONGISNOTSTRAIGHT

Theembodiedexperiencesofstraightnessandcontrol(discusdin

ctions1.2.3and1.2.4)arealsorelevantinthetargetdomainsoforder

ngorwanderingoffastraightpathisassociatedwith

alackofphysicalormentalcontrol(e.g.,inattention);similarly,correct

answersarereachedthroughattentive,controlledthoughtaccordingtoour

culturalmodeloflogicalthought(cf.[13]).

STRAIGHTalsorelatestothecommonmetaphorthatHAVINGCONTROLis

UP(LakoffandJohnson1980:15)(e.g.,(tobeontopofthings),ässhown

in(22).4Tomaintainone'sbodyinastraightverticalpositionrequires

physicalcontrol.

(22)CONTROLISSTRAIGHTANDUP

pright!=standupstraight

Themetaphorin(23)

howcompressingone'slipsinastraightlinecanbeanexpressionof

maintainingone'ressionin(23a)probablydeveloped

fromthemetonymyofstraight(notsmiling)lipstoastraightface.

(23)SERIOUSISSTRAIGHT

astraightface[tonotlaugh]

itstraight[e.g.,tonotlaughandtopretendnothing

hashappenedwhenplayingapracticaljoke]

c.(toplay)thestraight-man[e.g.,thepartnerinacomedyteam

whotsupthejokesothattheotherpartnercandeliverthe

funnyline]

orsforsocialnorms,moralüy,labora-

tionsoftheeventstructuremetaphoricalmodelinvolvecharacterizations

126ACienki

ain,thedefault(socially

"correct")pathforbehaviorinsocietyispresumedtobeSTRAIGHT

(REDISSTRAIGHT).

(24)NORMAL/CONVENTIONALISSTRAIGHT

raight[heteroxual]

raight[notundertheinfluenceofalcoholordrugs,

especiallyifinreferencetoone'shabitualstate]

raight[tostopthehabitualuofdrugsoralcohol]

uare[i.e.,rigidlyconventional]

Inthenofstrictlyconformingtowhatisconventional,straight,in

certaincolloquialusage,canalsohavetheconnotationofbeingaboring

person,e.g.,Theywouldn'tdothat,they'retoostraightcompare(24d).

Thecomplementariesof(24)oftenrefertoone'scharacterorperceived

mentalcondition(es[13]and[14]).

(25)ABNORMAL/UNCONVENTIONALISNOTSTRAIGHT

dnofhumor

wisttohischaracter

dSister[nameofrockband]

entoutofshapeabout/oversomething[tobedeeply

disturbedbysomething]

'sbent![colloquial:highlyunconventional,perver]

nt

e(

off-center'

Arelatedmetaphor,(26),reflectssociallyunacceptablebehavioräsbeing

outofcontrol.

(26)SOCIALLYUNACCEPTABLEBEHAVIORISNOTSTRAIGHT

haviorisreallyoutofline

outofline[metonymically]

behavior

Therelationbetweensymmetryandbalanceinthephysicalworld,and

inhowweperceivetheworld,alsoprovidesaconcretebasisforthe

metaphorswhichportraytheasymmetricnon-straightäsunstable,ment-

allyorsocially(e.g.,warped,bent,twisted).Thesymmetryandasymmetry

principleswhichLeyton(1992)proposforperceptionandcognitionare

clearlyreflectedinmetaphorsconsideredhere:thestraightreprentsthe

STRA/GHT127

norm,thenaturalstate,whereasthenon-straightreprentsachangefrom

that"good"sthestraightischaracteristicof

uniformityandunchangingcontinuation,theasymmetric,non-straightis

characteristicofsomekindofalteration,interaction,orotherprocess

(Leyton1992:35).Similarly,Leyton'sStabilityPrinciple("Themore

Symmetrieaconfigurationis,themorestähleitisunderstoodtobe"

[1992:13|)ichisbentis

understoodäshavingundergoneachange,havingbeen"affected"byan

(outside)force,bothintermsoftheobject-badmetaphors(inwhichthe

bendinvolvesachangeinform)andinthelocation/motionmetaphors

(wheretheimpodforceisunderstoodäschangingthepathofmotion

fromitsdefaultstraightdirection).

1tisinterestingtonotethatthemostcommonadjectivesinEnglish

udäsoppositesofstraightcomefrompastparticiplesthatarestill

recognizableässuchinthelanguage,suchäscurvedandbent;they

describearesultingchangeofstatefromtheoriginal,presumablystraight,

form(cf.[9],CHANCEisTURN).WhiletheEnglishword"straight"

alsocomesfromapastparticiple(ection1.2.3),thisismuch

e

Matsumoto's(1996)analysisoftheuofresultativeexpressionsin

Japanetoexpresswhathecalls"subjectivechange":astatethatthe

Speakerconstruesä

suchäsabrokenlineorasquarewitharoundcorneraremorefelicitously

describedinJapanebyaresultativeconstruction("asquare,thecomer

ofwhichisinthestateofhavingbecomeround")thenwithaStative

adjective("asquare,thecornerofwhichisround")."Incontrast,ideal

shapeslikeasquareandastraightlinearenotusuallydescribedinterms

ofsubjectivechangefromlessidealshapes"(Matsumoto1996:134).

Themetaphorsofbehaviorextendtothewaysinwhichweevaluate

xamplesin(27)and(28)demonstrate,the

presumptionisthattheMORALPATHisSTRAIGHT.

(27)MORALBEHAVIORISMOTIONALONGASTRAIGHTPATH

owthestraightandnarrow(path)

ous(

raight-laced/straitlaced

(28)TODEPARTFROMMORALLAWISTODEVIATE

nerwho'sgoneastray

'sgoneoffthepathofrighteousness.

Examples(27a)and(27c)reprentahistoricalconfusionbetweenthe

homonymsstraightandstrait,thelatterawordwithmuchlowerfrequency

incontemporaryAmericanEnglish,originallyreferringtosomething

128ACienki

narroworconstricted(

tight';hstrict,constrict),andnowadaysoftenudintheplural

torefertoanarrowbodyofwateroradifficult,distressingSituation(dire

straits).Theidiomin(27a)is,accordingtotheAmericanHeritage

Dictionary(3rded.,s.v."straightandnarrow"),probablyanalteration

ofthebiblical"Straitisthegate,andnarrowistheway,whichleadeth

untolife"(Matthew7:14).Straitlacedoriginallyreferredtoatightlylaced

garment,andviametonymycametorefertothekindofpeoplewhowore

them,namelythostrictandevenprudishintheirmoralityandopinions.

Thismetaphoricalexpression,then,drawsprimarilyontheforce-dynamic

notionsofcontrolassociatedwithstraightness.

AswiththeothermetaphorsofCONTROLdiscusdearlier,thereisa

correlationbetweenbeingSTRAIGHTandUP.

(29)THEMORALPERSONISSTRAIGHTANDUP

right[apositiveevaluationofsomeone'smoralcharacter]

dingcitizens

ThebasisofSTRAIGHTäsasourcedomainformetaphorsofhonestyis

alsoapparentinspontaneousgesturewhensomeonedescribesaperson

äsveryhonestandraisaten,verticallyflathand,evenwithoututtering

anyverbalexpressionofthemetaphorTHEMORALPERSONisSTRAIGHT

(Cienki,inpress).

Finally,ästhereificationoftheexpectedStandardsofbehaviorina

society,lawsarealsometaphoricallyconceivedässtraight.äsarethe

individualswhobehaviorconformstotholaws.(SeeWinter[1989]on

theRIGHTSAREPATHS[LOCATION]andRIGHTSAREPOSSESSIONS[OBJECT]

metaphorsinlaw.)

(30)LEGALISSTRAIGHT

raight[toreformafterhavingbeenacriminal]

tutionalrights[

Apersonwhodoesnotconformtothelawis,inturn,acrook.

(31)CRIMINALISCROOKED

a."Iamnotacrook."

'scrooked.

gagedincrookedactivities.

Finally,likeothermetaphorsbadonimageSchemas,STRAIGHTmeta-

n(1993)discusstheunder-

standingoftruthinAmericanculturewhichwehaveenreflectedinthe

metaphorsthatMAXIMALLYINFORMATIVESPEECH/MORALITYisSTRAIGHT

son(1993:4)expressit,there

STRAIGHT129

isafolktheory(whatothersmightcallaculturalmodel)ofmorallaw

thatisapartofAmericancultureandwhichisgroundedinJudeo-

Christiantraditionaccordingtowhichmoralreasoninginvolvesapplying

morallawsorrules—whichspecify"therightthingtodo"—toconcrete

nypeoplemakedecisionsaboutmoralissuesbytryingto

conformtomorallawswhichtheyperceiveäsabsolute(i.e.,truthviewed

metaphoricallyäsasolid,straightobject).Thisispeciallytrueinwhat

Lakoff(l996)calls"StrictFather"Systemsofmorality,exemplifiedbyUS

American"farright"conrvativesandmanyreligiousfundamentalists.

Lakoff(1996)Claimsthatthemetaphorsthathavethehighestpriorityin

thistypeofmoralreasoningarethoin"thestrengthgroup",including

MORALITYISSTRENGTH,BEINGGOODISBEINGUPRIGHT,MORALACTIONIS

BOUNDEDMOVEMENT,andEVILISAFORCE.

Johnson(1993)argues,however,thatlikemanyotherconcepts,our

basicmoralconcepts—suchästhoofperson,duty,right,andlaw—have

sabasicallystablecore,buteachconceptual

categoryisalsoinstantiatedbyarängeofvariants,somemoreandsome

,however,isinconsistentwiththecommonly

acceptedfolktheory(orcultural/cognitivemodel)n

(1993:12),therefore,SupportsinformedmoralImaginationbywhichwe

canbeawareofthevarietyofpossibleframings,thedifferentconstruals,

thanapplyingmorallaws,Johnsonadvo-

catesusingmoralunderstandingfornsitiveandconstructivedeliber-

ethenonspatial,non-force-dynamicnature

ofmanyofthemetaphorswhichhavethehighestpriorityinthe

"NurturantParent"Systemofmorality,"thenurturancegroup"(äsper

Lakoff1996),suchäsMORALITYisEMPATHY,MORALITYisHAPPINESS,and

MORALACTIONisNURTURANCE(ofifandofsocialties).Ratherthan

beingaSystemofabsolutes,"[a]lmosteverythinginthemodelisamatter

ofdegree"(Lakoff1996:139).

n

TheRussiandatainthisctionprovideabasisforthecomparisonof

STRAIGHTmetaphorsfromanotherIndo-Europeanbutnon-Germanic

elatter,

theyaremeanttoprovideanoverviewofthevarietyofdomainsinwhich

STRAIGHTversusnon-straightmetaphorsappear,butdonotcompria

completelisting.

orsfordiscour,truth,glish,there

arebothOBJECTandLOCATION(motion)versionsofthemetaphorsfor

ECTversion,äsin(32)and(33),characterizes

honest,truthfulspeechässtraight,andfalhoodäscrooked,foldedover,etc.

(32)MAXIMALLINFORMATIVE(HONEST)SPEECHISSTRAIGHT

tezaprjamoeslovo

excu-IMPERforstraightword

'excumeformydirectness'

jotvet

straightanswer

*astraightanswer'

'truth'<-prav-[ebelow]

AccordingtoPokorny(1959,I:854),theroot-prav-developedfrom

PIE*prö-uomeaning'inclinedforward'.ThroughtheCommonSlavic

form*pravü,oneofthemanticnotionstherootdevelopedinvolved

connectiontothepointinfrontviaastraightpath.

SomeidiomsinRussianreflectthetruthäsnotonlymetaphorically

straight,butalsoässolidandhard,e.g.,Rpravdaglazaholet'thetruth

hurts'(literally,'truthstabstheeyes'),oftensaidwhensomeonetriesto

objecttocritical,butcorrect,ness

formulas"softenthetruth",thusanUnderstatementisqualifiedin

Russianäsmjagkogovorja'speakingsoftly';the"harshtruth"canbe

"couched"glishtruth,Russianpravdais

apparentlyalsoconceptualizedbyRussianSpeakersäs"whole".As

Arutiunova(1993:7)pointsout,"Theincompletetruth[pravda]becomes

ahalf-truth,andahalf-truthisclortoaliethantothetruth"5

[translationmine—A.C.].

(33)[Complementariesof(32)]

olki

crooked-talk

Talrumors'

[archaic]

<-kriv-'crooked'+-da[abstractnoun-formingsuffix]

'falhood'

t'pravdu

distort-INFtruth-ACC

'todistortthetruth'

gnull

-PAST

'C'mon,you'relying!'[saidwhensomeoneteilsanextreme

lieorsayssomethingsounexpecteditispresumednotto

betrue]

STRAIGHT131

Example(34)showstheLOCATIONvariant,conceptualizingspeechäs

glish,themetaphorCOMMUNICATIONisTRANSFERRING

WORD/SENTENCE/TEXTCONTAINERSisfurthetspccifiedsuchthatmaximally

informativecommunicationinvolvesametaphoricallystraighttransferof

language.

(34)TOSPEAKINAMAXIMALLYINFORMATIVEWAISTOTRANSFERWORDS

ALONGASTRAIGHTPATH

t'prjamovlico

speak-INFstraightinface(ACC)

*tosaystraightinsomeone'sface'

t'naprjamik

speak-INFstraight

'tobetothepoint,tosaysomethingpointblank'

ThereisalsoanOBJECTmetaphorinRussian(35)inwhichitisthe

personspeakingthatisSTRAIGHTratherthanthespeechitlf.

(35)APERSONWHOSPEAKSINAMAXIMALLYINFORMATIVEWAYIS

STRAIGHT

linejnyjcelovek

straight-line-ADJperson

'adirect,straightforwardperson'

—prjamoj,kokrel's

youstraightlikerail

'you'restraightäsarail(roadtrack)'[saidofsomeonewho

speakstheirmind,anditoffendsthelistener]

Converly,theesntialnatureofahypocriticalpersonismetaphorically

bent,äsin(36).

(36)krivit*dusoj

make-crooked-INFsoul-INSTRL

'tobehypocritical'

Theadverbprjamo'straight'issometimesudinspeechäsaninten-

sive,especiallywithinthecontextofacomparisonwhereitcanexpress

onveythenotionthatsomething

conformstotherelevantStandardofcomparison(eBaranovetal.1993:

160-170).TheStandardmaybeunderstoodäsa"high"ontherelevant

evaluativescaleofcomparison(e37c);theabsolutevalueforcomparison

cannotbeonthe"low"utterancesuchäs

*7>prjamodurak'You'rereallyanidiot'isunlikelyinRussian.(Amore

commonphrawouldbeTyprostodurak'You'resimplyanidiot'.)

132ACienki

(37)ABSOLUTELYSTRAIGHT

nacija—prjamokokupokojnoj

herintonation(NOM)straightlikeat/bydecead-GEN

malen.

mother-GEN

'HerIntonationisjustlike(my)latemotherY.

moneznaju.

Istraightnotknow-lSG

*Ijustdon'tknow.'

mogeroj.

youstraighthero

'You'rejustahero.'[with"just"understoodinapositive

intensiven]

Metaphorsforthoughtrelatenotonlytoitslogicalnature,butalsoto

aperson'ssanity.

(38)LOGICALTHOUGHTISSTRAIGHT

jsmysldelat'X

straightndo-INFX

'itmakesalotofntodoX'

(39)ANINSANEMIND/INSANETHOUGHTISNOTSTRAIGHT

/dura;duret'

'afool(M/F);togocrazy'

'

*tobedelirious,rave'

Somemetaphorsrelatetootherforce-dynamicaspectsoftheimage

enthatSTRAIGHTmetaphorsdonotalwaysreflecta

positiveevaluation,especiallywhentheforce-dynamicconceptofresis-

tree(dub)prentsoneexamplefromRussian

n(citedinSlovar'sovremmenogorusskogoliteraturnogo

jazyka[1954:3,1143])explainsäsfollows:"...adubisapersonwho

thinkingistoostraight,notflexible,onewithoutemotion,notunderstand-

ingnornsinghumor,yaboutsuchaperson:that'sareal

dub"[translationmine—A.C.].6Toqualify(38),LOGICALTHOUGHTis

STRAIGHT,thinkingintoostraightamannercanmeanbeinginnsitiveto

ssiansmayindicatethat

someonetheyaretalkingaboutisnotintelligentbyknockingonahard

surface,andsometimescommenting,"Dub".Bycontrast,whileinone

nRussian-gib-hasthemeaning'bend'('flexible'),insome

wordsithasthen'perish',äsinpogibnut''tobekilled,perish',or

gibel''destruction,ruin',prentinganextremeexampleofgivingwayto

STRAIGHT133

anoutsideforce.(SeeCienki,inpressc,forfurtheranalysisofthe

dcvclopmcntofstraight/non-straightmetaphorsinSlavic.)

tthattheshortestdistance

betwcentwopointsisastraightlinecarriesovermetaphoricallyinto

abstractdomainsäpointsmaybeintheabstractdomains

ofinterpersonalrelationships(40a,b)orinthedomainoftheevent

structuremetaphoricalmodel(40c,d).

(40)DIRHCTISSTRAIGHT

jnacal'nik

straightboss

"immediateboss'

jnaslednik

straightheir

'directheir*

jpovod

straightcau

*adirectcau'

val'vprjamojefir

transmit-INFinstraight(ACC)ether[air]

*tobroadcalive*

Examples(40c)and(40d)involveanintegralconnectionbetween

STRAIGHTandPATHinthesourcedomain;(40d)alsoemstoinvolvea

metonymthatSTRAIGHT"X"STANDSFOR"X"wrmASTRAIGHTPATHIN

ITwithametaphorthatANUNINTERRUPTEDPATHOFMOTIONisSTRAIGHT

(onympropodearlier,thatSTRAIGHTMOTIONSTANDSFOR

MOTIONWITHNOsiGNiFiCANTDETOURS).Examples(40a),(40b),and(40c)

reallyentailtheIntegrationofSTRAIGHTwithanotherimageSchema,namely

LINK(n1996).

Dorfman(1996:55-56)notesarelatedmetaphor,whichIwillcall

IMMINENTLYREALiZABLE(Rreal'nyj)ainrelates

totheeventstructuremodel,inwhichMEANSAREPATHS,andthe

ideathataneventthatcanmetaphoricallybebroughtaboutalonga

STRAIGHTPATHcanhappenmorequickly,infact,s

againametonymicconnection,herethatSTRAIGHT"X"STANDSFOR"X"

WHICHCANPROCEEDALONGASTRAIGHTPATH,andthusbeprent

rlapbetweentheSTRAIGHTOBJECTevent-structure

metaphors(XisASTRAIGHTOBJECT)andtheabovemetonymanditsrole

inLOCATIONevent-structuremetaphors(XismetonymicallySTRAIGHT

becauitcanmovealongametaphoricalSTRAIGHTPATH)remainstobe

explored.

(41)IMMINENTLYREALIZABLEISSTRAIGHT

jaopasnost'

straightdanger

'real/immediatedanger'

janeobxodimost'

straightnecessity

'real/immediatenecessity'

javozmoznost'sdelat'cto-libo

straightpossibilitydo-INFsomething

'areal(izable)possibilityofdoingsomething'

Dorfman(1996:54-55)pointsoutarelatedmetaphor(42)thatis

usuallyappliedtonegativelyevaluatedactsthatarenormallykepthidden.

Notetheexperientialbasisforthismetaphor,discusdinction1.1,that

straightlinesaremorequicklyperceivedthancurvedones.

(42)BLATANTISSTRAIGHT

jpodlog

straightforgery

'anobviousforgery'

jobman

straightdeception

'blatantdeception'

jaizmena

straighttreason

'blatanttreason'

themetaphorsrelating

tocorrectnessandcontrolin(43)and(44)derivefromtheroot-prav-

discusdabove.

(43)ORDER/CONTROLISSTRAIGHT

okOrder'

o'arule'

jat''tocontrol;togovern'

el'stvo'government'

(44)DISORDERISCROOKED

*ivkos'<-kriv-'crooked'and-kos-'slanting'

'everywhichway,helter-skelter'

(45)CORRECTISSTRAIGHT

ü'

'tostraighten',also'tocorrect'

'nyj

'correct',also'evenlyproportioned'

STRAIGHT135

Expressionssuchäsgovorit'ltolkovat'/sudit'cto-libovkrivivkos''tosay/

interpret/judgesomethinganyoldway'showtherelationshipbetween

metaphors(38),(44)and(45):thinking,judging,orsayingsomethingin

acareless,disorderlywaycanresultinawrongInterpretation.

orsforbehavior,morality,heredonot

emtobeanymetaphoricalexpressionsinRussianexpressingNORMAL

isSTRAIGHT,thereareexamplesofthemetaphorABNORMALisBENT(46).

(46)ABNORMALISBENT

bend

'deviation'

at'sja

bend-INF-REFL

'toaffectcertainmannerisms,"putonairs"'[.:to

beaffected]

Theexamplesin(47),fromtheroot-prjam-'straight',reflectamantic

developmentfromthenotionofstraightthingsbeingsolid,andthus

resistanttoforce,äsin(47a).Stubbornpeoplearesteadfastintheiropinions

orwaysanddonotgiveintoothers'demands,justästhestraight/solid

rast,someone

whoisindecisivecanbecharacterizedäs"bendable"(48).

(47)STUBBORNISSTRAIGHT

yj'stubborn'

it'sja'tobestubborn'

stvo'stubbornness'

(48)TOBEINDECISIVEISTOBEBENDABLE

*(<-w7-'toturn,bend')

'tozig-zag,toweave'or'toequivocate'

Inthemetaphorsformoralbehavior,weagainethedualityof

OBJECTmetaphors(PERSONisSTRAIGHT/BENT)andLOCATIONmetaphors

(BEHAVIORisMOTIONALONGAPATH).

(49)MORALISSTRAIGHT

ocnyjcelovek(

ordelyperson

'honest,decentperson'

vb."Cestnost'—onaboleeprjamolinejna,

-FEM

cerno-belogocveta..."

"Honestyismorestraight-lined,blackandwhite..."

(50)[Complementariesof(49)]

okrivojdorozke

-DAT

'toactimmorally'[colloquial]

j'sly,crafty'<-luk-

cat'(<-vrat-'toturn')

'toduce,pervert'

(51)LEGALISSTRAIGHT

<-prav-[eetymologyinction2.2.1]

'law'

it'sja<-prav-

£torefonn'

(52)ILLEGALISBENT

t'sjaobxodnymiputjami

'toobtain(something)inaroundabout(i.e.,illegal)way'

'nut'<-w7-'toturn,bend'

'toevade(thelaw)'

-vertet'-sja

from-turn-INF-REFL

'toavoid,evade(thelaw)'[colloquial]

WhileRussianpravo'law'derivesfromarootoncereferringto

straightness,andisrelatedtothewordforspatialrigfrlprayyj,theword

forleft,levyjfromPIE*laiuo-s'crooked,bent',hasnowdevelopeda

meaningsomethinglike"notthroughlegalmeans."(SeeCienki[inpress

a]forfurtherdiscussionofthedevelopmentoftheRussianroots-lev-

and-prav-.)

(53)ILLEGALISLEFT(ISBENT)

left

'illegal,bootleg'[colloquial]

t'lprodat*nalevo

work-INF/

'towork,ilillegally'

-Indo-Europeanlanguages:HungarianandJapane

Thefollowingsamplingofdataprovidesabriefcomparisonwithsome

non-Indo-EuropeanlanguagestoindicatethattheuofSTRAIGHTäsa

sourcedomaininmetaphorsisnotlimitedtoEnglishorRussianorjust

STRAIGHT137

heuofstraightand

non-straightmetaphorxtendsbeyondtheexamplesgivenforthe

languages,thereividencethatmetaphorsforstraightandbent,crooked,

dinsimilarwaysatleastinreferencetoSpeechandmorality,

perhapstyingintosimilarmetaphorical/culturalmodelsofCOMMUNICA-

TIONASTRANSFER,andEVENTSäsinvolvingOBJECTSTRANSFERREDoräs

inbothHungarianandJapanewe

emetaphoricalexpressionsformoralityversusimmoralityreflecting

theperson(orone'sspiritor"guts"),thepathonefollows,andethics

themlvesäatthewordinHungarianfor

'straight',egyenes^isderivedfromthewordegyOne',underscoringthe

unidimensionalnatureoftheform.

However,particularyinJapane,thefewexamplesshowdifferences

älicationofSPEAKINGSTRAIGHTinJapaneisnotsomuch

'honesty'äsOutspokenness'(54c),usuallyevaluatedäsimpoliteaccording

osite,speakingpolitely,canbe

describedäsmarukumono-oiu[]*toexpress

"softly"whatisthoughtorfeit'.Itisinterestingthatthispositively

evaluatedmetaphoricalcomplementarytoSTRAIGHTisROUNDandnot

BENT,theroundformhavingapositiveStatuswithinotherJapane

culturalmodels,ito[roundperson]'anagreeableperson'

(NorikoTakeda,personalcommunication).

(54)MAXIMALLYINFORMATIVESPEECHISSTRAIGHT

Hungarian:

sbeszed

straighttalk

svalasz

straightanswer

Japane:

u(ni)mono-oiu

straight(ADV)

'toexpressinanoutspokenwaywhatisthoughtorfeit'

uhakujyousuru

straighttoconfess

'toconfesverything;tocomeclean'

(55)MORALISSTRAIGHT

Hungarian:

n

straight-ADV

'honestly'

slelkü

straightspirited

'moral,honest'

ljaräs

straightprocedure

'honest[square]deaP

Japane:

d.(kokoro-gä)massugunahito

heart-NOMstraightperson

'anhonestperson'

-jiki

correct-upright

'honest'

unajine

'amorallydecentlife'

u(ni)ikiru

straight(ADV)

'topursueanhonestlife'

(56)IMMORALISBENT/CROOKED

Hungarian:

a.görbevonalathuz

crookedline-ACCdraw

'bemisleading'

b.görbeutakonjär

crookedpath-PL-ongo

chaveshadydealings,beacrook'

Japane:

-gamagattaotoko

"guts"-n

samanwhoisrottentothecore'

akoto-osuru

'todowrong,actdishonestly'

u-omageru

'tofalsifyafact'

-omageru

*todoimproper,Unmoralthing(s)'

STRAIGHT139

gissues:Correlationsbetweendichotomies

versusLOCATIONmetaphors

TheSTRAIGHTandnon-straightmetaphorsfitintoabroaderSystemof

metaphorswhich,äsLakoff(1993andelwhere)andothersdiscuss,are

,various

aspectsofeventstructure,includingstates,changes,process,actions,

andcaus,arecharacterizedviaconceptualmetaphorsintermsofspace,

objects,motion,sadualityintheSystem,suchthata

givendomainiscommonlycharacterizedbytwotypesofmetaphoran

OBJECTversion,aphorsdiscusdhere

,inreferencetolegalityandmoralityone'sactions

canbedescribedässtraightorbentobjects—straightdealingsversus

crookeddealings—oräsmotionalongapath,usinglocationmetaphors,

äsintofollowthestraightandnarrow(path),ortostrayfromthepathof

rencetolanguageonecanhavestraighttalkorone

cantwistsomeone'swords(speechäsobject);butwecanalsoteilitto

someonestraightorspeakinaroundaboutway(speechäsmotionalonga

path).Forsomedomains,moredataarenecessarytoeifthereisa

discernabledistinctionbetweenOBJECTandLOCATIONmetaphors:for

THOUGHT,itisnotclearifsomeexpressions(suchäsconvolutedlogicor

acontortedlineofreasoning)involvethoughtäsmotionalonganon-

straightpath(LOCATIONversion)orthereificationofthatmotioninthe

traceofametaphoricalpathtraverd(thoughtäsOBJECT)Somemetaphors

arethereforedescribedinthispaperinaformwhichconflatesOBJECTand

LOCATIONversions,suchäsILLOGICALTHOUGHTisNOTSTRAIGHT.

Withinagivenculture,somemappingsreprentelaborationsand

entthishierarchicalstructure,themore

generalmappingscanbeconsidered"higher-level"mappingsandthe

morespecificonesäs"lower-level".TheOBJECTandLOCATIONmetaphors

ofeventstructurearehigher-levelmappingsinthattheyareverygeneral

andareelaboratedinmanydifferentwaysintermsofdifferentkindsof

sland2grouptheSTRAIGHTmetaphorsdiscusdforthe

domainsofspeech,thought,time,andbehaviorinAmericanEnglish

accordingtowhethertheyelaborateABSTRACTENTITIESAREOBJECTSor

tinglinesshowelaborations

ofindividualmetaphors.

AsshowninFigure2,themetaphorMEANSAREPATHSisinvolvedinthe

elaborationsoftheLOCATIONmetaphors;thekindofactioniscorrelated

atthemetaphoric

motionincommunicationisnotlf-propelledsincetheSpeakerTRANSFERS

nsitivenatureofthetransferislesssalientwithwritten

ABSTRACTENTTTIESAREOBJECTS

SPEECHISANOBJECT

THOUGHTISAN

OBJECT

TIMEISAN

OBJECT

LOGICALTHOUGHT

ISASTRAIGHT

OBJECT

BEHAVIORISAN

OBJECT

TIMEISACONVENTIONAL

STRAIGHTLINEARBEHAVIORISA

SCALESTRAIGHTOBJECT

MAXIMALLY

INFORMATIVESPEECH

ISASTRAIGHTOBJECT

JECTversionmetaphorsforthedomainsofspeech,thought,time,and

behaviorinAmericanEnglish

ACTIONSARE(SELF-PROPELLED)MOTIONS

COMMUNICATION

ISTRANSFER

THOUGHTISMOTION

ACTIONINTIME

ISMOTION

BEHAVIORIS

MOTION

MEANS

AREPATHS

TOSPEAKINA

MAXIMALLYINFOR-

MATIVEWAYISTO

TRANSFERWORDS

ALONGASTRAIGHT

PATH

LOGICALTHOUGHT

ISMOTIONALONG

ASTRAIGHTPATH

IMMEDIATEACTION

ISMOTIONALONG

ASTRAIGHTPATH

&

UNCOMPLICAED

ACTIONISMOTION

ALONGASTRAIGHT

CONVENTIONAL

BEHAVIORIS

MOTIONALONGA

STRAIGHTPATH

&

MORALBEHAVIOR

ISMOTIONALONG

ASTRAIGHTPATH

PATH

CATIONversionmetaphorsforthedomainsofspeech,ihought,time,and

behaviorinAmericanEnglish

language:thusllwriteittomestraightfor'writemethetruth'(say,ina

letter)isnotaconventionalexpression.

SeveralSTRAIGHTmetaphorsdiscusdinthisstudyareconsonantwith

manyoralloftheSTRAIGHTmetaphorsincludedinFiguresland2.

tifiesthe

metaphoricalstraightpathorstraightformaccordingtoAmericanmeta-

phorical/culturalmodelsofSpeech,thought,time,andbehaviorästhe

defaultvalue,whatisconventionallytobeexpected,theStatusquo:when

yourinterlocutoristellingyouaboutsomethingthathappened,thedefault

assumptionisthattheyhavenotalteredthestoryinanysignificantway—

thatitisthetruth;barringanyInformationtothecontrary,weassume

STRAfGHT141

t,weconsiderthingsthat

conformtoassumptionssharedbythedominantculturalgroupto

be"unaltered".AnotherconsonantmetaphorisANUNINTERRUPTED

someonesaystheyaretellingthetruth,the

defaultassumptionisthatitisnotapartialtruth;weassumethatalogical

argumentwillnotrequireleapsoffaith;thattimetravelisn'treally

possible;etc.

ThemetaphorCONTROLisSTRAIGHTisalsocoherentwithmany

STRAIGHTmetaphors,especiallyindomainscharacterizinghumanaction:

speech,thought,lthoughtisnotassumedtobethe

resultofdaydreaming,butofconcentration,andmoralbehavior(par-

ticularlyaccordingtoJudeo-Christianmodels)requireslf-controland

thermetaphorswhichrelateto

CONTROLalsoapplyacrossthedomains:SERIOUSisSTRAIGHT(e.g.,

theLOGICALTHOUGHTmetaphorsaremostrelevanttoriousdiscour

[Emanatian1996],andineverydayspeechweassumethat"thedefault

purpoofanutteranceisnotjoking..."[Sweetr1987a:45]);ORDERis

STRAIGHT(logicalthoughtäsfollowinganorderlyquence,andconven-

tionalandmoralbehavioräsfollowingacertainsocialandmoralorder);

andCORRECTisSTRAIGHT(truespeechäscorrectlyreflectingtheportrayed

stateofaffairs,moralbehavioräshowpeopleare"suppodto"act,etc.).

However,äswillbediscusdbelow,thesalientevaluationofthe

STRAIGHTäspositiveinthemetaphorsforthedomainsmustberecog-

nizedwithinthecontextofcertainfactorsinWesternandAmerican

history(suchäsindustrializationandgenderinequality[ections3.3

and3.4],andnotbetakenäenthoughmany

ofthesameSTRAIGHTmetaphorsareexpresdinRussian,theyarenot

necessarilyevaluatedthesamewayaccordingtoRussianculturalmodels;

ientassociationbetweenSTRAIGHTTHOUGHTandinflexibility

(likeanoaktree)äsreflectingalackofcreativeintelligence,expressions

forSTRAIGHTBEHAVIOURäs'stubborn',andveralexamplesinction

2.2.1whichrevealSPEAKINGSTRAIGHTäsbeingrüore,eventhis

partialcomparisonofmetaphorsinAmericanEnglishandRussiansup-

portsLakoff's(1993)claimthatthehigher-levelmetaphorsforevent

structurearetheonesmorelikelytobesharedcross-culturally,whilethe

lower-levelmetaphorsaremorelikelytovaryacrosscultures.

aightversusnon-straightOpposition

Anothergeneralissuewhichhasbeentoucheduponinveralofthe

previousctionsistheverynature(s)oftheOppositionbetween

en,thereisarelationof

complementaritybetweenthem,äthen

inwhichonecanmakethecategoricaljudgmentthatsomethingis"not

straight".Thenatureofstraightnessissuchthatitallowslittledeviation

sytoagreeonanidealizedSchema

ofwhatisstraight,butmoredifficultforwhatiscurved,bent,twisted,etc.:

therearemanykindsofnon-straightforms,anditiscommontomake

judgmentsofdegreesofcurvednessorbentness(h

curve,urn).Therefore,straightbecomesaStandard

ofexactness(cussionofsymmetryinction1.3).

However,thereisanothernwhichadmitsasmalldegreeofdeviation

whencategorizingsomethingän,theOppositioncan

beenäsonealongascaleofnonclodlinearforms,withstraightatone

end,andtheVariationfromit(bent/twisted/crooked/etc.)

reprentsstraightäsoneofapairofgradedantonyms(Cru1986),äs

enbythepossibilityofqualifyingitwhendescribingsomethingäspretty

rwayofconceivingofthisrängeof

Variationpossiblefromstraightnessiswitharadialarrangement,ässhown

ter-peripherystructurehereissignificant(

CENTER-PERIPHERYimageSchemadiscusdbyJohnson1987:124-125).It

reflectstheStatusofSTRAIGHTäsaStandard(thecenter),foundinmanyof

themetaphorsabove,theassumeddefaultvalueevaluatedäspositivein

theJudeo-Christiantradition,äsJohnson(1993)discuss.

nicversusorganic

Thecontrastbetweenthestraightandthenon-straightrelatestoageneral

htformsand

flatsurfacesaremuchlesscommonlyencounteredinanaturalenvironment

thanina(hu)man-madeone,unlessonerefersagaintoforce-dynamic

bentcontorted

/

twisted

turn

———Miaigiu.^^^^

crooked

-to-manyOppositionofstraightversusdifferentVariationsfromit

STRAIGHT143

properties,e.g.,

isinterestingthatstraightderivesfromthedescriptionofanaction(from

anolderformofstreich),ratherthanfrom,forexample,thedescription

ofanaturalform.

Thisrelates,inturn,to"straight"äsaformimpodbyhumanson

nature,fromtheplowingoflandinstraightlines,whichhelpeddistinguish

itfromthesurroundingwildernessäslandcontrolledbyhumans,tothe

uofstraightformsinbuildingconstruction,totheconstructionofthe

bodilyform(instraitlacedgarments),ter

includethevariousman-madeinstitutions,suchäslawandgovernment,

whicharemeanttoimpoorder.(SeevanLeeuwen-Turnovcovä[1990,

1991b]forfurtherdiscussion.)Giventheabsolutenatureattributedtothe

law,truth,andothermoralprinciplesbymanyintheWestern,Judeo-

Christianworld,itisnotsurprisingthattheyareoftencharacterizedby

metaphorsbadontheSTRAIGHTimageSchema(eJohnson1993).

Eveninthecontextoftheindustrializedculturesfromwhichthe

examplemetaphorsinction2weretaken,STRAIGHTisoften,butnot

always,evaluatedäightnessisconsideredäsamani-

festationofthemoregeneralproperty"symmetry",itcan,infact,be

consideredäsanabnceofdevelopment,growth,andaction(Leyton

1992:35).Itremainstobeexaminedwhetherinlanguagesfromnon-

industrializedculturesthenon-straightisvaluedäsmorenaturaland

positive,andthestraightisenäsrestrictingandthereforenegative.7

ineversusfeminine

VanLeeuwen-Turnovcovä(1990)extendsthestudyofthestraightversus

theroundtoitssymbolicsignificanceofmasculineversusfeminineinthe

developmentofmanyIndo-Europeancultures,especiallyäsfoundinthe

materialcultureof(rectangularversusround)

alsonotestheconnectionbetweenthehistoricallymale-dominated

abstractinstitutionalstructuresinthecultures,suchästhegovernment

andthelegalSystem,andthe"straight"natureoftheetymologiesofterms

relatedtothem,e.g.,PIE*reg-'tomoveinastraightline'>Latinregere

'torule,govern',rex'king',GermanReich'empire',Recht£law';PIE

*prö-uo'inclinedforward'>CommonSlavic*pravü'straight,even'>Old

Russianpraviti'tomakestraight'and'tocontrol,steer'>Russian

pravitel'stvo'government*,Polishprawnik'lawyer',andmanyothers.

TheassociationofSTRAIGHTwithstrength,hardness,andstability

versusnon-straightwithgivingintoforce,softness,andinstability

alsocorrelateswithculturallybadstereotypesofmenäsrational(relying

moreonlinearthought)andmoreemotionallystable,andwomenäs

intuitive(relyingmoreonnaturalfeelings)andemotionallyunstable.

Significantly,inanexperiment(LiuandKennedy1993)inwhichCanadian

universitystudentswereaskedtomatchthetermscurvedandstraight

withotherpairsofwords,77percentmatchedtheformerwithmother

andthelatterwithfather,andinanotherexperiment94percentmatched

tthatsomanyofthe

metaphorsdiscusdabovebadonSTRAIGHTreflectapositiveevaluation

neednotbesoapriori,butcanbeviewedäsaconquenceofpatriarchal

dominanceinthecultures(vanLeeuwen-Turnovcova1990).

Thenotion(espoudinTalmy1985,1988,andJohnson1987)that

complexphenomena(e.g.,aplanetakingoff,themovementoftectonic

plates)caneachbeinterpretedprimarilyintermsofourembodied

understandingofforceäsoneunidirectional(straight)forcevectorhas

(in

preparation)proposthatthismodelmaybebornofaconceptual

metaphordominantinmanyWesterncultures,POWERisASINGLE-

TRAJECTORYFORCE,thatisbadprimarilyonmaleembodied(phallic)

obrves,however,thatothermodelsofpower

aremoresalientinwomen'mbodiedexperience,suchästheCONTAINER,

embodiedinvariousorganswiththepowertotransformtheircontents

(äsinthewomb).Anothernon-straightimageSchema,CYCLE,isarguably

moresalientinwomen'mbodiedexperienceäsamodeloftime(äsin

monthlycycles),ratherthanjustthestraighttime-linemodelthatis

prevalentinsomanyaspectsofWesterncultures.

directions

Thisbriefstudybynomeansprovestheuniversalityofstraightand

suesfuturerearchshouldconsiderare

(a)whethertheorganic/inorganicdistinctionplaysadifferentrolein

metaphormployedbythoinnon-industrializedcultures,whereother

typesofmetaphorsmightreflectadifferentbiasintheevaluationof

straightandnon-straightforms,and(b)whethertherearedifferences

betweengendersinthecreativeuofmetaphoricalexpressionsbadon

STRAIGHTversusnon-straightsourcedomains.

Received17September1997EmoryUniversity

Revisionreceived22December1997

Notes

*ThepreliminaryrearchforthisprojectwassupportedinparibyanEmoryUniversity

ier,Condendversionofthis

STRAIGHT145

paperwasprentedattheworkshop"LanguageandSpace"attheFirstInternational

SummerInstituteinCognitiveScienceattheStateUniversityofNewYorkatBuffalo,

July1994.1amgratefulforthehelpfulcommentsIreceivedfromworkshopandInstitute

participants,especiallyTaniaKuteva,CorneliaMüller,ChrisSinha,Magdalena

Smoczynska,LenTalmy,draftofthepaperwasgreatly

improvedbycommentsfromMicheleEmanatianandMarkJohnson,andfromdiscus-

sionswithDavidDanaher,andIgratefullyacknowledgethecommentsoftheanony-

liketothankthefollowingfortheirassistancewith

theexamples:MicheleEmanatian,LeePolansky,andRobertWaiden(English),Andrei

KibrikandNataliaKravchenko(Russian),MärthaPereszlenyi-Pinter(Hungarian),and

ToshioOhoriandNorikoTakeda(Japane).Author'-mailaddress:lanac@

ithäsbecomeconventionaltodescribemetaphorsinthislinguistic,proposi-

tionalform,itshouldnotbeassumedthatthisisacognitivelyadequatedescriptionof

r,untilmoreisknownaboutthis,the

ntence-likecharacterizationsofmetaphorsrveäsaconvenientdescriptivedevice.

esfrom

rearchshould

considertherelativefrequencywithwhichtheexpressionsactuallyoccurindiscour

inordertolearnabouttherelativecognitivesalienceofthepropodmetaphorsin

diflerentcontexts.

plesourcesfortheEnglishandRussianetymologicalInformationwereThe

AmericanHeritageDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage(1992),Cyganenko(1989),

Pokorny(1959),andTrubacev(1974-).

erencebetweenmetaphorsbadonstraightversusbent,upversusdown,and

frontversusback(eexample[6]),extendtymologicallyinEnglishtorightversus

/<?//:right

(SeevanLeeuwen-Turnovcova1990formoreonthealignmentsinotherIndo-

Europeanlanguagesandcultures.)

ajapravdastanovitsjapolupravdoj,apolupravdablizekoIzi,cemkpravde.

6....dub—eiocelovekssliskomprjamym,negibkimmysleniem,bezemocij,neponimajuscij

inecuvstvujuscijjumora,celovekegovorjat—etonastojascijdub.

atunlikemostothernon-straightterms,curvehasmorepositiveconnotations,

especiallyinthecontextofdescribingthehumanbody.

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—NewYork:HoughtonMifflin.

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predicatesinRussian].InRehder,Peter(ed.)Kategorijaskazuemogov

slavjanskikhjazykakh:Modal'nost'iaktualizacija[Thecategoryofthe

predicateinSlaviclanguages:Modalityandactualization].(Slavistische

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