Cognitive exploration of "traveling" in the poetry of Widad Benmoussa

Conceptual Metaphor Theory

Space, motion and time are identified as universal domains in the human cognition because they are physically experienced, very often, across cultures and languages. Thus, any linguistic realization relevant to these domains is a reflection of a universal cognitive pattern. The linguistic instantiations of these domains, be they lexemes, argument structure or grammatical constructs, were studied under the theory of domains, image schema, frames, prototypicality, mental spaces and conceptual metaphors (Lakoff and Johnson, 2008). Evidence from neurolinguistics supports that the left anterior inferior parietal lobe and the left amygdala are activated more by metaphorical sentences than by literal ones. The left amygdala is a structure known to be involved in the processing of emotions and emotional language while the inferior parietal lobe is concerned with language, mathematical operations and body image (Goldman, 2014; Santarpia et al., 2006).

The Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) proposed that the most central metaphors are grounded in bodily experience. The classic conceptual metaphor LIFE

IS A JOURNEY, for instance, has a source domain which is an emergent product of various bodily actions whereby people start from a point, travel along a path, and reach a destination, called the SOURCE-PATH-GOAL image schema. This scheme reflects not just what happens when people move their entire bodies from point A to B, but whenever people reach out to grasp an object, or move their eyes from one location to another. It might be expected that these metaphors would be shared by different languages and that abstract concepts are represented by image schemas from concrete domains (Forceville, 2016; Gibbs, 2011; Lakoff and Johnson, 2008).

CMT, within the original Lakoff-Johnson framework, emphasizes concepts instead of words. CMT emphasizes the universal, mechanical, and monolithic aspects of embodiment and stresses the role of universal bodily experience. Identification of such conceptual metaphors adopted, at the very beginning, a top-down approach through using quantitative and intuitive qualitative metaphor analysis. This approach populated a list of general metaphors tenets, which can be expanded further, to include specific ones. Given that the bottom-up approach of metaphor analysis entertains the assumption that metaphors at the linguistic level are characterized by irregularity attributed to many subtle differences in meaning, computational detection of metaphors, and their constituents, enabled this approach. Recently, mapping metaphor and metaphoricity have been applauded in megaprojects such as MetaNet, CogMod, and VisMet (Baicchi, 2017; David et al., 2017; Lakoff, 2014). MetaBank (Martin, 1994), ATT-Meta system databank (Lee and Barnden, 2001) and the Hamburg Metaphor Database (Lonneker-Rodman, 2008) are other examples of projects which commensurate with the cognitive linguistic perspective of conceptualizing metaphors. All the aforementioned projects adopt a top-down approach, through the use of a manually collected and annotated Master Metaphor List. Metaphors, in MetaNet, are, however, meant to be formalized in a scalable network by enabling a bottom-up data- driven approach to avoid much of the criticism leveled at the basics of the CMT (Kovecses, 2008; Stickles et al., 2016).

MetaNet

MetaNet, a large structured repository of conceptual metaphors, has integrated CMT and Frame Semantics in a single language resource to facilitate larger-scale, finer-grained corpus approaches to analyzing metaphors. MetaNet (MN) has developed formal representations of metaphors as mappings from the Source domain (based in shared embodied experiences) to the Target domain (more conceptually abstract and viewpoint-dependent). Both the Source and Target domains are represented as frames, which are schematic representations of different kinds of experiences, objects and events. The MN repository represents the complex conceptual network that speakers of particular language have as comprising interconnected frames and metaphors.

Frames, in MN, are further divided into two types of conceptual structures: Scenes and Perspectives. Scenes provide structural and semantic information (i.e. roles and processes) while perspective frames specify the values of the x-schema role of the related scenes, which constitute the possible additional temporal and causal values of the state dynamics of an eventuality. The hypothetical model of the relationships between conceptual structures in MN draws upon the Cascade Theory (David et al., 2016; Stickles et al., 2016).

Frames are composed in a network with hierarchical, structure-defining and non- hierarchical relations to define frame-frame relations. Structure-defining relations are the ontological relations that constitute the hierarchy among frames (e.g., inheritance and composition). In MN, these relations are `is subcase of, `make use of and `is a subprocess of. However, MN assigns several variants to `makes use of, which are `incorporates as a role', `has affordance of, `is a process that makes use of and `is a subscale of. The non-hierarchical relations exist between sister frames with a common parent; indicating that the interacting relation is suggestive of a causal or temporal manner. These relations are `is a subprocess of, `is a perspective on', `is in causal relation with', `precedes', `mutually inhibits', and `is in scalar opposition to'. Therefore, MN further divides the representation of frames into two types: Scenes and Perspectives. Scenes provide structural and semantic information (i.e. roles and processes) while perspective frames specify the values of the x-schema role of the related scenes, which constitute the possible additional temporal and causal values of the state dynamics of an eventuality. For any particular scene, a frame's structure must include particular structural components: entity role(s); non-entity role(s); an executing schema, or x-schema (a process frame) and Inferences. Perspectives include x-schema stages as well as causal variants of those stages (Stickles et al., 2016).

Similar to the organization of frames, the internal structure of a metaphor constitutes its source and target domains (which add up to a linguistic metaphor), relations between two metaphors and characteristic are in- formed by the relations between their respective frames. Metaphors are composed in a network with hierarchical, structure-defining, and non-hierarchical relations similar to the network governed by relations between frames. Linguistic metaphor (LM) is a linguistic expression that instantiates a conceptual metaphors linguistically, to be distinguished from visual metaphors. Lexemes evoking theft, such as in stealing time, robbed me of my health, and poached his idea, may entail that time, health, and ideas are valuable things that can be `taken'. LMs constitute three different grammatical constructions: subject-verb construction, passive construction and adjective noun construction (Stickles et al., 2016).

Metaphor-to-metaphor relations do function to link individual metaphors for effectively defining larger metaphor networks. By adding inferential structure to either domain, additional entailed metaphors of increasing specificity are produced. Metaphors relation types are: 1) `is both a source and target subcase of' 2) `is a source subcase of' 3) `is a target subcase of 4) `is a mapping within' 5) `makes use of' 6) `h as as transitive subpart 7) `is an entailment of 8) `is in a dual relationship with.' When in doubt as to which of the above specific relations applies, one of the following relations may be used: 9) `is in some source relation to' 10) `is in some target relation to' and/or 11) `is in some way related to.' (MetaNet Official Website).

Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) and Poetic Stylometry

Poetic Stylometry is the study of the authorial style of poets. Psychometrically speaking, the individual usage of pronouns, prepositions, articles, conjunctions, auxiliary verbs, and a few other esoteric categories can be reflective of personality and psychological features. Although corpus tools have been used to conclude psychological attitudes of poets, results have been improved when LIWC's categorized dictionary was applied. LIWC is introduced to analyze texts for concluding about the psychological signature of the writer via utilizing 120 lexica, categorized and validated on the principles of social psychology. By analyzing the writing content, LIWC measures algorithmically four perspectives: analytical thinking, clout, authenticity and emotionality (Pennebaker et al., 2015; Tausczik and Pennebaker, 2010). We use LIWC-2015 to analyze the general psychological profile of Widad Benmoussan and the main personae she creates.

Methodology

This study conducts quantitative and intuitive qualitative metaphor analyses of motion-related conceptual metaphors in the poetic collections of Widad Benmoussa. To do so, LIWC-2015 is, first, used to measure and define incidence of motion and space in Widad's poetry. Much as the internal lexica of LIWC-2015 were used to conclude the stylometric signature of the poet, the relativity-based lexica were used to generate seeding lexemes for computationally retrieving travel-based metaphorical phrases from Widad's poems. Second, the travel-expressing poetic lines are annotated for the identification of traveler/journeyer, travel_event, travel_stops, locations_along_ journey, travel_difficulties, travel_companion, manner_of_journey, travel_destination, path_traced_by_sequence_of_motion and vehicles_in_journey. An intuitive qualitative metaphor analysis was then conducted to define the parameters and perception of traveling in Widad's metaphoric conceptualization.

Results and Discussion

Related to the metaphor of “Human Life Is A Journey”, for instance, it is rational to expect “Romantic Relationship Is A Journey” as a metaphor-to-metaphor target relation. Travelers are conceptually mapped to Lovers while a vehicle is conceptually mapped to Relationship. Common Destinations is conceptually mapped to Common Life Goals while Impediments to Travel is conceptually mapped to Relationship Difficulties.

Applying frame-to-frame relations to the “physical path” frame, it makes use of `Source-path-goal' landmark, which is a subcase of Trajector landmark, Figure ground and spatial relation respectively. This denotes partial information of frame structure among the above mentioned frames. `Maze', `circular path' and `paths out of a locations' are subcases of the frame “physical path” itself via inheritance. Although both frame-frame relations demonstrate structure-defining relations, inheritance encodes a full incorporation of the parent frames (figure 1). Within this network, several conceptual metaphors are populated. As a frame, its lexical units are path, route, way, pathway, bridge, passage, road, trail, street, avenue, highway, track, aisle, bridge, fast track, freeway, toll road, superhighway, slow lane, fast lane, byway. These nouns can define the entity relation(s) a frame scene possess while verbs, in the retrieved metaphorical sentences, can define the dynamic x-schema of the scene structure. The superordinate words of these lexical words are used to define the conceptual metaphors they might generate. All these items conclude the linguistic metaphors and their role type constraint violation.

Extraction of the literary devices and words which denote explicitly and/or implicitly reference to travel as a concept, traveler/journeyer, travel event or destination was conducted. Widad's usage of physical paths was annotated and analyzed. Representations of LlWC-driven results of relativity-expressing words in Widad's poetry are shown in the appendices. The following excerpts are concordanced examples of path and travel demonstration in Widad's poems.

As if I had inspired from you

Furtively, the virtue of detachment

And started merging all rivers

To collect the reflected envisage

Of our faces within a single frame.

As if I cursed all women who had mingled

Some of their lipsticks into your cells.

In these poetic lines, published in Widad's book “I Stroll Along This Life” (2014:103)”, the female persona expresses her reaction to the desire to leave of her beloved. Therefore, she had inspired from him, furtively and cunningly, the virtue of detachment too. She weeps her fruitless attempts for being reunited with him by attempting to merge rivers all over the world to collect the envisage of their faces, reflected within a single water page. This departure inclination, in her opinion, is attributed to the mundane womanizing nature of her beloved who consumed tons of women's lipstick into his lips by virtue of free kissing. Thus, the traveler is the male lover and travel destinations are women lips.

The poetess continues in “I Have A Root In The Air” (2001:62), page 62, to extend the voice of the female lover, who invites her beloved not to postpone his plans of travel, back to her, over the wing of nostalgia. She encourages him come to her with a moon face carrying, with him, the thrilled mountains which used to shake jubilantly for her.

Don't postpone your traveling plans

Over the wing of nostalgia

And come to me with a moon face

Carrying, with you, the thrilled mountains

Which did shake jubilantly for me

Thus, the travel vehicle is the wing of nostalgia while the female lover herself is the travel destination and stop. The travel companions are, however, the longing thrilled mountains of the poetess' lover. Although the metaphoric reference to the bodily robust or muscular masculine parts of her beloved is unclear, phallic reference to their history of their play-off, which aroused them adequately; causing erection and pleasure is probable.

Widad Benmoussa carries on, in “I Have A Root In The Air” (2001:118) extends this metaphor from a persona's point of view. The female persona asks, rhetorically, about whom she may address to get her lover not to postpone his traveling plans, back to salvation, immortality and liberation while her destiny is to live on a butterfly wing; traveling to every corner of the world without any signs of tiresomeness or boredom.

To whom I draw salvation,

Immortality and liberation,

On a butterfly wing; traveling

To every corner of the world

Without any signs of boredom?

The poetess enhances her desire to reach her departing lover by composing, in “I Have A Root In The Air” (2001:98):

I am the one who never

Get bored of traveling to you

There lives a rose which keep

On counting my steps. Shall

Its hopes of seeing us be

Also dashed?

Her searching journeys, over the physical and metaphysical paths, to reach her ex-lover continues in “I Have A Root In The Air” (2001:111-112)”.

I collect my soft whine

To travel after your shade

In every stop for reaching you

The poems seems to be spoken by a female traveler who wishes to cut a journey to reach her ex-lover, she admires ironically the consistent response of her companions: the butterflies. The poetess composes in her book “I Stroll Along This Life” (2014:105)”,

If I were to choose from the beings,

Which accompanied me on the travel path,

I will definitely choose the butterflies,

They were clapping

For every dreadful mistake I had made

On the vehicle of love

All in all, the decision of the poetess' lover to run away from her and jump into the world of the unknown is attributed to his 'wanderlust'. The female persona enumerates her endless trials to keep their romantic nest warm and captivating and to eradicate any push factors that might repel him. She also questions the originality of the pull factors in the external world that he prefers. Throughout her poetic lines, the physical and virtual paths taken are all natu ral elements of which butterfly's wings, rivers, skies and winds are most tracked in their re-espousing journey.

The traveling path, which is consistently described, is the oft-visited road most taken by the two lovers towards and away from each other. However, the poetess is the punctual journeyer who traces back the steps of her ex-lover. The other physical paths her ex-lover takes is hovering and hopping for other womanly pleasure sources. This back and forth motions along circular and linear paths create a maze, which detracts the two lovers away from each other and adds up to the pronounced difficulties of traveling. Impediments to travel are conceptually mapped to relationship difficulties. The companions of 'travel' in the poem are roses and butterflies.

The poetess thus enables the “ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP IS A JOURNEY” as a metaphor-to-metaphor target relation. Travelers are conceptually mapped to Lovers while a Vehicle is conceptually mapped to Relationship.

Conclusion

The poetess creates male and female personae that pursue a dynamic goal by using several physical paths. Through their unstable romantic relation, several travel impediments are met. Travel stops and detours, travel companions, paths in journey as well as changing travel destinations are the most stressed elements of 'Traveling' respects. With such a described high frequency of sudden departures and hopping, the poetess' lover is implicitly diagnosed with 'wanderlust' or dromomania.

The decision of the poetess' lover to run away fro m her and jump into the world of the unknown is attributed to his 'wanderlust'. The poetess enumerates her endless trials to keep their romantic nest warm and captivating and to eradicate any push factors that might repel him. She also questions the originality of the pull factors in the external world that he prefers. Throughout her poetic lines, the physical and virtual paths taken are all natural elements of which butterfly's wings, rivers, skies and winds are most tracked in the re-espousing of their journey.

Much as we recommend the usage of psycholinguistic tools and CMT framework to re-read literature, the metaphorically rich poetic discourse is encouraged to be used as a source for identification and detection of metaphorical mappings.

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