DIFFERENCES IN ANIMAL METAPHORS BETWEEN ENGLISH AND JAPANESE - A CMT STUDY OF ENGLISH AND JAPANESE IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS - DIVA
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Differences in Animal Metaphors
between English and Japanese
A CMT study of English and Japanese idiomatic expressions
Christopher Pettersson
Student Christopher Pettersson
Vt. 2021
Examensarbete för kandidatexamen, 15 HP
Engelska
Abstract In this study, two sets of animal idiomatic expressions from Japanese and English are examined based on their mappings. The goal of this study is to see if metaphors from these two languages use the same type of semantic mapping or not. Dobrovol’skij and Piirainen discuss in one of their papers some criticism of CMT (Conceptual Metaphor Theory). They briefly mention two Japanese takes on the cognitive theory of metaphor functionality in the Japanese language. The researchers claim that the use of CMT does not work universally because of culture. Japan and the English-speaking communities have vastly different cultures. Therefore, CMT should not be valid. In this paper both the English and the Japanese idioms use similar foundations. Keywords: CMT, Animals, Idiomatic expression, Culture, Simile
Table of contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 7
1.1 Aim and research questions ............................................................................................. 7
2 Theoretical framework ............................................................................................. 9
2.1 Metaphors ........................................................................................................................ 9
2.2 Conceptual Metaphor Theory - CMT .............................................................................. 9
2.3 Source Domain .............................................................................................................. 11
2.3.1 Animals........................................................................................................................................ 12
2.3.2 Money and economic transactions.............................................................................................. 12
2.3.3 Human Body................................................................................................................................ 12
2.4 Target Domain ............................................................................................................... 13
2.4.1 Time13
2.4.2 Life and death.............................................................................................................................. 14
2.4.3 Emotion ....................................................................................................................................... 14
2.5 Metonymies ................................................................................................................... 15
2.5.1 PRODUCER FOR PRODUCT ................................................................................................... 16
2.5.2 FACE FOR PERSON .................................................................................................................. 16
2.5.3 THE PLACE FOR THE INSTITUTION ...................................................................................... 17
2.5.4 Summary Metonymies ................................................................................................................. 17
2.6 Similes ........................................................................................................................... 17
2.7 Previous Research.......................................................................................................... 18
3 Method and material .............................................................................................. 19
4 Results and analysis ................................................................................................ 21
4.1 Idiomatic expressions with animals in the English language ........................................ 21
4.1.1 (As) blind as a bat ....................................................................................................................... 21
4.1.2 (As) quiet as a mouse .................................................................................................................. 21
4.1.3 Monkey business ......................................................................................................................... 22
4.1.4 Cast pearls before swine ............................................................................................................. 23
4.1.5 Rat race ....................................................................................................................................... 24
4.1.6 Stubborn as a mule ...................................................................................................................... 25
4.1.7 Beat/Flog a dead horse ............................................................................................................... 25
4.1.8 Black sheep ................................................................................................................................. 26
4.1.9 A Cash cow.................................................................................................................................. 27
4.1.10 The elephant in the room .................................................................................................... 27
4.1.11 Summary of English idiomatic expressions ........................................................................ 29
4.2 Idiomatic expressions with animal in the Japanese language........................................ 30
4.2.1 ⽊から落ちた猿 – Tree from fallen monkey ............................................................................. 30
4.2.2 井の中の蛙大海を知らず – Frog in the well knows nothing of the sea .................................. 31
4.2.3 蛙の子は蛙 – frog’s child is frog ............................................................................................... 32
4.2.4 猿の尻笑い – monkey’s butt smile/laugh................................................................................... 32
4.2.5 犬猿の仲 – Dog monkey’s relation ............................................................................................ 33
4.2.6 閑古鳥が鳴く – cuckoo is singing ............................................................................................ 34
4.2.7 鯉の滝登り – carp’s waterfall climbing .................................................................................... 34
4.2.8 蛙の面に水 – Frog’s face to water ............................................................................................ 354.2.9 猫の手も借りたい – cat’s hand too wants to borrow............................................................... 35
4.2.10 鳶が鷹を生む – Black kite give hawk born ....................................................................... 36
4.2.11 Summary of Japanese idiomatic expressions ...................................................................... 37
4.3 Results ........................................................................................................................... 38
5 Discussion................................................................................................................. 39
6 Sources ..................................................................................................................... 41
6.1 Primary Sources............................................................................................................. 41
6.2 Secondary sources ......................................................................................................... 421 Introduction
Language is something all humans have in common. Everyone is born with it and learns
to master it early in their lives. However, here on Earth, everyone has not got the same
mother tongue. There are around 7000 different languages on this planet. Some of these
languages are more similar than others. In everyday life, humans use metaphors, both
consciously and unconsciously to speak with each other about various topics. There are
rules to all languages and some that are culturally related, which say if it is acceptable or
not to talk about specific topics. There are a few topics which are considered prohibited
by the community. For people to be able to talk about them, they use metaphors. However,
it is not just taboo topics that people use metaphors for, they can also use them when
talking about something abstract. In the field of linguistics, metaphor is something
cognitive and people use metaphors to talk about one thing in terms of another.
In 1980 Lakoff and Johnson published a book called Metaphors we live by. In that
book, they discuss metaphors and their use. Lakoff and Johnson explain metaphors as
follows: “The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing
in terms of another” Lakoff et al. (2003:5). They say that metaphors are poetic and
rhetorical, and that we use them in our everyday life. We can find metaphors in even the
most mundane tasks. In the field of linguistics, metaphor is seen as something cognitive
and people use metaphors to talk about one thing in terms of another. This might be why
metaphors are complicated for teachers of foreign languages to teach to language students.
They are often tightly tied together with the language culture Yağiz (2013:956). Therefore,
in this paper, I will be examining idiomatic expressions from both English and Japanese
and compare them with each other. I chose these two languages because they are from
entirely different regions of the planet and have very different cultures. One can see this
in the metaphors.
Analysing idioms might increase one's understanding of them, thus expanding
one’s knowledge of the target language’s culture. I will use Conceptual Metaphor Theory
(hereafter CMT) in order to explain what metaphors are and how one can analyse them.
1.1 Aim and research questions
If every human being has a language, how come languages look so different from each
other, but, at the same time, so much alike? In this paper, I will research:
71. How are conceptions of animals drawn upon in a selection of English
and Japanese idioms?
2. The role of animals as source domains.
3. What types of target domains are used in animal metaphors?
82 Theoretical framework
Many scholars have invested much of their time in studying metaphors. Among the
questions are, what are metaphors, how can we analyse them, and why do we keep using
them?
In 1980 Lakoff and Johnson published their book Metaphors we live by (1980). In
this book, Lakoff and Johnson discuss the development of Cognitive Metaphor Theory
and how the theory is used. Arguably, this book was the start of metaphor study. After
the publication of Metaphors we live by, many linguists began to invest much of their
time into this theory and researched different types of metaphors. A few of the more
notable researchers are Kövecses and Raymond W. Gibbs Jr.., who have written books
and papers about this theory.
2.1 Metaphors
Lakoff and Johnson explain metaphors as follows “The essence of metaphor is
understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another” (Lakoff and
Johnson 2003:5). From this quote, the understanding of metaphor is that it is a figurative
way of speech that has a significant impact on our language.
Kövecses (2010) writes that metaphors are something that humans often use when
we talk to each other. As an example, he explains the conceptual metaphor LIFE IS A
JOURNEY as when people are talking about going through a stage or a good start in life.
Kövecses ends his paragraph with “Cognitive linguists suggest that they do so because
thinking about the abstract concept of life is facilitated by the more concrete concept of
journey” (2010:4).
2.2 Conceptual Metaphor Theory - CMT
Lakoff and Johnson (2003) write that metaphors are not just decorative figures of speech,
or something extraordinary to our languages. This is so because humans use metaphors,
both consciously and unconsciously every day. The use of the ARGUMENT IS WAR
conceptual metaphor is found when politicians argue with each other, for example they
use words that are used in warfare to convey their ideas. Because when people argue with
each other over ideas or events, people will often unconsciously construct their arguments
9around the notions of attack and defence. Lakoff and Johnson believe that it is not a
coincidence that we argue in this fashion and thus decided to write down examples of
attacks and defence in arguments. They saw a systematic correspondence between source
and target domains, which we will return to later in this paper. These correspondences are
referred to as mappings (Kövecses, 2010:7). Below follow two different types of
mappings, starting with ARGUMENT IS WAR. Examples of this mapping are:
Your claims are indefensible
He attacked every weak point in my argument
His criticisms were right on target
I demolished his argument
I have never won a case with him
Lakoff et al. (2003:4)
In all these examples, it seems like people are utilizing words and phrases that are
associated with war: indefensible, attacked, on target, demolished, won. Thus, by using
words connected to warfare, we realize the conceptual metaphor ARGUMENT IS WAR when
we argue with someone.
Another widely used example of conceptual metaphor is LOVE IS A JOURNEY which
is very often used as a first example when introducing someone new to conceptual
metaphor. Examples of LOVE IS A JOURNEY are:
Look how far we’ve come
We’re at a crossroads
We’ll just have to go our separate ways
We can’t turn back now
I don’t think this relationship is going anywhere.
Lakoff et al. (2003:44)
In all these examples, it seems like love is an entity or a unit of two. Thus, we find we’ve,
we’re, we'll, we, this relationship. Every example here refers to love, and then we see for
10the journey that all these metaphors use journey or being on the way somewhere, such as
crossroads, come, separate ways, turn back, and going anywhere.
In both these mappings we have concepts that are understood in terms of another.
Defence and attack are very concrete to us because they are normally used in warfare.
Because of this, we can use these words to argue with each other instead of using fists or
guns. The same can be found in love where there needs to be at least two to go on a
journey together, and once in a while you will get to a crossroads that will lead you to
different paths. These ideas will be further discussed in terms of domains, namely source
and target domains, in sections 2.3 and 2.4.
2.3 Source Domain
In CMT, metaphor is built upon two types of domains, a source domain, and a target
domain. A conceptual domain is different coherent life experiences, such as life as
journeys, theories as buildings and arguments in terms of war. These domains are then
split into two different types of domains, namely source and target domain. The target
domain and the source domain take care of different things in conceptual metaphors. The
source domain is more concrete than the target domain, which is more abstract. The
following table is a list made by Kövecses (2010:20) of some of the most common source
domains.
THE HUMAN BODY HEALTH and ILLNESS ANIMALS
PLANTS BUILDINGS MACHINES and TOOLS
GAMES and SPORTS MONEY and ECONOMY COOKING and FOOD
HEAT and COLD LIGHT and DARKNESS FORCES
MOVEMENT and DIRECTION
A few of these categories will get examined further to see what makes them source
domains. First, we start with ANIMALS because this domain is what will get investigated
in this paper. After that MONEY and ECONOMICS will be examined and lastly THE HUMAN
BODY.
112.3.1 Animals
Kövecses (2010:19) writes, “The domain of animals is an extremely productive source
domain.” We understand humans in terms of the assumed properties of a specific animal.
If a person is a dog, the person might agree to anything even though he is against it. If a
person is a fox, they are cunning and cautious. People understand that the person is not a
dog or a fox, but that they have properties that we assume these animals have.
2.3.2 Money and economic transactions
Humans have, throughout history, used currencies of various types to buy and sell goods.
It could have been goods that got traded between two parties or products from one and
pearls from the second. From these transactions a few metaphors stem. Below are some
real-life examples of such metaphors.
Spend your time wisely
I tried to save some energy
She invested a lot of energy in the relationship.
Kövecses (2010:20)
In these three examples spend, save and invested are metaphorically used. You can
see these three words in transactions, such as spend money on clothes, or save
money for a vacation, or invest money into the stocks market.
2.3.3 Human Body
Kövecses writes that the human body is the ideal source domain because humans believe
they know it well. Speakers use many different parts of the human body in metaphors.
“Including the head, face, legs, hands, back, heart, bones, shoulders” Kövecses (2010:18).
The heart of the problem
To shoulder responsibility
The head of the department
Kövecses (2010:24)
12People know that the heart is the core in the human body, without the heart; the rest
of the body would not be able to function. To shoulder something could mean that
one is carrying something heavy on his shoulders, much like a builder carrying a
log that is going to being used when building a house. The head is at the top-most
position of the body, and people use it to think and deliver their thoughts.
2.4 Target Domain
Target domains are less concrete in their meaning, and they are more abstract than source
domains. Examples of these are:
EMOTION POLITICS HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
DESIRE SOCIETY/NATION COMMUNICATION
THOUGHT RELIGION TIME
MORALITY EVENTS AND ACTION LIFE AND DEATH
ECONOMY
Kövecses explains target domains as something psychological, mental states and events
and other superordinate concepts that are harder for us to grasp.
In the following conceptual metaphors, the source domains are the concrete
concepts that people can easily relate to:
TIME IS MONEY - You’re wasting my time
THE MIND IS A MACHINE - He broke down
LOVE IS A JOURNEY - We’re at a Crossroad
Lakoff and Johnson (2003:7, 28, 44)
2.4.1 Time
TIME IS MONEY and TIME IS A MOVING OBJECT are two examples of a metaphorical
mapping related to time. A couple of examples from Lakoff and Johnson (2003:8, 42)
and Kövecses (2010:26) follows:
13you’re wasting my time. – TIME IS MONEY
the time will come when – TIME IS A MOVING OBJECT
Christmas is coming up soon – TIME IS A MOVING OBJECT
Time flies – TIME IS A MOVING OBJECT
Kövecses (2010:26) explains time as an object that moves. He writes that the concept of
time is hard for people to grasp. That is why people use ‘time’ together with the idea of
moving. That time is moving forward is accepted by many to be true. Time can move
both fast and slow all depending on what one does with his time. People find that
annoying things take a longer time and fun things take a shorter time to do.
2.4.2 Life and death
Life and death are, according to Kövecses (2010:26), conceptualized as a journey. He
gives the following examples.
The baby will arrive soon.
Grandpa is gone.
His father passed away.
Kövecses (2010:26)
In the first example, they are talking about a new life that will arrive. The baby is a new
life that is about to start. In the second example, a grandpa is a person who is traveling to
the realm of the dead. The verbs arrive and go express how people perceive life and death.
A new-born is someone who has arrived to do something while someone who died has
gone away somewhere. Both these examples are of journeys that living beings take.
2.4.3 Emotion
According to Kövecses (2010:23) emotions are comprehended via force metaphors. He
gives the following examples:
She was deeply moved.
He was bursting with joy.
He unleashed his anger.
14In the emotion metaphors examples, we have the verbs moved, bursting, and unleashed,
which are different types of forces. Emotions is an entity in the human mind that act in
different ways. In the first example, someone was moved deeply. Moved, meaning that
the person was touched by what the other person had done. In the second example the
person is thrilled. Bursting means that one cannot hold back something that is in a
container; it springs forth with a bang making the container break. In the last example
someone is outraged. Unleashed, in this case, refers to a container that a person willingly
opens to show his emotion.
2.5 Metonymies
According to Barcelona (2003), metonymies are even more fundamental to language and
cognition than metaphors. Barcelona is explaining metonymies as “one experiential
domain is partially understood in terms of another experiential domain” (Barcelona
2003:4). Kövecses expresses it as follows.
Metonymy is a cognitive process in which one conceptual entity, the vehicle,
provides mental access to another conceptual entity, the target, within the
same domain, or idealized cognitive model (ICM).
Kövecses (2010:173)
These ideas can be seen in the following metonymies.
PRODUCER FOR PRODUCT
CONSUMED GOODS FOR COSTUMER
BODY PART FOR PERSON & BODY PART FOR INTELLECTUAL ATTRIBUTES
CONVENTIONALLY ASSOCIATED WITH IT
FACE FOR PERSON
THE PLACE FOR THE INSTITUTION
Barcelona (2003:4)
A few of these metonymies will be explained in what follows.
152.5.1 PRODUCER FOR PRODUCT
The easiest example of metonymy to understand is the conceptual metonymy PRODUCER
FOR PRODUCT, examples of which can be found in the following examples:
I’ll have a Löwenbräu
He bought a Ford
He’s got a Picasso
I hate to read Heidegger
Lakoff and Johnson (2003:38)
In all these metonymies, names like Löwenbräu, Ford, Picasso, and Heidegger are present.
These are names of someone that produced something which later becomes a widely
recognized product. The brewery Löwenbräu is an example of an internationally
recognized product that will result in a beer if one asks for one Löwenbräu. The same
goes for someone who has bought a car from the company Ford. The ones who have
purchased a Ford will state that they have purchased a Ford and others will understand
that the person who bought a Ford bought a car and not something else. If one owns a
Picasso, that person holds a painting painted by the painter Picasso. If one has read
Heidegger, the person has read a book written by Heidegger. In all these examples, the
names of specific products come from the one who produced the product.
2.5.2 FACE FOR PERSON
In the mapping FACE FOR PERSON, Barcelona (2003:4) gives one example of such a
mapping. “She’s just a pretty face”. In this metonymy, the face of the girl is a
representation of the whole girl. According to the Oxford dictionaries she’s just a pretty
face means that the person only has a pretty face and no other qualities (Oxford
dictionaries – Pretty face). The first thing we see on a person usually is the face. The face
can give many different expressions; thus, we only notice the face and not the rest of the
body. The face will get to represent the whole human being. Even though the body might
currently be engaged in any other activity the face is telling us something completely
different.
162.5.3 THE PLACE FOR THE INSTITUTION
The conceptual mapping THE PLACE FOR THE INSTITUTION is one of the most used
examples when one learns about metonymies. As an example, the White House isn’t
saying anything. The White House refers to the President of the United States and not to
any white building. Native speakers will understand that someone is talking about the
president and not a white house in Sweden. Therefore, the mapping THE PLACE FOR THE
INSTITUTION.
2.5.4 Summary Metonymies
In the three previous paragraphs above, I have looked at PRODUCER FOR PRODUCT, THE
PLACE FOR THE INSTITUTION, and THE FACE FOR THE PERSON.
PRODUCER FOR PRODUCT is used for goods that were created or manufactured by a
specific company that is widely known, such as Löwenbräu, Ford, or Picasso.
In THE PLACE FOR THE INSTITUTION metonymy, we can see the White House as a
metonym for the President of the United States.
In the mapping THE FACE FOR PERSON, we use face to talk about the whole person.
Such as using something that stands out on that specific person to talk about the entire
person. The example She’s just a pretty face uses the girls face that is pretty to talk about
her bad qualities. One can assume that the person has a pretty face but is terrible at almost
everything.
2.6 Similes
Fadaee (2010:22) writes that the word simile is derived from Latin, meaning resemblance
and likeness. Two objects with some similarities can explain each other. When children
first learn metaphors, they will first learn similes such as, as warm as a toast, Sly as a fox,
eat like a pig. Because metaphors like these are very straightforward, the
straightforwardness of similes will make it easier for beginners of metaphors to
understand the concept of metaphors before they start with more difficult metaphors.
The first similes a beginner encounter will be two objects that stand on each side of
conjunctions like, as and like. These are organised in this fashion to make it easy to
compare the source domain with the target domain. Similes are constructed in this fashion
to make them easier to understand. Sly as a fox and eat like a pig are examples that people
will know because of their simplicity. These similes utilize perceived images of the
17animals that humans have got. Therefore, when one says that the fox is sly, that means
that the perceived image humans have of foxes is that they are naturally sly.
2.7 Previous Research
The research from Dobrovol’skij and Piirainen (2005) discusses cultural differences
among a couple of languages when it comes to metaphors. They write that CMT is not
perfect when examining the theory from both idiomatic and cultural standpoints. They
claim that the method cannot cover all languages. One example discussed is the metaphor
wise as an owl Dobrovol’skij and Piirainen (2005:24). This idiom is used to tell other
humans that someone is as intelligent as an owl; this is because humans perceive the owl
to be wise. However, in Finland, the Finns use owls to tell that another person is stupid
(2005:24). Dobrovl’skij and Piirainen claim that this difference is due to different cultural
perspectives (2005:21). They found the same with the Japanese metaphor for ANGER. In
the English-speaking community there is the metaphor ANGER IS A HOT FLUID IN A
CONTAINER. Examples of this are one is boiling, or one is smouldering. In these two
examples ANGER is a liquid that is in a container just waiting to get released from its
container. In Japan, on the other hand, ANGER is seen as something that raises from the
stomach hara ga tatsu1. It appears that Dobrovol’skij and Piirainen (2005) understand
Matsuki (1995) and Tsuji (1996) to be claiming that culture is an important factor
regarding metaphors. Matsuki and Tsuji mention that the metaphor hara ga tatsu has no
equivalent metaphor in English. According to these Japanese researchers, hara has a deep
connection to the Japanese culture as the centre of vitality and as the centre for one’s
spirit. Therefore, the Japanese researchers claim that it is impossible to compare Japanese
to other languages.
1
“(the) abdomen/belly rises up/stands” ‘to be/get angry’
183 Method and material
In this paper, two sets of idioms from English and Japanese will be analysed. Each set
will consist of 10 phrases. The Japanese phrases are from the website Kotowaza2, which
is an extensive database with Japanese idiomatic expressions with explanations of them.
The site is maintained by a person who has an interest in idiomatic expressions and thus
decided to gather them on one single website to make it easier for other people to find
them. Because of the unfamiliarity of Japanese idioms, it had to be verified that these
idiomatic expressions exist and are in use. Thus, I copy-pasted them into the Japanese to
English dictionary ejje weblio3 to see if they exist and to see if there were any English
equivalents to the Japanese ones. After verifying the Japanese idioms in question and
checking their meaning, the expressions got directly translated to make it easier for the
readers to understand the sentences.
The English expressions are from the website idiom connection4. It had complete
lists with idioms with various animals. However, the decision was made to take
expressions with different animals and look them up in the Oxford dictionaries5 to find
the meaning of the phrases.
The idiomatic expressions are examined based on their etymologies and meanings.
The source domains and target domains of the metaphors in both languages will be
examined in order to see where they are similar to each other and where they are different.
There is a possibility of cultural differences in the use of the expressions in Japanese and
English.
2
http://kotowaza.avaloky.com
3
https://ejje.weblio.jp/
4
http://www.idiomconnection.com/
5
https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/
1920
4 Results and analysis
4.1 Idiomatic expressions with animals in the English language
In this section I will analyse the following idiomatic expressions.
#1 Blind as a bat #6 Stubborn as a mule
#2 (As) quiet as a mouse #7 Beat/Flog a dead horse
#3 Monkey business #8 Black Sheep
#4 Cast pearls before swine #9 A cash cow
#5 Rat race #10 The elephant in the room
4.1.1 (As) blind as a bat
According to Kövecses (2010) the animal is the source domain. The Oxford dictionaries
web site tells us that blind as a bat means that someone has terrible eyesight. The
metaphor originates from the common conception humans have of the animal bat. We
believe that bats have poor vision. This idiom is a simile which is apparent from the
conjunction as. The COCA Corpus was used to analyse the usage of the idiom. The
statistics from the COCA Corpus showed many entries with blind as a bat. However,
according to the data, on one occasion the expression was not used as an idiom. In that
case, blind as a bat was a game of tag. A journalist from The New York Times wrote an
article about children who played a game of tag based on the concept of being blindfolded.
Even games for small children will incorporate science. Blind as a Bat, for
instance, uses blindfolds to demonstrate how bats navigate with sound waves.
(NYT 2011, COCA Corpus)
Based on the knowledge of blind as a bat, the conceptual metaphor is A HUMAN BEING IS
AN ANIMAL. However, it can be more specific with the blindness, thus seeing the metaphor
as A HUMAN BEING WITH BAD EYESIGHT IS A BAT.
4.1.2 (As) quiet as a mouse
Quiet as a mouse means, according to the Oxford dictionaries, that someone is extremely
quiet or docile. The following quotations are from the Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
where these instantiations of mouse point to someone being timid, weak, small, or
insignificant.
21▸ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Judith xiv. 12 Goþ in &
arereþ hym, for myys goon out of þer caues ben hardi to clepen forþ vs to
bataile.
c1425 Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 3024 (MED) Whi be ȝe so
dismaied..Ferful for drede as a litel mows.
1839 C. M. Kirkland New Home xliv. 292 What was my surprise when I
learned that our ‘most magnanimous mouse’, Mr. Shafton, the tailor, had
been sent down a thief.
1869 C. Reade in Galaxy June 796 ‘Why did you give in?’..‘I've got a wife
and children; and they make a man a mouse.’
1935 Notes & Queries 23 Nov. 366 Mouse.., a person who is timid—who
plays best alone.
(mouse - OED)
The quote from around 1382 talks about a person who is deemed to be a mouse. The one
from 1425 someone asks why someone is afraid of a little mouse. The other three quotes
imply the same thing, that if a person is equal to a mouse, that person is weak, timid, and
insignificant. However, if we compare this to data from the COCA corpus, quiet as a
mouse means that a human is as quiet as a mouse, that a mouse will not give away any
noise at all. When comparing the data from OED and the data from COCA. The OED
lexicographers studied the etymology of the word mouse while COCA shows the current
usage of the idiom. MOUSE is the source domain because of it being an animal which is
being compared to the target domain HUMAN with similar characteristics. The mapping is
A HUMAN BEING IS AN ANIMAL. It can also be more specific, thus seeing the metaphor as
A QUIET HUMAN BEING IS A MOUSE.
4.1.3 Monkey business
According to the Oxford dictionaries, monkey business means mischievous or deceitful
behaviour. The common conception of a monkey is that they are playful. This metaphor
is a little harder to understand compared to the previous two, where the characteristics of
the animal were used to explain the target domain. In the Oxford dictionaries, we find
many different examples of monkey business.
221, “‘Now go take a shower, and no more monkey business or you'll be late
for school, she says grumpily.’”
2, “History may not judge Monroe to be the first feminist, but it ought to
acknowledge that while gentlemen prefer blondes, this particular blonde
didn't settle for monkey business.” (Wilson C. 2015)
3, “They all say they're doing business in that little building, the only
business they're doing is monkey business. They're avoiding paying the
taxes that they owe.”
4, “Because poll workers using the Diebold machines monitor only the total
number of people voting-which the tampering doesn't alter-the monkey
business could go undetected, Felten says.”
(Oxford Dictionaries)
In the above examples, monkey business, rather than being a metaphor for a person, is a
metaphor for a way of life. In case 1, someone tells the children to stop doing monkey
business and get ready for school. The children are acting as monkeys when they are
asked to behave and get ready for school. In the third one, the monkey business is used
to describe gentlemen’s behaviour mostly because it seems like the person did not fancy
gentlemen that play with women’s feelings.
When looking up business and monkey in the Oxford dictionaries, one will get to
know the following. A business is “A person’s regular occupation, profession or trade”
(Oxford dictionaries) and a monkey is “1.1 (in general use) any primate, 1.2 A
mischievous person, especially a child.” (Oxford dictionaries). By combining these basic
concepts of these two words into a metaphor, the understanding of the metaphor monkey
business is a person who shows mischievous or deceitful behaviour. MISCHIEVOUS HUMAN
BEHAVIOUR IS MONKEY BEHAVIOUR.
4.1.4 Cast pearls before swine
The meaning of cast pearls before swine is, according to Oxford dictionaries, to offer
valuable things to people who do not appreciate them. The source domain SWINE is seen
as something unclean and greedy that likes to play around in mud and eat leftovers. Pearls,
on the other hand, was something valuable. The common conception is that it would be a
waste to give something as expensive as pearls to someone who plays around in the mud.
231682 T. Shadwell Lancashire-witches ii Coursing had gotten me a woundy
stomach, and I eat like a Swine.
1780 W. Cowper Love of World 3 There is a part in ev'ry swine No friend
or follower of mine May taste.
1799 S. Freeman Town Officer (ed. 4) 58 He found a swine going at large
in the town.
(OED)
The source domain SWINE is something dirty while PEARLS are something of value.
Therefore, a swine should not contaminate pearls. The source domain SWINE can be used
to describe the target domain HUMAN. Thus, the conceptual metaphor is A HUMAN BEING
IS AN ANIMAL. Furthermore, pearls are a metaphor for wealth. By combining swine and
pearls into one metaphor, it will be A HUMAN BEING WHO CANNOT REALIZE THE VALUE OF
A PEARL IS A DIRTY SWINE.
4.1.5 Rat race
According to Oxford dictionaries rat race means “A way of life in which people are
caught up in a fiercely competitive struggle for wealth or power”. The word race suggests
that the rats act in a certain way when they run for food. In the animal kingdom food, is
seen as a currency which shows both wealth and power.
1938 Monessen (Pa.) Daily Independent 20 June 4/2 They are trying to
make possible conditions under which politics may exist as a career instead
of a rat-race.
1954 P. G. Wodehouse & G. R. Bolton Bring on Girls 219 ‘Is anything the
matter with you?’ ‘Just the rat-race. I don't quite know why I've been doing
it.’
1960 Daily Tel. 18 May 17/7 A spirited criticism of ‘the daily rat race’ to
get to work in London.
1990 R. Pilcher September i. 15 Angus had worked as a stockbroker in
London, but having made his pile, and tiring of the rat race, he had bought
Corriehill.
(OED)
In all four of these examples, rat race suggests that a person who is fighting for wealth
and power resembles a rat running towards food. A HUMAN BEING IS AN ANIMAL and can
be more specified as A HUMAN BEING WHO IS RACING FOR FORTUNE IS A RAT.
244.1.6 Stubborn as a mule
According to Oxford dictionaries stubborn as a mule means “extremely stubborn”. The
common conception of a mule is that it is very stubborn. In this idiom is the mule used to
explain characteristic from the source domain MULE which is then compared to the target
domain HUMAN. This can also be found in OED when looking up mule, “A person having
a quality characteristic of or associated with mules, esp. a stupid, obstinate, or physically
tough person” (OED).
a1500 (▸a1471) G. Ashby Active Policy Prince 564 in Poems (1899) 30
(MED) Thaugh he were an asse hede or a dulle mule, He myght not lyve
wildly at his pleasance.
a1625 P. Hume Flyting with Montgomerie (Harl.) 162 in G. Stevenson
Poems A. Montgomerie (1910) Thy tyrd comparisones asklent Are
monstrous lik the mule that maid them.
1846 Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) vi. 51 ‘Now don't be a young mule,’
said Good Mrs. Brown.
1949 San Francisco Call-Bull. 19 Aug. 15/1 It goes without saying that [in
American Football] no ball carrier is a success unless he has the mules up
front to open the way for him.
(OED)
In these examples people use mule to tell others that someone is stupid, obstinate, or
physically fierce. Therefore, this metaphor is A STUBBORN HUMAN BEING IS A MULE which
is subordinate to the HUMAN BEING IS AN ANIMAL metaphor.
4.1.7 Beat/Flog a dead horse
According to Oxford dictionaries, Beat/flog a dead horse means “Waste energy on a lost
cause or unalterable situation”. The source domain is the animal HORSE. The source
domain HORSE combined with the adjective dead tells us that something is unalterable.
Death is a permanent state, and whatever we do, one cannot change it.
This expression may have come about because of human’s abuse of horses throughout
time. A horse is a physically strong animal that humans use for carrying things or
ploughing fields. By working the horse to its death- it will not work anymore. In OED the
idiom is explained as something that has ceased to be of use. Therefore, it is of no use to
try to make it work again. In the following examples, one sees the use of this idiom.
251640 R. Brome Antipodes sig. Bv His land..'twas sold to pay his debts: All
went That way, for a dead horse, as one would say.
1830 T. P. Thompson in Westm. Rev. July 190 What can have led any
sensible man, to mount on a dead horse like this?
1832 E. C. Wines Two Years in Navy I. 73 Dead horses are debts due to
the purser on account of advances of pay.
(OED)
In these examples, people are talking about situations that cannot be changed. The first
one talked about one person that was in too much debt, which made it impossible to pay
it all back. In the second example, someone is probably starting or taking over a business
that has already dried up. In all these examples people are talking about either a person
or a company that is not going to go well no matter how hard they try. The concept of
this metaphor is AN UNALTERABLE SITUATION IS A DEAD HORSE, or A SITUATION IS AN
ANIMAL.
4.1.8 Black sheep
According to Oxford dictionaries, black sheep means “A member of a family or group
who is regarded as a disgrace to it”. The source domain is SHEEP which is compared to
the target domain HUMAN. The colour black is worthless because one cannot dye it to
other colours. The black sheep of the family is a person who sticks out from the group.
Here below are a few examples of black sheep.
1816 Scott Old Mortality vi, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. IV. 109 The
curates..know best the black sheep of the flock.
1833 T. Hook Parson's Daughter III. iii. 63 To pick out of the whole mass
of English clergy, one or two, or one or two and twenty black sheep.
1856 G. J. Whyte-Melville Kate Coventry xiii Kate, the ‘black sheep’ of
the family.
(OED)
In the first example, the curates know a few black sheep, and who of them are the best at
certain things. In the second example, they have problem sorting out the black sheep in
the English clergy because there are too many of them. In the last case, Kate is the black
26sheep of the family. She has done something to become a disgrace to her family. When
looking at the examples and the meaning of the idiom, the idiom's mapping is FAMILY
DISGRACE IS A BLACK SHEEP which is a subordinate to A HUMAN BEING IS AN ANIMAL
metaphor.
4.1.9 A Cash cow
According to Oxford dictionaries, a cash cow means “A business, investment, or product
that provides a steady income or profit”. Cows or cattle have been excellent assets for
humans throughout time. As seen in these historical examples from OED, cattle are a type
of currency or necessity that humans need in order to survive.
c1330 Amis & Amil. 1855 Al her catel than was spent Saue tvelf pans.
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter xiv. 6 He þat gaf noght his katel til okyre.
1483 Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 267/1 Fader I haue wonne
nothyng but haue lost your catayll.
(OED)
In the first example, the cattle were sold away for something else. The second example
suggests that the person gave away his cattle. The last example indicates that a son or
daughter has lost their father’s cattle. Back then, cattle gave a steady income of meat,
cheese, milk, and hide. One did not have to go hungry or be cold if one had cattle. Even
today, cattle are a steady source of income, providing milk, meat, and hide that humans
can utilize for different products. Under Rat Race 4.1.5, we discussed that rats race for
food because food is a source of power and wealth. However, by owning a cow, the family
is guaranteed to have steady flow of food, milk, and clothes. Today cash cow is mainly
used for businesses that make a considerable profit. This idiom is A STEADY PROVIDER OF
INCOME IS A CASH COW.
4.1.10 The elephant in the room
According to Oxford dictionaries, the elephant in the room means “A major problem or
controversial issue which is obviously present but is avoided as a subject for discussion.”
In the following examples from COCA, we see how the expression is used.
271, “Kurt Angle # Just a few short days ago, it was Jason Jordan who was
standing out as the elephant in the room and easy pick for the weakest link.”
(WWE Survivor Series 2017, COCA)
2, “-PRES# As Stephen Colbert said, let's talk about the big orange elephant
in the room. That's humor, Donald, don't tweet.” (Interview with John Kasich,
COCA)
In both these examples, Jason Jordan and President Donald Trump are the elephants in
the room. In the first case, Jordan was a controversial issue in wrestling. In the second
case, President Trump is the elephant in the room because according to many, the current
President is not worthy of being in the Oval Office. In both these examples these two are
the elephant in the room. Thus, the mapping is A PROBLEMATIC HUMAN BEING IS AN
ELEPHANT IN A ROOM. However, it is more about the ideas of the President that stands out.
The meaning of the idiom is a “... controversial issue ... but is avoided ...” A person cannot
be a controversial issue. Therefore, it must be the ideas. Thus, the source domain is an
elephant, and the target domain is a controversial issue. A CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE IS AN
ELEPHANT IN A ROOM.
284.1.11 Summary of English idiomatic expressions
#1 (As) blind as a bat A HUMAN BEING WITH BAD HUMAN BEING IS
EYESIGHT IS A BAT AN ANIMAL
#2 (As) Quiet as a mouse A QUIET HUMAN BEING IS A HUMAN BEING IS
(or lamb) MOUSE AN ANIMAL
#3 Monkey business MISCHIEVOUS HUMAN HUMAN BEING IS
BEHAVIOUR IS A MONKEY AN ANIMAL
BEHAVIOUR
#4 Cast pearls before swine A HUMAN BEING WHO HUMAN BEING IS
CANNOT REALIZE A PEARL AN ANIMAL
VALUE IS A DIRTY SWINE
#5 Rat Race A HUMAN BEING WHO IS HUMAN BEING IS
RACING FOR FORTUNE IS A AN ANIMAL
RAT
#6 Stubborn as a mule A STUBBORN HUMAN BEING HUMAN BEING IS
IS A MULE AN ANIMAL
#7 Beat/flog a dead horse AN UNALTERABLE SITUATION A SITUATION IS AN
IS A DEAD HORSE ANIMAL
#8 Black sheep A FAMILY DISGRACE IS A HUMAN BEING IS
BLACK SHEEP AN ANIMAL
#9 Cash cow A STEADY PROVIDER OF A SITUATION IS AN
INCOME IS A CASH COW ANIMAL
#10 The Elephant in the A CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE IS A SITUATION IS AN
room AN ELEPHANT IN A ROOM ANIMAL
Seven of these idioms follow the mapping of HUMAN BEING IS AN ANIMAL. Three follow
the mapping of A SITUATION IS AN ANIMAL. All these idiomatic expressions describe a
person or idea by utilizing an animal property that humans have agreed to correlate with
that type of animal then applying it to a human being or an idea. The similes portray this
very well with the properties + conjunction + animal style of metaphor. Black sheep, the
elephant in the room, and monkey business are harder to understand because we do not
get their properties spelled out in the metaphor. By analysing black sheep, one gets to
29know that a person is not talking about a sheep, but a human being. The same is true for
the elephant in the room. In this idiom, we talk about the idea and not necessarily about
the person. With this small sample, one has got two categories of mappings, A HUMAN
BEING IS AN ANIMAL, and A SITUATION IS AN ANIMAL.
4.2 Idiomatic expressions with animal in the Japanese language
In this part the following Japanese idioms will be analysed.
#1 木から落ちた猿 #6 閑古鳥が鳴く
Tree from fallen monkey Cuckoo is singing
#2 井の中の蛙大海を知らず #7 鯉の滝登り
Water well’s middle’s frog ocean Carp’s waterfall climbing
to know not
#3 蛙の子は蛙 #8 蛙の面に水 –
Frog’s child is frog Frog’s face to water
#4 猿の尻笑い #9 猫の手も借りたい
Monkey’s butt smile/laugh Cat’s hand too wants to borrow
#5 犬猿の仲 #10 鳶が鷹を生む
Dog monkey’s relation Black kite give hawk born
4.2.1 ⽊から落ちた猿 – Tree from fallen monkey
木 から 落ちた 猿
Ki kara ochita saru
Tree from fallen monke
y
Even monkeys fall from trees
A direct translation of ki kara ochita saru is the tree from fallen monkey. According to
the Japanese – English dictionary Ejje (2020), the meaning of this idiom is “person who
has lost something they used to rely on; a monkey fallen from the tree.”
In this idiom, the monkey is naturally good at climbing trees. Thus, this expression
is used to describe a human that is naturally good at something but suddenly fails at doing
it at one point. One example is if a brilliant student who excels at math and has always
received full marks suddenly only gets half the points. In this case, it could be a monkey
who has fallen from a tree. Monkeys are seen running around, playing, and climbing trees.
30Thus, they should be naturally good at it because they are always climbing trees.
Therefore, this idiom utilizes the property of the monkey to tell us that even the brightest
students can occasionally fail. In this idiomatic expression, MONKEY is the source domain
and HUMAN BEINGS is the target domain. The conceptual metaphor of this idiom is A
HUMAN MISTAKE IS A MONKEY FALLEN FROM A TREE. Which is A HUMAN BEING IS AN
ANIMAL.
4.2.2 井の中の蛙大海を知らず – Frog in the well knows nothing of the sea
井 の 中 の 蛙 大海 を 知らず
I no naka no kaeru taikai wo shirazu
Well Possessive Middle possessive frog ocean particle Unaffected
particle or particle by
inside
frog in the well knows nothing of the sea
A direct translation of i no naka no kawazu taikai wo shirazu is water well’s middle’s
frog ocean unaffected by. Oxford reference translates it into frog in the well knows nothing
of the sea. The meaning of this idiomatic expression is “that one should be aware of the
limitations of one's own experience”. The source domain FROG is mapped on to a human
being that likes to stay at home. The Japanese word for frog is kaeru (蛙) which is
homonymous with the verb to return home (帰る).
In the West, we have An Englishman’s home is his castle (Longman dictionary). A
castle is seen as a place where you can be safe. The Japanese use frog and the water well
in a similar manner. The well is safe, thus, making it easier to stay at home instead of
going out in the world to experience new things. The water in the water well is calm while
the ocean can be stormy. By combining the conceptual metaphor AN IMPREGNABLE
CASTLE IS A WATER WELL and A LESS EXPERIENCED HUMAN BEING IS A FROG we get A LESS
EXPERIENCED HUMAN BEING IS A FROG IN AN IMPREGNABLE WATER WELL.
314.2.3 蛙の子は蛙 – frog’s child is frog
蛙 の 子 は 蛙
Kaeru no ko wa kaeru
Frog Possessive child Topic marker frog
particle
A tadpole is a frog
Kaeru no ko wa kaeru direct translates into the frog’s child is a frog. This idiom has an
English counterpart according to Ejjo which is like father, like son. According to Oxford
dictionaries like father, like son means “A son's character or behaviour can be expected
to resemble that of his father.”. The Japanese use frog and tadpole instead of father and
son to say the same thing. By using FROG, they are saying that a child can resemble either
of the parents. FROG is the source domain which is compared to the target domain A
HUMAN BEING which is conceptualized as A CHILD WHO RESEMBLES ITS PARENT IS A
TADPOLE. Which is a subordinate to A HUMAN BEING IS AN ANIMAL.
4.2.4 猿の尻笑い – monkey’s butt smile/laugh
猿 の 尻 笑い
Saru no shiri warai
Monkey Possessive particle butt Smile or laugh
A monkey’s butt smile
Saru no shiriwarai can be direct translated as a monkey’s butt smile/laugh. According to
Ejjo, the English equivalent is people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
According to Cambridge dictionary people who live in glass hoses shouldn’t throw stones
means “that you should not criticize other people for bad qualities in their character that
you have yourself.”
The best explanation of this idiom is from a picture (cf. below) of two monkeys
laughing at each other's butts for being red while having the same themselves. The
explanation is humorous, and it makes it easier to understand. However, the use of
monkeys is still a mystery. It is something cultural that is difficult to grasp.
32(Blog.livedoor.jp 2020)
The source domain in this idiom is MONKEY, and the target domain is HUMAN BEING.
There seems to be something culturally specific about red butts, which is part of this idiom
as well. Because the red butt is a central theme in this idiom, it would mean that A HUMAN
BEING IS A MONKEY WITH A BUTT LAUGHING AT ANOTHER MONKEY WITH A BUTT, this is a
part of A HUMAN BEING IS AN ANIMAL metaphor.
4.2.5 犬猿の仲 – Dog monkey’s relation
犬 猿 の 仲
Ken en no naka
Dog monkey Possessive particle relation
Dog and monkey’s relation
A direct translation of Kenen no naka is dog monkey’s relation. According to Ejjo, there
is an English counterpart which is like cats and dogs. According to Oxford dictionaries
the idiom like cats and dogs means “(of two people) be continually arguing with one
another”. It suggests that cats and dogs cannot come to terms with each other in English
speaking societies, while cats and monkeys cannot come to terms with each other in
Japan. This behaviour is then portrayed in human behaviour when two people are
constantly arguing with each other. DOG and MONKEY are the source domains, while
HUMAN BEINGS is the target domain. However, the focus is on the bad relationship
between the two animals. The mapping is A BAD RELATION BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE IS LIKE
THE RELATION BETWEEN DOG AND MONKEY. This mapping is partly a part of A HUMAN
33BEING IS AN ANIMAL, but at the same time it is A BAD RELATION IS LIKE THE RELATION OF
DOG AND MONKEY.
4.2.6 閑古鳥が鳴く – cuckoo is singing
閑古鳥 が 鳴く
kankodori ga naku
cuckoo Objective marker sing
Cuckoo is singing
A direct translation of Kankodori ga naku is Cuckoo sing. Cuckoo sing means that
business is slow. In Japan, the idea is that when one hears a cuckoo singing, there is not
much going on. The Cuckoo is sometimes heard in Japanese anime series when a person
is sitting bored on the veranda. Boredom can be compared to the rolling dust clouds in
Western cartoons and movies. In the West, the conceptual metaphor is BOREDOM IS A
DUST CLOUD. In Japan, however the metaphor is BOREDOM IS A CUCKOO SINGING.
4.2.7 鯉の滝登り – carp’s waterfall climbing
鯉 の 滝 登り
Koi No Taki nobori
Carp Possessive particle Waterfall climb
Carp’s waterfall climb
The direct translation of koi no takinobori is carp’s waterfall climbing. According to Ejje
(2020), this means “to be surprised by the energy a carp has”. Meaning that with that kind
of energy, you will succeed in life. In Japan, the carp is a symbol of strength, courage,
and patience. Every year on the fifth of May the Japanese celebrate Children’s Day by
hanging up carp streamers to wish for the boys to grow up to be as strong as the carp Abe,
(2018). English will need three idioms to be able to convey the same ideas as the Japanese
carp, namely strong as a lion, brave the elements, and have the patience of a saint
(Idioms.thefreedictionary). CARP is the source domain that maps on the target domain a
HUMAN BEING in order to encourage people to be as perseverant as the carps to succeed
in life. The history behind koi no takinobori focuses on transforming or becoming a
perseverant carp while the English idiom strong as a lion says that one’s strength is
34comparable to that of a lion. The English idioms do not say the same as the Japanese one,
and the Japanese one focuses more on the carp’s perseverance. This metaphor mapping
is A PERSEVERANT HUMAN IS A CARP which is part of A HUMAN BEING IS AN ANIMAL
metaphor.
4.2.8 蛙の面に水 – Frog’s face to water
蛙 の 面 に 水
Kaeru No Tsura Ni Mizu
Frog Possessive Face Case marker water
particle
Frog’s face to water
The direct translation of kaeru no tsura ni mizu is frog’s face to water. According to Ejje
(2020) is the meaning of this metaphor, “whatever happens, the person will have a calm
and peaceful face.”. When we observe frogs in water, the frogs do not mind the water that
splashes on their faces. They continue to stay calm and swim without any worries.
In Japan, they have a religion called Shinto. When looking at water in Shintoism, we see
that water is used in different daily routines, such as cleaning, and mediating to name two
of the daily routines.
This metaphor can be split up into two parts, which enables us to create a more in-
depth analysis of the idiom. Firstly, the source domain FROG, which is mapped on the
target domain HUMAN. The first part is A HUMAN BEING IS AN ANIMAL. Secondly, water
which has both calming and purifying elements. It makes WATER the source domain on
the target domain CALM or CLEANSE. Thus, the second mapping is WATER IS CALM. By
combining these two idioms into A CALM HUMAN BEING IS A FROG IN WATER.
4.2.9 猫の手も借りたい – cat’s hand too wants to borrow
猫 の 手 も 借りたい
Neko no te mo karitai
Cat Possessive hand Binding Want to borrow
particle particle
Cat’s paw also wants to borrow
35The direct translation of neko no te mo karitai is cat's hand too wants to borrow.
According to Ejjo, the idiom means “If you have your hands full, you would even want to
borrow the cats' paws.”. Cats’ paws are not useful to handle tools. In this metaphor, we
borrow the cat’s paws out of dire necessity, because there are no other options.
The Japanese have a good luck charm called maneki-neko or beckoning cat in
English. Maneki-neko looks like a cat that sits on its hind legs and holds up either its right
or left paw, sometimes even both paws. Depending on which paw that is held up, it can
give luck in attracting customers, money or protection.
In this metaphor, the CAT is the source domain, and a HUMAN is the target domain.
Furthermore, the idiom talks about hands. In this metaphor cats’ paws are mapped onto
human’s hands. The paws want to help even though they do not possess the necessary
skill. Making the mapping A PAIR OF HELPING HANDS IS A CAT’S PAWS.
4.2.10 鳶が鷹を生む – Black kite give hawk born
鳶 が 鷹 を 生む
Tobi Ga Taka Wo umu
Black kite Conjunctive Hawk Case marker To born
particle
Black kite is born as a hawk
The direct translation of tobi ga taka wo umu is black kite is hawk be born. According to
Ejjo is the meaning of this idiom, "Having a talented child despite being untalented
oneself.". In the idiom tobi ga taka wo umu, it is evident that a black kite and a hawk have
different values in Japanese culture.
In this idiom, the black kite gave birth to a hawk. The black kite is a normal human
being that is not more nor less clever than any other human, while a hawk is someone
gifted and bright. In this metaphor, the source domains are BLACK KITE and HAWK. They
are not only compared to each other but also to human beings, so the target domain is
HUMAN. Therefore, the basic notion is that this metaphor is A HUMAN BEING IS AN ANIMAL,
but it can further be specified into two other metaphors A TALENTED HUMAN BEING IS A
HAWK and AN UNTALENTED HUMAN BEING IS A BLACK KITE. Both idioms fit the category
A HUMAN BEING IS AN ANIMAL because of both birds being compared to a human being.
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