Metaphor in Day-to-Day Arabic Speech: A Conceptual Approach

This paper examines the pervasiveness of metaphorical constructions in day-to-day variety of language. It claims, in accordance with Lakoff and Johnson (1980), that the metaphorical expressions are not mere words, but they are part and parcel of our everyday speech and the way we conceptualize things and that metaphor is not restricted to poetic language or the literary style. The examples we give here are used to show that we use existing physical concepts to conceptualize these abstract concepts.