Metonymic foci of event schemata in English denominal verbs with human body parts

Abstract

Cognitive Linguistics explains conversion as a metonymic mechanism that enables morphological recategorization in event schemata (

). The most productive type of conversion in English takes place from noun to verb and is the result of a conceptual transfer within an or schema. Denominal verbs with human body parts are often cited as examples of this phenomenon ( ; ; ; ), and are assumed to happen mainly within the schema, frequently guided by the instrumental function associated with that particular body part, which serves as a prototypical carrier of salience, or focus. This corpus-assisted analysis explores the frequency of metonymic foci of body-part denominal verbs, aiming to prove that, while the instrument focus is decisive in noun-verb body-part conversion, there are other semantic factors that play a highly prominent role in directing the focus of metonymic transfer.