Preferential Metaphorical Conceptualizations in Everyday Discourse About Love in the Brazilian and German Speech Communities

摘要

This article deals with cultural variation in the metaphorical construction of love in the Brazilian and German speech communities, based on 30 interviews held in each culture with subjects 20-30 years of age. Besides similarities, the study revealed significant differences in the conventional use of some complex metaphors, which indicate emphasis given to chosen parts of the target when talking about it, rather than proving the existence or nonexistence of the respective metaphor. Thus, by talking about the target, there is significant evidence for the “CONQUEST,” “EATING/APPETIZING FOOD,” and the “GROWTH/ORGANISM/PLANT” metaphors in the Brazilian corpus. By contrast, in the German interviews, the “ECONOMICAL EXCHANGE,” “FUNCTIONING MACHINE,” and “JOURNEY” metaphors are frequently employed. These findings will be related to the cultural backgrounds of each speech community, arguing for a stronger presence of the passionate ideal of love in the Brazilian one, whereas in the German one, the ideal of romantic love seems to be more accentuated.