Myroslava Vlakh

Ivan Franko National University of Lviv

The role of metaphor in the development of geographical terminology

© Vlakh M. R., 2016

The role of metaphor in the process of geographic reality cognition, particularly in the primary nomination by comparison, analogy is revealed. The spiral development of concept as metaphor: primary words-metaphors –“naive” concepts – logical concepts, is established. The significance of metaphor in modern processes of determinologization and transterminologization of geographical science is emphasized. The emergence of concepts, metaphors with extensive scope (megametaphor) is stated. The typology of geographical terms and concepts by similarity criteria: location, height, size, scale, shape, color, connection, process, function, is implemented. The extensive employment of complicated by the verbal structure living metaphors in new fields of human geography is established.

Keywords: Ukrainian language, metaphor, dead metaphor, living metaphor, megametaphor, geographical term, determinologization, transterminologization.

The article reveals the essence of geographical metaphors as a tool of linguistic geographical mentality that consists in confrontation of the sufficiently distant objects by comparison and analogy. The genetic typology of geographical metaphors with allotment of so-called dead and alive (figurative) metaphors is presented. The criteria of geographical objects similarity during geographical metaphors design are accented (location (orientation), shape, scale, colour, age, relationship, process, function); also the necessity of integrated approach intensifi cation is emphatic, considering its systemic manifestation.

The article describes the scientific geographical concepts as an example of dead metaphors that got rid of figurative meaning during the process of cognition. The evolution of concepts like word-metaphor – naive concept-metaphor– logical concept-metaphor is revealed. The article examines the efficient role of metaphors in the processes of primary and secondary categorization of the new concepts that result in creating of conceptual metaphors. The role of metonymy as metaphor variety is elucidated, when comparison occurs not on the similarity feature, but on the adjoining feature (belonging to the same range of phenomena, to the concepts of one order), in particular, in geographical scientonyms.

The metaphorical character of polysemy concepts and the increasing use of megametaphors in geographical science (house, organism, space, territory, organization, centre, place, system, complex, management) are described. The decreasing of artistic imagery of Ukrainian geographical terminology as a result of substitution by foreign languages equivalents in Russian transcription is established. The necessity of resolving problem of correlation between specific geographical terms and international terms is described.

The primary metaphoric of the particular terms – toponyms (hydronyms, oronyms, oykonyms, politonyms) is emphatic, in particular, following the anthropomorphic principle. The relationship between terms creation and toponyms is revealed.

The role of alive metaphors, sophisticated languages constructions in geographical cognition is elucidated. The article examines its role as in the pre-scientific (mythological), and in scientific cognition, in particular, during geographical creating images in geopolitics, country studies, regional management, urban studies, territory branding and rebranding and tourism.

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