Volume 11, Issue 6 (2021)                   LRR 2021, 11(6): 167-200 | Back to browse issues page

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Rastgoo C. Cognitive Study of Anthropomorphic Metaphors in Qur'anic Discourse Based on Conceptual Theory. LRR 2021; 11 (6) :167-200
URL: http://lrr.modares.ac.ir/article-14-34917-en.html
Assistant Professor, Department of Arabic Language, University of Quranic Sciences, College of Sciences of the Qur'an, Mashhad, Iran. , rastgoo@quran.ac.ir
Abstract:   (2946 Views)
The high frequency of the linguistic tools of the anthropomorphic metaphor in the Qur'an not only provides the ground for the deviation of monotheism and monotheistic truths, but also it can pave the way to the facts of the spiritual world, the mysteries of the unseen world, and the intellectual and spiritual truths clarify in the light of conceptual theory. The most important goals of this study are to elucidate the types of Qur'anic anthropomorphism, to explain their mechanism of formation, to analyze the specific conceptualizations behind each of these metaphors and their semantic motivations for their application. The result showed that the application of anthropomorphic metaphors, in addition to reducing complex intellectual and abstract / immanent affairs to the human scale, they reinforce the vital and abstracted relations of deconstruction, more than any other text that expresses the movement from plurality to the spiritual unity beyond nature and devoid of exaggeration, degradation or exaggeration in praising or blaming. The discovery of attention in these metaphors, which are often one of the most prominent human traits, confirms the necessity of applying the mixed model.
 
1. Introduction
The language of the Qur'an, like the language of other religious and literary texts, contains natural phenomena and high-frequency and abstract concepts, the various tools have been used, such as metaphor to facilitate the transmission of these phenomena and concepts to the audience and the perception of these phenomena and concepts. In the Romantic view, metaphor is a testament to the role of imagination in conceptualization and reasoning, and it is not limited to the language of literature. This view has found a special place in the research of cognitive linguists such as Gilles Fauconnier and Mark Turner, the perception of imagination role in language and the process of meaning-making especially the "creative" aspects of meaning construction, such as an innovative metaphor, meta-normality (deviated from the principle), eventually led to the emergence of conceptual blending theory.
In this regard, anthropomorphism or anthropomorphic metaphor can be considered as a cognitive practice, more than any kind of metaphor that is actually the result of human mental imagination and the induction into anything; because in the light of the theory of integration, on the one hand, two seemingly alien elements are intertwined and create ambiguity, and on the other hand, the unfamiliar element is represented in the new perspective with the help of the familiar element. In other words, this theory shows the mechanism of the formation meaning in the mind.
 
2. The Statement of Problem
Anthropology is derived from the Greek root anthropus "human" and the logos link "speech, cognition" (Panoff and Pern, 1973, translated by Askari Khaneghah, 1369: 22) According to this definition in the field of art and literature, to anything other than existence and human nature (living and inanimate), such as animals, plants, inanimate objects and even natural phenomena and changes (day, night, wind, rain and storm, etc.), human characteristics such as body shape, appearance, feelings, sounds, accents, etc. are induced (Asnaashari and Sadeghian, Hakak, 1398: 258-287).
This type of metaphor can be studied and analyzed with the help of the conceptual theory of " Conceptual Blending Theory ". According to the conceptual cognitive process, human beings can subconsciously take the structures from one domain or input, integrating it into a kind of coherent information construction with the elements of another domain / input in "generic space". In such an approach, a new mental space is created in which one domain is merged with another domain based on imagination or in other words, through "conceptual projection" (Moazani and Khanjari, 2014: 4-5; Ardabili et al., 2015: 36; Geertz, 2009, Safavid translation, 1393: 432). Thus, the unusual concepts that violate the general and real logic of human beings they use a mixed process to give birth to new meanings (Moazani and Khanjari, 2014: 4-5).
Anger is a natural reaction of an organism to a situation in which a person fails, which in verse 154 of Surah A'raf, "But you are silent about Moses of anger," is interpreted in a human way.
In this verse, the verb "silent", which is a human act, is attributed to one of the inner states of man, namely "anger". According to Ghaeminia (1396: 319), anger seems to be assumed as a minor human being within the Prophet Moses (pbuh). When a person becomes angry, it is as if someone appears inside him who commands him to do things.
According to the mixed theory, the above documents show two domains of origin; The first realm is human and the second realm is the inner state of internal anger. As a result of the fusion of two realms, a mixed realm is obtained in which anger is portrayed as a human being who can speak and remain silent. Undoubtedly, the use of anthropomorphism in this verse and the personification of anger have beautifully illustrated human’s control when he is angry. When a person becomes upset, he loses control, so it is his anger that manages his behavior and forces him to engage in an inappropriate, emotional, and unconventional behaviors. This is an important psychological principle that the glorious Word refers to by applying the concept of personification.
 
3. Purpose, Questions and Hypotheses
The language of the Qur'an is full of unique and abstract concepts that have been presented to the audience using the anthropomorphic metaphors comparing to the human language. The nature, abstractions, and natural reactions of the organism are some of these concepts. It seems necessary to study these concepts in order to explain the mechanism of their metaphors and to discover the specific conceptualization behind each of these concepts in order to reveal another part of the expressive miracle of the Qur'an. Accordingly, the present study tries to examine those Qur'anic evidences in which inhuman concepts have been conceptualized with the help of human semantic components to answer the following questions:
1. What is the purpose of applying the mixed theory to the meaning of anthropomorphic metaphors in Qur'an?
2. What are the semantic motives for using anthropomorphism in Qur'an?
The hypotheses considered are as follows:
-The application of this theory in Qur'an, like other texts, clarifies the existence of the human features in metaphors. It also shows the importance of compounds in the discovery of focus.
-Anthropomorphism in Qur'an is often done to show the spiritual dimension of nature and transcendental phenomena, as well as the movement from plurality to unity.
 
4. Methodology
The present study seeks to determine the mechanism of formation of Qur'anic anthropomorphic metaphors in expressing abstract concepts in a scientific and methodical manners by using the interdisciplinary method of "conceptual compounds" in Qur'anic studies. Regarding the fact that one of the important tools of researchers in the field of humanities is books, the tools of this article are shaped by the glorious words and Quranic data and dictionaries and commentary books.
 
5- Results
In this study, the concept of anthropomorphism as one of the linguistic domains of the discourse of the Holy Quran was studied and analyzed according to the theory of " Conceptual Blending Theory " and while showing some verses that:
The theory of "blending" is a new and wonderful tool for analyzing the linguistic interpretations of Qur'an, including similes, allegories, metaphors, anthropomorphisms, allusions, and so on. This theory, in addition to explaining the mechanism of origin of these meanings, enhances the power of cognitive analysis, and opens the new perspectives in the mind of the interpreter and reveals the hidden dimensions of the linguistic interpretations of the Qur'an in the better way.
-The theory of "blending" pursues several goals, but the common goal of all blends and compounds are to achieve a human features. This goal is very important in the analysis of Qur'anic integrations, because the Holy Qur'an has explained many intellectual truths, divinity, occult unknowns and abstract concepts using the tangible human experiences appropriate to the audience. Another purpose of applying the conceptual blending theory is that it is importance in discovering the center of metaphorical meanings and strengthening the vital and abstract relations.
-Anthropomorphism in the Qur'an is often done to show the spiritual dimension of nature and transcendental phenomena, as well as to move from plurality to unity away from excesses in magnification, degradation or exaggeration in praise or condemnation, and so on

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Article Type: مقالات علمی پژوهشی | Subject: Linguistics
Published: 2021/01/29

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