Conceptions of time with the source domain of space in Amharic

Abstract

This paper aims at analyzing conceptual metaphors of time as realized in Amharic spatial expressions. The paper is written within the framework of conceptual metaphor theory developed by Lakoff & Johnson (1980). In this theory, language is viewed as providing data that can show human beings conceive concepts (Lakoff & Johnson 2003). The study examines the fact that time concepts in Amharic are described through spatialization metaphors. The orientational, time-moving, and ego-moving types of metaphors for time are attested in the language. Orientational metaphors suggest that Amharic speakers can understand time via spatial frames of reference. Besides, the conceptual metaphors time is a moving entity, times are locations in a landscape where ego moves over, and an extended period of time is a bounded space are found in Amharic. In this paper, conceptual metaphors are spelled in small capital letters to show that they underlie conceptually.