A Linguistic Analysis of the Metaphor of Wind Based on Sociocognitive Linguistics

黄梅

1 Introduction

From the perspective of cognitive linguistics， the meaning of language is based on human perception and experience， categorization and concept of the objective world results.The weather phenomenon is a very common natural phenomenon. Wind is of no exception. It is a concept that human beings are born with， and it is also necessary for human survival conditions.The perception of natural phenomena is one of the basic experiences of human beings， so many meteorological concepts are often used by human beings to understand and to know other things.When humans use these basic concepts of the natural common weather imagination to express and explain concepts in other cognitive domains the cognition of things is more and more vivid.

2 Elaboration of Conceptual Metaphor Theory

2.1 Definition of Metaphor

From a rhetoric perspective， metaphor can be defined as a figure of speech which makes an implicit comparison between two things that share some characteristics in common. It can be embodied in a word， a kind of outspread phrases， sentences idioms， proverbs or even the whole paragraph fables. From a cognitive perspective， the essence of metaphor is to understand and experience a certain kind of thing through another thing （Lakoff and Johnson： 1980）According to this definition， metaphor is not just a linguistic phenomenon， but more importantly， it is a cognitive phenomenon. It is a kind of cognitive activity that human experience in one field is used to illustrate and understand experience in another. It is a mode of human thinking .（Shu Dingfang 1998）

2.2 Features and Classifications of Metaphor

Cognitive perspective on metaphor by Lakoff reveals two main characteristics of metaphor： universal and systematic. Lakoff and Johnson（1980： 3）claimed that metaphor is pervasive in everyday life， not just in language but in thought and action. Whats more， metaphorical concepts do not operate in isolation. Instead， they are related and systematic. Lakoff and Johnson divided conceptual metaphor into three categories： structural metaphor， orientational metaphor and ontological metaphor.

3 Cognitive Analysis of Wind Metaphors

Wind， movement of the air， is one of the basic elements of nature and is very important to the British people because it is indispensable to the production and life of people in a coastal country. Our physical experience and knowledge of wind have been projected onto other abstract fields， such as attitude， wrath and helpfulness. The characteristics of these abstract concepts can be understood in terms of the direction power and movement of wind. Take the power of wind as an example， it will have different influences on people's production and life. Sometimes it will have a good influence， but sometimes it may bring bad influence. They all originate from the uncertainty of wind. Wind can also metaphorically refer to something that is groundless or untrue.

3.1 Conditions

In China， people consider east wind for good conditions. For examples， “萬事俱备，只欠东风”“等闲识得东风面，万紫千红总是春”However， in most of the western countries， people regard east wind as bad conditions. Under the influence of the geographical environment of China and the West， the metaphorical meaning of "east wind" in Chinese and "east wind" in the West are quite different. In China， east wind brings warmth and the earth returns to spring， because the wind blowing from the east of China is a warm and humid sea breeze， which symbolizes beautiful things or favorable conditions. In the West， the wind blowing from the east is cold and dry. It refers to the harsh natural environment and symbolizes danger and difficulty.So this causes us Easterners to prefer the east wind and westerners to prefer the west wind.

Here is an excerpt from Shellys famous poetry “Ode to the west wind”

O wild West Wind， thou breath of Autumn's being

Thou， from whose unseen presence the leaves dead

Are driven， like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing，

Yellow， and black， and pale， and hectic red，

Pestilence-stricken multitudes：O thou

Who chariltest to their dark wintry bed

The winged seeds， where they lie cold and low，

Each like a corpse within its grave， until

Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow

Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth， and fill

（Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air）

With living hues and odors plain and hill：

Wild Spirit， which art moving everywhere;

Destroyer and preserver; hear， O， hear！

Between the lines we can find that the west wind in his poetry is more than a current of air， its a symbol for good change and driving force. Shelly said the west wind is a preserver， it sends the seeds into earth and made them prepared for rebirth.

3.2 Spiritual Qualities

In Ode to the west wind， theres one stanza goes like “ O wild West Wind， thou breath of Autumns being” This metaphor gives the West Wind an almost spiritual significance， as it is compared to the "breath" or that which sustains Autumn. Certainly the speaker is suggesting that the West Wind is synonymous with Autumn.

Another example can be found in Wiki， “The Wind is an Untamed Beast” To call the wind an untamed beast is to highlight how it is wild， cannot be controlled， and will do whatever it wants. Its like a wolf or bear： were not going to be able to reason with it. We have no control over its behavior. we say its a thrashing bear， a roaring lion， or any other type of untamed beast to get our point across that we cannot control the wind.

3.3 News

Wind can be a metaphor of news. Eg.get wind of sth. Which means to hera about sth. Secret or private.In a geophysical sense， wind is the movement of air. People can perceive its existence by its movement. The blowing of wind is similar to the spreading of information.People can know news by its spreading. From this aspect， we can point out the metaphorical use of wind as news and information.

Another excerpt from Hamlet follows：

Polonius Tender yourself more dearly

Or， -not to crack the wind of the poor phrase，

Wronging it thus， -you'l tender me a fool

The above lines are based on the following setting in Hamlet. Polonius is a typical image of a courtier who likes to meddle in other people's affairs， and he is very sophisticated. After the death of the old king， the situation is changed. In this example， all lines mean that the sophist cated Polonius is eager to split up daughter and pnnce Hamlet by speaking ill of prince Hamlet. Here， wind represents the information contained in Polonius words. In China we also have “空穴來风”which has two contrast meanings：things without evidence and things with evidence.

3.4 Tendency

Wind is a directional movement that maps to a trend in an event.The winds of tendency is a metaphor that again uses wind in the phrase“The Winds of Change”， but its not directly about the wind. It is using an idea about how wind “blows in” something new. Theres a famous Scorpions song called “the winds of change” which refers to how change is coming and it cannot be stopped. Here， the phrase “the winds of change” refers to something changing thats beyond our control. Change is happening.“the winds of popular opinion” which means the will of people，“the winds of change” ，“see/find out which way the wind blows” are also examples.

3.5 Strength

Wind is a natural source of energy. In view of its uncertain power， wind can refer to the positive strength or negative strength. As for its positive aspect， it can carry messages On the other hand， sailboats are also propelled by wind .Wind plays a great role in daily life， but it also brings disasters to human beings.Storms， typhoons and hurricanes can food farmland， collapse houses and cut off electricity. Tornadoes can make cars， people and houses disappear without a trace.When wind is roaring， the ripe crop is threshing， dropping， falling and breaking roots.Strong wind can blow away rich topsoil， exposing the roots of crops， or it can blow sand from elsewhere and flood fertile fields. In addition， it can blow people down，destroy houses and sweep everything away. wind for strength is a metonymic relation of whole for part. It shows a metonymic relationship between the whole category and the characteristics of the category， namely the metonymic relation between wind and its strength. Evidence can be found in Shellys Ode to the west wind. Stanza 2 is followed：

Thou on whose stream， 'mid the steep sky's commotion，

Loose clouds like earth's decaying leaves are shed，

Shook from the tangled boughs of Heaven and Ocean，

angels of rain and lightning：there are spread

On the blue surface of thine airy surge，

Like the bright hair uplifted from the head

Of some fierce Maenad， even from the dim verge

Of the horizon to the Zenith's height，

The locks of the approaching storm.Thou dirge

Of the dying year， to which this closing night

Will be the dome of a vast sepulchre，

Vaulted with all thy congregated might

Of vapours， from whose solid atmosphere

Black rain， and fire ， and hail will burst ：oh， hear！

In this stanza， the west wind plays a role of inevitable strong. Shelly described the west wind as a powerful force that can stir the heavens and the earth. Clouds， rain， hail， and lightning foil the power of the west wind.He uses west wind to refer to the revolutionary power， praising its strength and thinking its a symbol of hope. In the whole poet， it reveals the objective law that the old things will give way to the new things. It also reflects the poet's hatred for the reactionary decadent forces and his confidence and hope for the bright future.

4 Conclusion

Wind is an important natural phenomenon which is closely related to peoples daily life. It is often used to describe the abstract situation or explain some other concepts by means of metaphor. Based on sociolinguistics， this short paper  extends from the surface to the hidden meaning of wind. Listed several sayings and excerpts from Ode to the West Wind， this paper briefly presented the metaphors of wind， including conditions， spiritual qualities， news， tendency and strength. Metaphoric uses of wind make the expression more vivid and this phenomenon has become a convention of expression. The above metaphors about wind can make the stories more engaging and enthralling. Readers and audience might appreciate the use of this literary device to help improve their experience.

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