Semantic and Conceptual Aspects of Volcano Verbs 343Based on textual evidence given in (15) to (16), it can be inferred that
dribble does not co-occur with noisy bursts [PATIENT_MANNER_SOUND],
whereas sputter does not collocate with quiet volcano [ACTOR].
Considering the empirical data provided above, the frame definition
EARTH NATURAL DISASTER causes MATERIAL to move quickly and forcefully
in a certain direction (PATH), used to describe earth natural disaster
phenomena and entities in the ENVIRONMENTAL EVENT template, should be
modified when placed in the NATURAL VOLCANIC DISASTER subdomain.
Specifically, the adverb quickly should be left out because both dictionary
definitions and specialized running texts show that certain volcano verbs,
such as dribble, do not entail quick flow of materials (lava, ashes, etc.).
Another aspect of volcano verbs that was revealed by examining and
analyzing dictionary definitions and specialized usage contexts is that the
terminological meaning of some of these verbs comes into being because
of metaphorical meaning extension processes, once the verbs have been
contextualized in the NATURAL VOLCANIC DISASTER domain. This
phenomenon should not come as a surprise since the metaphorical
meaning of terms and multiword terminological units has been
documented and thoroughly explored in a wide range of specialized
knowledge domains (e.g. Alexiev 2006 in mining, geology and civil
engineering; Caballero 2006 in architecture; Temmerman 2000, 2006 in
genetics; Ureña and Faber 2010, 2011, 2014 and Ureña, Faber and
Buendía 2013 in marine biology). The metaphorical grounding of volcano
verbs within the ENVIRONMENTAL EVENT frame is thus hardly a
coincidence. The next paragraphs elaborate on the figurative basis of these
verbs.
General language dictionary senses of the verbs described above make
reference to a fluid or liquid flowing out of the mouth (cf., for instance,
definitions 1, 4, and 15 for belch, dribble and sputter, respectively). The
connection that is established between this general idea, on the one hand,
and the concept of volcano and the actions designated by these verbs as
domain-specific terms within the geology and volcanology knowledge
fields, on the other, becomes evident thanks to specific definitions, such as
that given by WordNet Thesaurus for the metaphorical verb belch: ‘to
become active and spew forth lava and rocks’. This definition directly
relates, and compares, the biological ejection of gas from someone’s
stomach through their mouth to the geological eruption of lava, gas, and
ash out of a volcano’s crater. Definitions of this type and the big number
of scientific texts on geology and volcanology that include terms
figuratively based on fluid-mouth states and processes are no coincidence.
A very illustrative example is context (18), extracted from a research