Chapter Three
60
(3) Na orbitĊ wyniosáy go potĊĪne silniki PiS, PO (w II turze) i
spóádzielnia mieszkaniowa. Najpierw Putyra odáączyá silnik PiS
jakieĞ 4 lata temu. Zaraz potem silnik PO i Worwa. W Kosmosie
pozwoliáy mu zostaü ostatnie silnik Koáodziej, Polakowska,
Dudkowski (...). Pierwsze dwa silniki roztropny Kazio odáączyá
zaraz po wyborach. Drugi i trzeci zrzuca teraz. Gratulacje Kaziu.
Miáego dryfowania.(He was boosted into orbit by the huge engines of PiS and PO^4 (in
the 2nd round), and by the housing association. He dropped the PiS
engine some 4 years ago. Soon, the PO and Worwa engines
followed. The engines of Kolodziej, Polakowska, Dudkowski
enabled him to remain in space (...). The first two engines were
dropped by the prudent Kazio soon after the election. And now he
is dropping the others. Congratulations, Kazio. Have a nice drift.)The following analysis of authentic linguistic material is supplemented by
relevant material from other European websites which also provide a
valuable insight into such conceptualizations in both linguistic and
pictorial form, and serve as illustration of a pan-European wariness of the
policies that we witness and the media report.
The Conceptual Metaphor Theory and space metaphors
The central assumption of cognitive linguistics suggests that systematic
projections between diverse mental representations, known as metaphors,
are neither purposefully ‘performed’ or meant as a mere linguistic adornment
in literary genres; they represent a natural subconscious phenomenon of
structuring concepts on the basis of patterns of fundamental physical
experience. Embodied cognition theory (Lakoff 1987, Gibbs 2006) posits
that our experience is “structured in part by the nature of the bodies we
have and by our neurological organisation” (Evans and Green 2006: 46).
Linguistic units are “cognitive structures, embedded patterns of knowledge
and belief” (Taylor 2007: 87) which include both “naïve and expert
understandings” (ibid.: 77) of concepts, to a large extent based on ‘reality’
as perceived and conceived from the subjective human perspective.
“Embodied experience determines and delimits the range and nature of
concepts” (Evans and Green 2006: 191).
(^4) PO (Platforma Obywatelska) – Civic Platform (a centre-right party).