On the Relationship Between Metaphor and Cultural Models

with data from Chinese and English language

Abstract

Does metaphor constitute or reflect cultural models? As to the answer, some claims that cultural models exist without prior metaphorical understanding, and some others hold that cultural models, especially those for abstract concepts are basically metaphorical. It is proposed, in the paper, with diverse examples from English and Chinese language, that the relationship between metaphor and cultural models is not an either-or one, but one of mutual dependence and benefits. In other words, some cultural models, especially the abstract ones, are constituted via metaphor, while cultural models function as filters to determine the linguistic instantiation of certain metaphors. Furthermore, metaphor and cultural models interact with each other, pushing the two spiraling upward.