Emotion Metaphors We Live by: A Cognitive Study of Metaphors With Body Parts in Colloquial Jordanian Arabic

This study investigates how metaphors with body parts used in colloquial Jordanian Arabic are constructed and communicated to express emotions. This study, grounded in conceptual metaphor theory frameworks, used a thematic approach to analyze a dataset of 110 metaphors. The data collection period extended from October 4th to December 27th, 2024. The data analysis revealed six themes that were central to emotions in colloquial Jordanian Arabic. These themes included anger, shame, happiness, pride, sadness, and fear. They emphasized the importance of body part metaphors in constructing different emotions in colloquial Jordanian Arabic. The findings showed that several categories of conceptual metaphors, including orientational, structural, behavioral, and ontological, were employed in the linguistic expressions of these metaphors. These conceptual metaphors contribute to the construction of positive and negative emotions. Moreover, our findings revealed several conceptual patterns for linguistic metaphors, including body parts and expressing emotions. By providing insight into the construction of conceptual metaphors with body parts that articulate different emotions, this study contributes to a greater understanding of how metaphors can help express complicated emotions.