Metaphorical Representation of Human Body Parts in Javanese

Abstract

Metaphors as a means of conceptualizing reality are not arbitrarily but physically and culturally embedded. This study focuses on the metaphorical representation of human body parts, as well as grounds and socio-cultural factors influencing the connection of the source and target domains in Javanese metaphors’ formation. Seventy-two utterances were manually collected using purposive sampling and analyzed using a descriptive-qualitative approach. The findings of this study showed that Javanese human body parts metaphors were constructed through the similarities and associations of the upper, middle, lower, and entire body parts as the source domain. This study also revealed that despite all humans having the same biological or physical parts, every language exploits and functions such body parts in varied ways across cultures. Consequently, human body parts can be associated with various entities and intentions. Considering the connectivity between metaphors and culture, this study is critical for raising a better understanding and awareness of the speech communities’ cultural thinking patterns.