Ἔπεα πτερόεντα again: a cognitive linguistic view on Homer's 'winged words'.
Drawing on the cognitive linguistic theory of conceptual metaphors, this paper argues that the epic formula ἔπεα πτερόεντα, 'winged words', whose reference and precise meaning has long been debated, is best understood as an instantiation of the conduit metaphor which conceptualises verbal communicat...
| Published in: | Hermathena no. 198; pp. 5 - 34 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Trinity College, Dublin
Summer2015
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=137408759&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 137408759 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00180750 AYJ jtl: Hermathena issn: 00180750 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Summer2015 iid: 198 pid: 20657 pub: Trinity College, Dublin artinfo: ui: 137408759 ppf: 5 ppct: 29 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P size: 2.6MB tig: atl: Ἔπεα πτερόεντα again: a cognitive linguistic view on Homer's 'winged words'. aug: au: Horn, Fabian affil: LMU Munich su: Odyssey of Homer Oral composition Cognitive learning theory Oral communication Terms & phrases sug: subj: Odyssey of Homer Oral composition Cognitive learning theory Oral communication Terms & phrases keyword: cognitive linguistics conceptual metaphor theory conduit metaphor epic poetry formulaic language Homer metaphor ab: Drawing on the cognitive linguistic theory of conceptual metaphors, this paper argues that the epic formula ἔπεα πτερόεντα, 'winged words', whose reference and precise meaning has long been debated, is best understood as an instantiation of the conduit metaphor which conceptualises verbal communication as a process of transfer between speaker and listener. The metaphor needs to be interpreted in the context of similar phrases which also refer to words as objects being passed between sender and recipient, and its main point of comparison is the act of flying through the air (irrespective of whether the original reference was to birds or arrows). Thus, words become 'winged' only when they are spoken out loud. This explanation also accounts for the less common, but equally controversial phrase ἄπτερος μῦθος, 'wingless word', which then must refer to an utterance which remains unvocalised and thus is not sent 'flying'. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Hermathena is the property of Trinity College, Dublin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Hermathena holder: Trinity College, Dublin dt: @attributes: year: 2015 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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