Conceptualization of Metonymy Denoting Human Body Parts: (eye and hand) Idioms in English and Yemeni

Abstract

Metonymy, as a common rhetorical mode of discourse, has been extensively researched in connection with metaphor with the aim of highlighting its pragmatic function. In this assay, we begin by shedding the light on tropes (metonymy and metaphor), as previous studies showing that though both figures involve substitution of one term for another, metonymy could be contrasted with metaphor. Because idioms, as an area of language, could be based on metaphor, metonymy or conventional knowledge, then a discussion on the nature of metonymy-based idioms should be provided. This study will attempt to show that people in the Arabic(Yemeni) and English-speaking cultures share images of idiomatic expressions containing parts of the human body. This study will try to certify the claim that the figurative meaning of many idioms is predictable because their constituent parts systematically contribute to the overall figurative meaning of these expressions.