| Author | Angelina Żyśko • Marietta Izdebska |
|---|---|
| Title | Heaven as a locus amoenus – an analysis of the HAPPINESS IS HEAVEN metaphor behind historical meanings of ‘joy’ terms |
| Keywords | heaven, locus amoenus, metaphor, panchrony, linguistic worldview, historical linguistics |
| Pages | 421-435 |
| Full text | |
| Volume | 34 |
The aim of the article is to present the conceptual metaphor HAPPINESS IS HEAVEN as found in historical meanings of ‘joy’ terms, i.e. bliss, cheer, dream, game and joy, drawing on the theoretical framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory, as proposed by Lakoff and Johnson (1980, 2003), and Kövecses (2010). The analysis shows that due to God related meanings of the words concerned, heaven, especially in Christianity, was mentally associated with happiness, and hence, was perceived as a locus amoenus, this connotation being motivated by the HAPPINESS IS HEAVEN metaphor. The study is carried out in the spirit of the panchronic model of language, maintaining that language is the symbol of human experience, as well as the theory of linguistic worldview, emphasising the impact of culture in the development of language.