A Contrastive Study on Conceptual Metaphor "WOMEN ARE SUPERNATURAL FORCES" in 20th-Century Vietnamese and American Literature: A Cognitive Linguistic Approach.
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| Title: | A Contrastive Study on Conceptual Metaphor "WOMEN ARE SUPERNATURAL FORCES" in 20th-Century Vietnamese and American Literature: A Cognitive Linguistic Approach. |
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| Authors: | THUY GIANG, PHAM1, THI THUY CHUNG, NGUYEN1 chung.ntt@tmu.edu.vn |
| Source: | 3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies. Mar2026, Vol. 32 Issue 1, p85-108. 24p. |
| Subject Terms: | Females, Supernatural beings, American literature, Metaphor, Cognitive linguistics, Vietnamese language, Women in art, Cross-cultural studies |
| Abstract: | Conceptual metaphors are a pervasive means through which literature conveys abstract ideas via concrete imagery. In literature, women are often portrayed through supernatural symbolism, reflecting their complex social, cultural, and moral roles. This study adopts a cognitive linguistic approach to examine the metaphor "WOMEN ARE SUPERNATURAL FORCES" in 20th-century Vietnamese and American literature. Drawing on 4,000 metaphorical statements, the analysis focuses on 213 statements within the "supernatural forces" domain, identified using the Metaphor Identification Procedure (Pragglejaz Group, 2007) across four sub-domains: types, features, activities, and realms. The findings reveal that women are perceived as supernatural entities evoking both positive and negative emotions. They are described in dualistic terms, embodying both extremes of good and evil in appearance, morality, and action. These portrayals depict women as divine or angelic figures symbolising beauty and virtue, and as witches or demonic beings representing ugliness, danger, and malevolence. This duality encapsulates cultural ambivalence— revering women while marginalising them. In both corpora, women appear as sources of enchantment and anxiety, but with distinct cultural orientations. Vietnamese literature, shaped by polytheistic and Buddhist traditions, frames women as spiritualised beings whose strength lies in harmony and transcendence. American texts, grounded in Christian cosmology, construe female agency through moral struggle, emphasising temptation, sin, and redemption. The comparison shows that while both cultures employ a divine–demonic hierarchy to conceptualise femininity, Vietnamese mappings stress spiritual harmony, whereas American ones dramatise moral dualism and inner conflict. These findings suggest that metaphorical cognition shows universal tendencies, yet its expression remains culture-specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of 3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies is the property of 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature 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. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 192674374 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: A Contrastive Study on Conceptual Metaphor "WOMEN ARE SUPERNATURAL FORCES" in 20th-Century Vietnamese and American Literature: A Cognitive Linguistic Approach. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22THUY+GIANG%2C+PHAM%22">THUY GIANG, PHAM</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22THI+THUY+CHUNG%2C+NGUYEN%22">THI THUY CHUNG, NGUYEN</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> chung.ntt@tmu.edu.vn</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%223L%3A+Southeast+Asian+Journal+of+English+Language+Studies%22">3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies</searchLink>. Mar2026, Vol. 32 Issue 1, p85-108. 24p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Females%22">Females</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Supernatural+beings%22">Supernatural beings</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22American+literature%22">American literature</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Metaphor%22">Metaphor</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+linguistics%22">Cognitive linguistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vietnamese+language%22">Vietnamese language</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Women+in+art%22">Women in art</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cross-cultural+studies%22">Cross-cultural studies</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Conceptual metaphors are a pervasive means through which literature conveys abstract ideas via concrete imagery. In literature, women are often portrayed through supernatural symbolism, reflecting their complex social, cultural, and moral roles. This study adopts a cognitive linguistic approach to examine the metaphor "WOMEN ARE SUPERNATURAL FORCES" in 20th-century Vietnamese and American literature. Drawing on 4,000 metaphorical statements, the analysis focuses on 213 statements within the "supernatural forces" domain, identified using the Metaphor Identification Procedure (Pragglejaz Group, 2007) across four sub-domains: types, features, activities, and realms. The findings reveal that women are perceived as supernatural entities evoking both positive and negative emotions. They are described in dualistic terms, embodying both extremes of good and evil in appearance, morality, and action. These portrayals depict women as divine or angelic figures symbolising beauty and virtue, and as witches or demonic beings representing ugliness, danger, and malevolence. This duality encapsulates cultural ambivalence— revering women while marginalising them. In both corpora, women appear as sources of enchantment and anxiety, but with distinct cultural orientations. Vietnamese literature, shaped by polytheistic and Buddhist traditions, frames women as spiritualised beings whose strength lies in harmony and transcendence. American texts, grounded in Christian cosmology, construe female agency through moral struggle, emphasising temptation, sin, and redemption. The comparison shows that while both cultures employ a divine–demonic hierarchy to conceptualise femininity, Vietnamese mappings stress spiritual harmony, whereas American ones dramatise moral dualism and inner conflict. These findings suggest that metaphorical cognition shows universal tendencies, yet its expression remains culture-specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of 3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies is the property of 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature 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. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.17576/3L-2026-3201-06 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 24 StartPage: 85 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Females Type: general – SubjectFull: Supernatural beings Type: general – SubjectFull: American literature Type: general – SubjectFull: Metaphor Type: general – SubjectFull: Cognitive linguistics Type: general – SubjectFull: Vietnamese language Type: general – SubjectFull: Women in art Type: general – SubjectFull: Cross-cultural studies Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: A Contrastive Study on Conceptual Metaphor "WOMEN ARE SUPERNATURAL FORCES" in 20th-Century Vietnamese and American Literature: A Cognitive Linguistic Approach. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: THUY GIANG, PHAM – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: THI THUY CHUNG, NGUYEN IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 03 Text: Mar2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 01285157 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 32 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: 3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies Type: main |
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