The group of idioms based on the use of the lexemes eye and ear as their key words is dominated by the conceptual pattern derived from the direct link between the two organs and their function. Actually, the view of the eye and ear as representatives of their basic function lies at the core of this metonymic pattern originating form the general one: THE INSTRUMENT USED IN AN ACTIVITY STANDS FOR THE ACTIVITY.
Thus, idioms involving the lexeme eye are, to a large extent, based on the conceptual metonymy THE EYE/S STAND/S FOR SEEING/WATCHING/LOOKING AT SOMEBODY OR SOMETHING, as it is shown in the following examples:
1. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder 2. An/somebody's eagle eye
3. Keep your eyes open/peeled/skinned (for somebody/something) 4. Have eyes like a hawk
5. Not believe your eyes 6. Hit somebody in the eye 7. Out of the corner of your eye
The given idioms share the same basic concept – the act of seeing, which lies at the core of the motivation for the use of the lexeme eye. The relation between the organ and its function is quite straightforward in the examples (1, 5) since eye refers to the act of seeing in general.
However, other idiomatic expressions in this group of examples reflect different aspects of the human sight due to the added meaning components. Namely, example (3) evokes the mental image of a person with wide open eyes that is associated in speakers' minds with the act of watching somebody or something with great attention. Furthermore, the comparison of a human eye with an eagle's or hawk's refers to the ability of seeing and noticing the finest details as well as watching things carefully. According to example (6), if a thing hits a person in the eye, it suggests that it is very obvious or striking. The added component in example (7) is related to the way of looking at somebody or something. Thus, the basic mental image of the idiom out of the corner of your eye describes the situation in which a person is looking at somebody or something indirectly.
The motivation for the appearance of ear in a number of idioms also fits the frame set by the given general metonymic pattern so that the main cognitive motivating force for this face part is formulated as the metonymy THE EAR STANDS FOR HEARING/LISTENING which underlies the following idioms:
139 8. Be (like) music to your ears
9. Have someone's ear
10. Come to/Reach somebody's ears 11. Walls have ears
12. Have a tin ear for something 13. Not believe your ears
The core meaning of these idioms is related to hearing or listening to someone and it is made clear by the use of the lexeme ear in all of the examples. The fact that this organ stands for its function is quite transparent as it can be seen in the explanations of the meanings of the given expressions. For instance, idiom (10) refers to the situation when one hears about something, e.g. news, (13) when one does not believe what they hear, (8) when one hears something pleasant, (11) when somebody may be listening what somebody else is saying, etc.
Due to its great frequency, the conceptualization of the eye and ear as the instruments for seeing and hearing can be regarded as the main underlying metonymic pattern that is at work in this group of thematically related idioms. However, it is often only the base for the development of other conceptual patterns involved in the complex motivation for the use of the given lexemes.
3.2 Metaphoric Patterns
The second cognitive mechanism at work in the idioms with the lexemes eye and ear is metaphor. Metaphoric motivation in a large number of these idioms is complex since it involves two patterns.
In the minds of English speakers, the sense of sight is often presented through reference to another sense which is probably perceived as the one directly related to the physical world around us, i.e. touching as it is shown in the following idiom:
14. Give somebody the evil eye
The motivation for this idiom regarding the use of the lexeme eye includes the following two patterns: firstly, THE EYE IS AN OBJECT, and, secondly, SEEING/LOOKING AT SOMEBODY IS TOUCHING THEM. The act of looking at someone is visually equaled to the act of giving something to the person in question. Moreover, the sense of sight is brought to the level of experiencing the world physically through its correlation to the sense of feeling.
The correlation to the sense of feeling is used in the following idioms, too:
15. Catch someone's eye 16. Take your eye off the ball
17. Can't take/keep your eyes off someone
In these examples, the basic conceptual pattern is the metaphoric one - THE EYE IS AN OBJECT which supports the other metaphor present in them – SEEING IS TOUCHING.
Getting hold of an object or in this case, an eye is equaled to seeing or noticing something in speakers' mental representation. Similarly, stopping looking at somebody or something is visualized as removing an object i.e. the eye from the object of looking. These two explanations support the previously presented view in which the human perception together with cognition is understood through the concepts with a prominent physical aspect.
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Similar motivation is found in the idioms with the lexeme ear as can be seen in the following example:
18. lend an ear to someone
The cognitive mechanisms involved are: THE EAR IS AN OBJECT and HEARING IS TOUCHING. Thus, it is important to point out that the sense of hearing is also understood through the reference to the sense of feeling because it is perceived by speakers' as the most direct source of information about their surroundings.
Moreover, eyes are perceived as the top of the human body so that in the situation when someone is very busy doing something, it is appropriate to use the idiom
19. be up to your eyes in something
which is based on the metaphor THE EYES ARE THE UTMOST AMOUNT, in this case, the amount of work.
20. Up to your ears
is the idiom illustrating the metaphoric pattern THE EARS ARE THE UTMOST AMOUNT which is used in the same way that has already been explained in the analysis of the idioms containing the lexeme eye.
3.3 Metaphoric Patterns Supported by Metonymy
The cognitive basis of a large number of idioms involving the lexeme eye is complex since both metaphor and metonymy are at work in these examples. Namely, the first underlying pattern is always a metonymic one. However, it is further developed into a metaphoric one forming, thus, a complex cognitive basis for the idiom in question.
The complex motivation present in the idioms involving the lexeme eye includes primarily the metonymic pattern referring to the sense of sight, which is supported by a metaphoric pattern denoting a more abstract domain, i.e. human cognitive functions. Thus, the sense of sight serves as the source domain for the reference to cognitive functions so that on the basis of this fact, the conceptual metaphors UNDERSTANDING/KNOWING IS SEEING or NOT UNDERSTANDING/KNOWING IS NOT SEEING are formed and involved in the idiomatic expressions such as:
21. Turn a blind eye to something 22. Open the eyes of someone 23. Close one's eyes to something 24. Pull the wool over somebody's eyes
The motivation here is complex starting from the primary pattern THE EYE STANDS FOR SEEING on the basis of which the other pattern previously mentioned is built up. The cognitive notion of knowledge about something is related to the visual perception of something physical, material and, consequently, observable so that its essence can be grasped by speakers more easily. Namely, the examples given above show that speakers' perception of the cognitive processes equals the following pattern: if you can see something, you know or understand it. As the examples show, opening one's eyes refers to realizing something. On the
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other hand, closing one's eyes stands for deliberately ignoring something. The inability of seeing equals the inability of understanding or realizing a truth. Thus, speakers identify observable things and the ability of seeing, which is somehow closer to them, with the more abstract notion of knowledge and the process of understanding things.
The connection between sight and the mind is also reflected in the idioms:
25. In the eyes of somebody 26. Through the eyes of somebody
The eyes are used in these idioms as a reflection of someone's opinion about something or their point of view so that the conceptual metaphor is formulated as THINKING IS SEEING while the metonymy THE EYE STANDS FOR SEEING is still the underlying basic pattern of these idioms.
The act of listening to or hearing something is not related to human cognitive functions so that the complex motivation involving both metonymic and metaphoric patterns is not present in this group of idioms.
Conclusion
In the conclusion, it can be said that eye and ear are used as the representatives of their main function in the idioms which are mainly based on the conceptual metonymies THE EYE/S STAND FOR SEEING/LOOKING/WATCHING and THE EAR STANDS FOR LISTENING/HEARING. However, in a large number of idioms, this pattern is just the foundation for the development of further conceptualizations.
Various metaphoric patterns are also involved in the formulation of these idioms.
Being parts of the head, eyes and ears are perceived as the top parts of the human body by speakers of English so that, by means of metaphoric transfer of meaning, they denote the utmost amount. Furthermore, the senses of sight and hearing appear as target domains.
Namely, speakers relate them to the sense of feeling whose physical aspect is more prominent.
In addition to the idioms based only on a metonymic or metaphoric pattern, there is a large group of idioms with the lexeme eye that involve both mechanisms. It can be claimed that these idioms share the same general metonymic pattern THE ORGAN STANDS FOR ITS FUNCTION, which is modified into a more specific metonymy whose key word is the eye. This essential pattern is then used as a source for the formulation of a metaphoric conceptual pattern so that they mutually and complementarily underlie the figurative meaning of these idioms. Mostly, this sense represented by its organ is correlated to a cognitive function. Actually, the sense of sight is correlated with cognitive functions such as knowing, understanding or thinking where the act of seeing becomes the source domain for understanding more abstract cognitive processes taking place in the human mind.
This conclusion throws light on the relation between metaphor and metonymy, which is a controversial topic in Cognitive Linguistics. The analysis of the idioms with the lexemes eye and ear has shown that metonymy and metaphor act as complementary cognitive forces.
What is more, this analysis provides the evidence for the theories that claim that metonymy serves most often as the base for further metaphoric extension of meaning.
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Ana Halas
Faculty of Philosophy University of Novi Sad anahalas@gmail.com