Metaphors for Očaj ‘Despair’ in Croatian

A Corpus-Based Study

Abstract

This study examines the role of metaphor in the conceptualization of očaj ‘despair’ based on the Croatian corpus hrWaC. The study also considers some non-figurative aspects. Employing “metaphorical pattern analysis” (Stefanowitsch 2006) and MIP (Pragglejaz Group 2007) methods, the paper scrutinizes corpus examples that contain the target-domain word očaj ‘despair’, looking for metaphorical patterns. These patterns were extracted from a random sample of 1,000 citations and additional corpus citations that were retrieved based on a list of collocation candidates. The analysis shows that the metaphorical conceptualization of očaj ‘despair’ in Croatian in the data examined relates to approximately forty source domains, out of which the most frequently utilized is container, followed by object. The source domains identified in the conceptualization of očaj illustrate similarities between the metaphors for očaj in Croatian and those identified for sadness and depression in various languages, and point toward universal features of metaphorical conceptualization of some emotions and emotional states.