Antecedentes Históricos

As indicated in Section 6.6. on “Discourse Metaphors”, the existence of a European

discourse can be presupposed. It follows that European metaphors (EMs), such as

THE EU IS A FAMILY or THE EU IS A HOUSE,can beanalysed within the context of a specific discourse. This approach enables the analysis of EMs diachronically; from the perspective of diachronic development, it becomes evident that European metaphors such as the European family of nations or the European house first emerged as creative metaphors and then became entrenched through a process of institutionalisation.

As already mentioned, many studies focussing on the metaphor usage within the European Union have been published. However, they tend to concentrate almost exclusively on a synchronic usage. An explanation for the synchronic bias is that the

European Union is still perceived as a new or as a still “unknown” phenomenon.

Nevertheless, the crystallisation of a new form of discourse (the EU discourse) within 60 years enables a diachronic analysis, although this is not an easy task.

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Metaphor vehicle is equivalent to the concept of source domain, used by cognitive linguists.

41_{The “dual reference” theory was first introduced under the notion of}

dual function of a metaphor vehicle (Glucksberg & Keysar 1990). See the analysis of the metaphor “my job is a jail”; according to the “dual function” theory, jail refers both regular prisons, but it can also be used to refer to situations that are unpleasant and confining (1990: 7).

Notwithstanding the conventional use of metaphors, the unconscious as well as the voluntary creation of new metaphors cannot be downplayed. I argue that it is this differential selection of certain source domains by language users in a sociocultural and discursive context that brings about innovation, if and only if at least one of the vitality criteria, which will be discussed in what follows, is fulfilled. Inspired by

Lakoff and Johnson’s revolutionary tenet (discussed in the section 6.3., “Metaphors in Cognitive Linguistics”) that dead metaphors are not less alive than novel metaphors, I will claim that each metaphor (either conventional or novel) has a vitality potential and that these vitality parameters can be best measured diachronically. This view is also held by John R. Searle (1999: 83) who considers

dead metaphors (in the traditional terminology) “especially interesting (...) because,

to speak oxymoronically, dead metaphors have lived on. They have become dead through continual use, but their continual use is a clue that they satisfy some

semantic need.”

The vitality of a source domain in relation to a target (or the vitality of a source domain – target domain pairing) will be defined as the potential to evolve and become conventionalised and thus to interact systematically with other metaphors and integrate with our conceptual system. It follows that if the innovative entities are vital enough to determine further selection during later communicative events, new conventional metaphors are established.

I consider that there are two vitality or resilience criteria related to metaphor selection: cognitive endowment and attention-focussing potential. Cognitive endowment refers to the capacity of the source domain to offer optimal access to the target domain in such a way that the target is either thoroughly understood or gives rise to a conceptualisation (a possibly biased perception) as desired by the

“innovator”. The second criterion, attention-focussing or attention-seeking potential, is apt to assure selection due to its surprise effect. The term attention-seeking device is largely used to describe the language of advertising (see, for example, A. Goddard 1998). I argue that the term suits the goal description of metaphors as well, because in the same way in which advertising is used with the objective of persuading and

selling products, metaphors can be employed to convince and “sell” ideas.

The importance of appealing to the interlocutor’s (audience’s) senses as a

also drawn attention to the importance of emotions for the normal cognitive functioning of the brain. Thus, Lakoff claimed that contrary to the widely-held opinion, rationality cannot be separated from the emotions. This idea is also shared by Antonio Damasio, who – in his famous book Descartes’ Error (1994), briefly introduced in Section 6.3.2. Embodiment – “Being in the Body”– attempts to correct the traditional views on the nature of rationality and indicates that reasoning without feelings is impaired reasoning. Damasio examines findings from neuropsychological research on humans and animals and finds that even when all functions associated with rational behaviour are intact, an impaired ability to experience emotion leads to flawed reasoning and to decision-making failure. Here are Damasio’s observations on a significant case:

The instruments usually considered necessary and sufficient for rational behaviour were intact in him. He had the requisite knowledge, attention and memory; his language was flawless; he could perform calculations; he could tackle the logic of an abstract problem. There was only one significant accompaniment to his decision-making failure: a marked alteration of the ability to experience feelings. Flawed reason and impaired feelings stood out together as the consequences of a specific brain lesion, and this correlation suggested to me that feeling was an integral component of the machinery of reason. (Damasio 1994: XII)

Thus, the attention-focussing potential is to be understood as intertwined with an

individual’s emotions or emotional experience. Reverting to the vitality of a source domain, I suggest that a “vitality test” (i.e. fulfilment of the two criteria mentioned above) is very helpful in understanding why particular source domains are more appealing than others in the political arena. If we consider the emotional layer of attention, two types of attention-focussing potential (AFP) can be distinguished: AFPp, resting on positive (p) emotional experience, and AFPn, dependent upon negative (n) emotional experience. As determining factor for the vitality of source domains, there will be no gradual difference between the effect of AFPn and AFPp, provided that they are used in an appropriate context and congruent with the intention of the speaker, i.e. if a negative attitude is expected, an attention-focussing device building upon negative emotional experience will be resorted to and vice- versa. The notion of vitality will be further elaborated upon in Section 12.3.

In the next section, I shall attempt to offer a theoretical introduction to the diachronic enterprise and to distinguish stages of development of the EM existence.