PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

This study focuses on the metaphorical semantic extension of Hausa visual and auditory perception verbs as portrayed in romance fiction. Hausa language, just like any other language, provides a window into how speakers use language to make sense of the world around them. The study examines how language users attribute abstract concepts, such as thinking and understanding, to sensory experiences of seeing and hearing, drawing on the conceptual metaphor theory. The study analysed a corpus of Hausa romance fiction, focusing on the use of perception verbs and the metaphorical extensions they evoke. A qualitative research approach was employed, and literary texts were selected as the primary data source. The text data were extracted using the AntConc programme, and such data were then analysed using a cognitive semantics analytical framework. The study’s findings indicated that verbs of higher intellect, such as “understand” and “think”, are derived from hearing and vision, respectively. These metaphorical extensions are closely related to cultural beliefs and norms, emphasising the importance of visual and auditory cues in human relationships. This article provides insights into how language and culture intersect in using perception verbs in Hausa romance fiction texts and demonstrates the importance of understanding metaphorical extensions in studying language and culture.

• Ahmad, M. (2020). Metaphorical extensions of ji, “hear” for abstract perception and gani “see” for physical perception. Yobe Journal of Language, Literature and Culture, 8(1), 126-135.

• Aikhenvald, A. Y., & Storch, A. (2013). Linguistic expression of perception and cognition: A typological glimpse. In A. Y. Aikhenvald & A. Storch (Eds.), Perception and cognition in language and culture (pp 1-46). BRILL Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004210127_002

• Aliero, M. A. (2016). Metaphorical extensions of some perception verbs in Hausa. In M. A. Aliero (Ed.), National Conference of Linguistics Association of Nigeria (p. 14). M & J Grand Orbit Communications.

• Almajir, T. S. (2010, November 29-December 3). An analysis of some Hausa metaphorical expressions: A cognitive semantic approach [Paper presentation]. 23rd Annual Conference of The Linguistic Association of Nigeria, Porthacourt, Nigeria. https://www.academia.edu/7782450/An_Analysis_of_Some_Hausa_Metaphorical_Expressions_A_Cognitive_Semantic_Approach

• Blake, R., & Sekuler, R. (2005). Perception (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill Publishing.

• Collins, A. M., & Loftus, E. F. (1975). A spreading-activation theory of semantic processing, 82(6), 407-428. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.82.6.407

• Dagnev, I., & Chervenkova, Z. (2020). Comparative study of metaphor in literary texts and their translations. In T. V. Petkova & V. S. Chukov (Eds.), 5th International e-Conference on Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences: Conference Proceedings (pp. 99-112). Center for Open Access in Science. https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.e-conf.05.09099d

• Deignan, A. (2005). Metaphor and corpus linguistics. John Benjamins Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/celcr.6

• Dirven, R., & Pörings, R. (Eds.). (2003). Metaphor and metonymy in comparison and contrast. Mouton de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110219197

• Evans, N., & Wilkins, D. (2000). In the mind’s ear: The semantic extensions of perception verbs in Ausstralian languages. Linguistic, 76(3), 546-592. https://doi.org/10.2307/417135

• Farner, G. (2014). Literary fiction: The ways we read narrative literature. A&C Black.

• Gachũgĩ, F. G. (2018). Conceptual metaphors and perception verbs in GĨKŨYŨ. International Journal of Linguistics, 10(6), 275-290. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v10i6.13879

• Geurts, K. L. (2002). On rocks, walks, and talks in West Africa: Cultural categories and an anthropology of the senses. Ethos, 30(3), 178-198. https://doi.org/10.1525/eth.2002.30.3.178

• Goldstein, E. B. (2010). Introduction to perception. In E. B. Goldstein (Ed.), Sensation and perception (pp. 3-20). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

• Gunnarsdóttir, Á. B. (2013). Conceptual metaphors in perception verbs: A comparativ e analy sis in English and Icelandic. University of Iceland.

• Howes, D. (1991). The varieties of sensory experience: A sourcebook in the anthroplogy of the senses. In D. Howes (Ed.), To summon all the senses (pp. 3-21). University of Toronto.

• Ibarretxe-Antuñano, I. (1999). Polysemy and metaphor in perception verbs: A cross-linguistic study [Doctoral thesis, University of Edinburgh]. Edinburgh Research Archive. https://hdl.handle.net/1842/22334

• Ibarretxe-Antuñano, I. (2002). Mind-as-body as a cross-linguistic conceptual metaphor. Miscelánea. Journal of English and American Studies, 25(1), 93-119.

• Ibarretxe-Antuñano, I. (2008). Vision metaphors for the intellect: Are they really cross-linguistic? Atlantis, 30(1), 15-33.

• Ibarretxe-Antuñano, I. (2013a). The power of the senses and the role of culture in metaphor and language. In R. Caballero & J. E. Diaz-Vera (Eds.), Sensuous cognition: Explorations into human sentience: Imagination, (E)motion and Perception (pp. 109-133). Walter De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110300772.109

• Ibarretxe-Antuñano, I. (2013b). The relationship between conceptual metaphor and culture. Intercultural Pragmatics, 10(2), 315-339. https://doi.org/10.1515/ip-2013-0014

• Ibarretxe-Antuñano, I. (2019). Perception metaphors in cognitive linguistics: Scope, motivation, and lexicalisation. In J. S. Laura, O. Carolyn, S. R. Lila, & M. Asifa (Eds.), Perception metaphors (pp. 43-64). John Benjamins Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/celcr.19.03iba

• Jaggar, P. J., & Buba, M. (2009). Metaphorical extensions of” eat” to [overcome] and” drink” to [undergo] in Hausa. In J. Newman (Ed.), The linguistics of eating and drinking (pp. 229-251). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.84.11jag

• Jumaah, R. T., Md Rashid, S., Abdul Jabar, M. A. B., & Ali, A. M. (2020). The English verb see in fiction writing: A cognitive semantic analysis. Arab World English Journal, 11(3), 515-536. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol11no3.34

• Klaassen, M. (2015). Fiction-writing modes: Eleven essential tools for bringing your story to life. BookBaby.

• Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphor we live by. University of Chicago Press.

• Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (2003). Metaphors we live by: With a new Afterword. The University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226470993.001.0001

• Leon, C. (2021). Metaphorical extensions of perception verbs in English and Croatian: A comparative analysis. University of Zagreb.

• Li, Z. (2013). A comparative survey of vision metaphors based on the corpus in English and Chinese. Theories and Practice in Language Studies, 3(7), 1232-1242. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.3.7.1232-1242

• Majid, A., & Levinson, S. C. (2011). The senses in language and culture. The Senses and Society, 6(1), 5-18. https://doi.org/10.2752/174589311X12893982233551

• Manasia, M. G. (2016). Polysemy and metaphor in the verbs of perception. In T. Corlăţean & I.-G. Rotaru (Eds.), Proceedings of Harvard Square symposium: The future of knowledge (Vol. 1, pp. 55-64). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2986466

• Matthen, M. (2015). The individuation of the senses. In M. Mohan (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of philosophy of perception (pp. 567-586). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199600472.013.025

• Msuya, E. A. (2016). Use of metaphors in fictional narrative: A genrewise comparison of selected works by African writers. International Journal of Linguistics and Literature, 5(4), 1-22.

• Neagu, M. (2013). What is universal and what is language specific in the polysemy of perception verbs? Revue Roumaine de Linguistique, 58(3), 329-343.

• Popova, Y. B. (2003). ‘The fool sees with his nose’: metaphoric mappings in the sense of smell in Patrick Süskind’s Perfume. Language and Literature, 12(2), 135-151. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963947003012002296

• Raffaelli, I., & Kerovec, B. (2017). The concept of ‘taste’ in formation of Croatian and Turkish lexicon: A contrastive analysis. Suvremena Lingvistika, 43(83), 21-48.

• Ritchie, I. (1991). The varieties of sensory experience: A sourcebook in the anthroplogy of the senses. In D. Howes (Ed.), Fusion of the faculties: A study of the language of the senses in Hausaland (pp. 193-202). University of Toronto.

• Roque, L. S., Kendrick, K. H., Norcliffe, E., & Majid, A. (2018). Universal meaning extensions of perception verbs are grounded in interaction. Cognitive Linguistics, 29(3), 371-406. https://doi.org/10.1515/cog-2017-0034

• Roque, L. S., Kendrick, K. H., Norcliffe, E., Brown, P., Defina, R., Dingemanse, M., Dirksmeyer T., Enfield, N. J., Floyd, S., Hammond, J., Rossi, G., Tufvesson., S., Putten, S. V., & Majid, A. (2015). Vision verbs dominate in conversation across cultures, but the ranking of non-visual verbs varies. Cognitive Linguistics, 26(1), 31-60. https://doi.org/10.1515/cog-2014-0089

• Rouby, C., Schaal, B., Dubois, D., Gervais, R., & Holley, A. (Eds.). (2002). Olfaction, taste, and cognition. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511546389

• Searle, J. R. (1978). Literal meaning. Erkenntnis, 13(1) 207-224. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00160894

• Semino, E. (2008). Metaphor in discourse. Cambridge University Press.

• Semino, E., Demjén, Z., & Demmen, J. (2018). An integrated approach to metaphor and framing in cognition, discourse, and practice, with an application to metaphors for cancer. Applied Linguistics, 39(5), 625-645. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amw028

• Steen, G. J., & Gibbs, R. W. (1999). Introduction. In R. Gibbs & G. Steen (Eds.), Metaphor in cognitive linguistics (pp. 1-8). John Benjamins.

• https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.175.01ste

• Sweetser, E. (1990). From etymology to pragmatics: Metaphorical and cultural aspects of semantic structure. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620904

• The Pragglejaz Group. (2007). MIP: A method for identifying metaphorically used words in discourse. Metaphor and Symbol, 22(1), 1-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926480709336752

• Van Putten, S. (2020). Perception verbs and the conceptualization of the senses: The case of Avatime. Linguistics, 58(2), 1-38. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2020-0039

• Vanhove, M. (2008). Semantic associations between sensory modalities, prehension and mental perceptions: A crosslinguistic perspective. In M. Vanhove (Ed.), From polysemy to semantic change: Towards a typology of lexical semantic associations (pp. 341-370). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.106.17van

• Viberg, Å. (1983). The verbs of perception: A typological study. Linguistics, 21(1), 123-162. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.1983.21.1.123

• Weisser, M. (Ed.). (2016). Practical corpus linguistics: An introduction to corpus-based language analysis. John Wiley & Son Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119180180

• Wober, M. (1966). Sensotypes. Journal of Social Psychology, 70(2), 181-189. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.1966.9712414

• Ya’u, M. S., Md Rashid, S., Ali, A. M., & Kaur, H. (2021). The semantic extensions of visual and auditory perception verbs in Hausa fiction writings. In S. Paramasivam & Z. I. Zainal (Eds.), Proceedings of The 11th Malaysia International Conference on Languages, Literatures and Cultures (pp. 25-29). Universiti Putra Malaysia Press.

• Yu, N. (2004). The eyes for sight and mind. Journal of Pragmatics, 36(4), 663-686. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-2166(03)00053-5

• Yu, N. (2008). The relationship between metaphor, body and culture. In R. M. Frank, R. Dirven, T. Ziemke, & E. Bernárdez (Eds.), Body, language and mind: Sociocultural situatedness (Vol. 2, pp. 387-407). Walter de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110199116.4.387