The metaphorical naming of selected dreaded diseases and medical conditions in Igbo language and thought

Abstract

Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), which forms the theoretical anchor of this study, expresses the role of language and cognition in construing and communicating human experiences. CMT posits that metaphor in discourse is shaped by the ideological orientation and cultural worldview of the speaker or group. Previous studies on Igbo language and culture have used insights from linguistics, anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, religious studies among others to show how the group expresses its social and cultural experiences, but none, to the best of the present researcher’s knowledge, has used the CMT approach to study the group’s construal of dreaded diseases and medical conditions in its environment. Working within the tenets of CMT therefore, this study shows how the group uses metaphors to express ideation and tenor in relation to some dreaded diseases and conditions. The study reveals that the Igbo use different conceptual metaphors such as container, journey, leaf, natural/physical force, heavy burden, etc. to frame their understanding of some dreaded diseases and conditions. The diseases and conditions are named/classified according to the narratives around them; the effects of the disease on the skin of the sufferer; the visual impression of the disease on the distant other; the effects of the disease on the mind/brain of the sufferer; the physical effects of the disease on the body of the sufferer; and the assumed causes/sources of the disease. Descriptive and analytical approaches are used in the discussion of primary data. The language the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria use to express their understanding of their natural world and social relations is chiefly metaphorical, and the names they ascribe to diseases and medical conditions emanate from their understanding of their cultural and social orientations, bodily actions and experiences.