Emotion in Motion: Conceptualisation of Fear in English in Terms of Movement and Location

Abstract

This paper investigates the conceptualisation of fear in English in terms of movement and location to show that conceptualisation of emotions relies in part on metaphorically understood motion. One line of investigation focuses on fear as location, which can be the destination of movement the Experiencer may or may not reach, the starting point of movement, or an intermediate location in transition. Linguistically, fear as location is realised by prepositional phrases, which often acquire causal meaning in addition to the locative one. The other line of investigation consists in analysing fear as a moving entity. It has been shown that fear can be conceptualised as an entity capable of self-propelled motion, but also as an object whose motion is caused externally. Finally, it is proposed that conceptualisation of fear as a location or a moving object fits in with other possible metaphorical conceptualisations of fear in English, as they all assume the underlying force-dynamic principle.