Philosophy of language in the Five Nikayas
by K.T.S. Sarao | 2013 | 141,449 words
This page relates ‘Metonymy’ of the study of the Philosophy of language in the Five Nikayas, from the perspective of linguistics. The Five Nikayas, in Theravada Buddhism, refers to the five books of the Sutta Pitaka (“Basket of Sutra”), which itself is the second division of the Pali Tipitaka of the Buddhist Canon (literature).
11.2. Metonymy
Metonymy is used to mean that we are using one entity to refer to another is that related. The followings are some for examples:
(19) He’s in dance. (= the dancing profession)
(20) Acrylic has taken over the art world. (= the use of acrylic paint)
(21) The Times hasn’t arrived at the press conference yet. (= the reporter from the Times)
(22) Mrs. Grundy frowns on blue jeans. (= the wearing of blue jeans)
(23) New windshield wipers will satisfy him. (= the state of having new wipers)
In these cases above, as in the other cases of metonymy, one entity is being used to refer to another. Metaphor and metonymy are different kinds of processes. Metaphor is principally a way of conceiving of one thing in terms of another, and its primary function is understanding. Metonymy, on the other hand, has primarily a referential function; that is, it allows us to use one entity to stand for another. But metonymy is not merely a referential device. It also serves the function of providing understanding. For example, in the case of the following metonymy “THE PART FOR THE WHOLE” there are many parts that can stand for the whole. Which part we pick out determines which aspect of the whole we are focusing on. When we say that we need some good heads on the project as in (26), we are using ‘good heads’ to refer to ‘intelligent people’. The point is not just to use a part (head) to stand for a whole (person) but rather to pick out a particular characteristic of the person, namely, intelligence, which is associated with the head. The same is true of other kinds of metonymies. When we say ‘The Times hasn’t arrived at the press conference yet’ as in (21), we are using ‘The Times’ not merely to refer to some reporter or other but also to suggest the importance of the institution the reporter represents.
So ‘The Times has not yet arrived for the press conference’ means something different from ‘Steve Roberts has not yet arrived for the press conference’, even though Steve Roberts may be the Times reporter in question.
THE PART FOR THE WHOLE
(24) The automobile is clogging our highways. (= the collection of automobiles)
(25) We need a couple of strong bodies for our team. (= strong people)
(26) There are a lot of good heads in the university. (= intelligent people)
(27) I’ve got a new set of wheels. (= car, motorcycle, etc.)
(28) We need some new blood in the organization. (= new people)
Thus metonymy serves some of the same purposes that metaphor does, and in somewhat the same way, but it allows us to focus more specifically on certain aspects of what is being referred to. It is also like metaphor in that it is not just a poetic or rhetorical device. Nor is it just a matter of language. Metonymic concepts (like THE PART FOR THE WHOLE) are part of the ordinary, everyday way we think and act as well as talk.
Like metaphors, metonymies are not random or arbitrary occurrences, to be treated as isolated instances. Metonymic concepts are also systematic, as can be seen in the following representative examples[1] that exist in our culture.
THE FACE FOR THE PERSON
(29) She’s just a pretty face.
(30) There are an awful lot of faces out there in the audience.
(31) We need some new faces around here.
THE PART FOR THE WHOLE
(32) Get your butt over here!
(33) We don’t hire longhairs.
(34) The Giants need a stronger arm in right field.
PRODUCER FOR PRODUCT
(36) He bought a Ford.
(37) He’s got a Picasso in his den.
(38) I hate to read Heidegger.
OBJECT USED FOR USER
(39) The sax has the flu today.
(40) The gun he hired wanted fifty grand.
(41) We need a better glove at third base.
CONTROLLER FOR CONTROLLED
(42) Ozawa gave a terrible concert last night.
(43) Napoleon lost at Waterloo.
(44) Casey Stengel won a lot of pennants.
INSTITUTION FOR PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE
(45) You’ll never get the university to agree to that.
(46) The Army wants to reinstitute the draft.
(47) The Senate thinks abortion is immoral.
THE PLACE FOR THE INSTITUTION
(48) The White House isn’t saying anything.
(49) Washington is insensitive to the needs of the people.
(50) Paris is introducing longer skirts this season.
THE PLACE FOR THE EVENT
(51) Pearl Harbor still has an effect on our foreign policy.
(52) Watergate changed our politics.
(53) It’s been Grand Central Station here all day.
Metonymic concepts like these are systematic in the same way that metaphoric concepts are. The sentences given above are not random. They are instances of certain general metonymic concepts in terms of which we organize our thoughts and actions. Metonymic concepts allow us to concepttualize one thing by means of its relation to something else.
The conceptual systems of cultures and religions are metaphorical in nature. Symbolic metonymies are critical links between everyday experience and the coherent metaphorical systems that characterize religions and cultures. Symbolic metonymies that are grounded in our physical experience provide an essential means of comprehending religious and cultural concepts.