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In:Proverbs within Cognitive Linguistics: State of the art
Edited by Sadia Belkhir
[Cognitive Linguistic Studies in Cultural Contexts 16] 2024
► pp. 298–327

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Chapter 11
A cultural linguistic study of embodied Hungarian proverbs representing facial hair

 | University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary
Published online: 30 May 2024
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https://doi.org/10.1075/clscc.16.11koc
Abstract
This chapter offers a Cultural Linguistic analysis of the conceptualisations of beard and moustache in Hungarian proverbs. While facial hair is an underexploited field in paremiology, the chapter argues that it is an appropriate concept for capturing the cultural aspects of the figurative language collections of proverbs. The study analyses 31 proverbs selected from five collections, where the identification process of cultural conceptualisations involves conceptual analysis combined with drawing on other linguistic evidence and culturally relevant ethnographic data. The results show that the seven target concepts (personality, manliness, independence, patriotism, age, dignity, and wisdom) are interconnected in the Hungarian cultural model of man, and moustache has a dominance and more positive value in cultural cognition as compared to beard. The study shows how the theoretical framework and methodological tools of Cultural Linguistics can be used in studying the cultural elements of proverbs and how they can enhance the understanding of their linkage to cultural models.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Proverbs, conceptualisation and culture
    • 2.1The cognitive linguistic approach to proverbs
    • 2.2The interconnectedness of language, culture and conceptualisation – a cultural linguistic view
    • 2.3Cultural conceptualisations in proverbs
  • 3.Beard and moustache in cultural cognition
  • 4.Data and methodology
  • 5.Cultural conceptualisations of beard and moustache
    • 5.1Facial hair for personality
    • 5.2Facial hair for manliness
    • 5.3Facial hair for independence
    • 5.4Facial hair for patriotism
    • 5.5facial hair for age
    • 5.6dignity as facial hair
    • 5.7wisdom as facial hair
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Web sites
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World Beard and Moustache Championships. [URL]
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