Abstract :
[en] Figurative language is a constant element in the expression of abstract concepts across cultures and languages (Sweetser 1990; Traugott & Dasher 2001: 95); Ancient Egyptian makes of course no exception to that (Di Biase-Dyson 2018; Steinbach-Eicke 2019). However, figurative language is notoriously difficult to study for dead languages because the lack of living native speakers usually means that we have to rely on modern interpretation of ancient texts, without having direct access to the ideas and perception of native users. In some cases, though, the language and/or the writing system can help circumventing the problem. This is the case of the Egyptian, thanks to its classifier system, which consists in graphemic elements “placed after the vowless root in the Egyptian script, functioning as reading aids but carrying no additional phonetic value” (Goldwasser 2006a). They thus apply to the written language only.
This study aims at 1) providing an overview of the classifier system in Ancient Egyptian; 2) showing the dynamics between classification strategies and metaphor-induced colexification (François 2008:171), in other words, “the linking of two senses by a single lexeme in synchrony (strict colexification) or in diachrony (loose colexification)”. The conceptual metaphor theory (Lakoff & Johnson 2003 [1980]; Kövecses 2000a; 2005; 2010) is used as theoretical frame to analyse the data.
Following a brief introduction to the corpus, this article first presents the basic principles of hieroglyphic script, especially the classifier system. This part opens to the presentation of the theoretical frame, which details the two variables that define the interactional scenarios between metaphor and classifiers in the lexicon: classification strategies and colexification types. The last section provides concrete illustrations of the various scenarios from two test domains: COGNITION and (INTER)PERSONAL BEHAVIOUR (here meant as an umbrella term for emotion, personality and social interaction). The examples included in this last section have thus in common to illustrate metaphorical paths having COGNITION and (INTER)PERSONAL BEHAVIOUR as target domains.
The present study can be of interest for the general discussion about language change for several reasons. Besides providing an in-depth insight in the semantic classification of a dead language and its evolution in diachrony, it also provides concrete evidence for the steps leading to semantic change: contextual metaphorical use and synchronic polysemy. (Evan & Wilkins 2000, on the notion of bridging context to be discussed infra). Indeed, Egyptian, thanks to its system of graphemic classifiers, makes this process literally visible, which is unique. This article also highlights the fact that cross-culturally well-attested conceptual metaphors present in modern languages are represented in Ancient Egyptian as well, in spite of major cultural and temporal gaps.
