A Cognitive Linguistics Analysis of the Metonymy of the Verb 𝘌𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦 in Old French and the Verb 𝘒𝘪𝘬𝘶 in Old Japanese

　The Old and Middle French verb 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦 originally conveyed the meaning “pay attention to,” while the Premodern Japanese verb 𝘬𝘪𝘬𝘶 expressed the meaning “listen to.” Despite this difference, semantic parallels can be observed between the two verbs. The former encompasses meanings such as “pay attention to,” “obey,” “listen to,” “intend to,” “understand,” “hear,” and “inquire” (cf. 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘯ç𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦 𝘭’𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘯ç𝘢𝘪𝘴). Similarly, the latter conveys meanings such as “listen to,” “obey,” “inquire,” and “learn” (cf. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘤 𝘑𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦). These usages appear to be metonymically related in a chronological sequence to their original meanings. Metonymy, the phenomenon of semantic extension based on conceptual adjacency, is described as an “implicit shift in profile” (cf. Langacker 2008: 119). This process can be explained as the conceptualizer (C) deriving the target meaning (T) based on a context or presupposition serving as the reference point (R).
　This study examines how the usages of the verb 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦 and 𝘬𝘪𝘬𝘶, excluding abstract meanings like “understand” and “inquire,” are metonymically situated in the semantic landscape of the two languages.
　The analysis of French was conducted using the corpus 𝘍𝘙𝘈𝘕𝘛𝘌𝘟𝘛, focusing on the period from the 12th century (when the verb 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦 appears) to the 17th century (when the involuntary auditory usage began to emerge prominently). For Japanese, the analysis spanned from the 8th to the 20th century, using the 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘑𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦. In both languages, a maximum of 500 examples per century were analyzed.
　In the case of the verb 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦, the imperative form (e.g. "Entendez moi") frequently conveys the meanings “pay attention to” or “listen to,” with “pay attention to” occasionally indicated by a dative rather than an accusative object. Additionally, in the contexts of the meanings “pay attention to” and “obey,” non-auditory nouns (e.g. lei “law,” essample “example”) can also serve as objects. Conversely, the verb 𝘬𝘪𝘬𝘶 similarly uses the imperative form to express “pay attention to” or “obey,” but unlike the verb 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦, it only takes auditory-related nouns as objects.
　Regarding the usages “pay attention to” and “obey,” the verb 𝘬𝘪𝘬𝘶 takes only auditory-related nouns as objects, while the verb 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦 accepts a broader range of nouns. This suggests that the usages were not generated sequentially in a chain but rather derived around the original meaning (T1). If the usages had evolved sequentially from the original meaning, then in the case of the verb 𝘬𝘪𝘬𝘶, the meaning “pay attention to” (T2) would have been generated from “listen to” (T1), becoming the new original meaning in D2. Subsequently, in D3, the meaning “obey” (T3) would take non-auditory nouns as objects. However, this does not align with the examples observed in the corpus. Since the verb 𝘬𝘪𝘬𝘶 has the meaning “listen to” as its original meaning (T1), subsequent usages (T2, T3) consistently take auditory-related nouns as objects. In contrast, the verb 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦, with the original meaning “pay attention to” (T1), can take non-auditory nouns as objects. Thus, even when the meanings are semantically adjacent, the fundamental meanings of the usages differ based on the pattern of the original meaning.