Cognitively Motivated Meanings for Idioms : The Metaphorical and Metonymical Structures of two Semantically Equivalent but Structurally Different Idioms in English and Swedish

Abstract: This paper analyses the similarities and differences of the cognitive structures of the English-Swedish idiom pair to step into someone’s shoes and att axla någons mantel (to shoulder someone’s mantle [lit.]) in order to investigate possible conceptual or embodied motivations for their meanings. Using dictionaries and corpora to support all findings, the conceptual nature and intended meaning of each idiom were closely analysed and compared. The investigation shows metaphorical, metonymical and embodied structures which might possibly explain why these two idioms mean the same thing as a whole even though they are lexically different from each other. The results indicate that conceptual and embodied mechanisms have motivated the meanings of the idioms, thus suggesting that idiom comprehension in general as well as second language learning would greatly benefit from a more cognitive approach.