Eye to eye : A contrastive view on the metaphorical use of the eye in English and Japanese

Abstract: The present thesis deals with the metaphorical role of the eye in the Japanese language and how it compares to English. Metaphorical concepts provided by Lakoff and Johnson are explained in the context of English, then translated and tested with native Japanese people to see if the same concepts are apparent in the Japanese language. A number of other aspects were also put into contrast to each language. In order to receive in depth information on the subject interviews with two native Japanese speakers were carried out. The results showed that many basic aspects of the eye were similar in Japanese and English. For example, the shape of the eye was shown to play a considerable role in both Japanese and English. Results showed that the more specific an aspect got; the bigger was the cultural significance. In addition, some – though not all – examples showed a degree of universality through their direct translatability.