METAPHORICAL CONCEPTUALISATION OF CULTURE IN GEERT HOFSTEDE’S MODEL
Keywords:
conceptual metaphor, national culture, Geert HofstedeAbstract
This paper explores the metaphorical conceptualisation of national culture which is at the heart of Geert Hofstede’s very influential culture model. In this paper Hofstede’s study Culture’s Consequences (2001) is analysed using the theoretical framework based on conceptual metaphor theory and its key concepts (mapping, domains, image schemas), with the aim of identifying metaphors and exploring their properties and roles in Hofstede’s scientific discourse. The analysis of Hofstede’s study shows that culture as a phenomenon is conceptualised by means of general image schemas and a number of conceptual metaphors at different levels of generality, the central one being CULTURE IS A COMPUTER PROGRAMME. The metaphors Hofstede uses are the very essence of his theoretical model, constituting the concept of culture, rather than reflecting the existing similarities between culture and other concepts. Hofstede’s metaphors effectively provide an insight into several important aspects of national culture, and they have certainly played a major role in the success of his theoretical model and his studies, strongly influencing the way in which culture is thought of and explored today.
References
Камерон 2003: L. Cameron, Metaphor in Educational Discourse. London: Continuum.
Крофти Круз 2004: W. Croft, and A. D. Cruse, Cognitive Linguistics. Cambridge: CUP.
Фанг 2005-2006: T. Fang, From “Onion” to “Ocean” Paradox and Change in National Cultures. International Studies of Management & Organization, vol. 35, no. 4, Winter 2005–6, 71–90.
Хофстеде 2001: G. Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences. USA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Кевечеш 2002: Z. Kövecses, Metaphor: A Practical Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Кликовац 2004: D. Klikovac, Metafore u mišljenju i jeziku. Beograd: XX vek.
Лејкоф и Џонсон 1999: G. Lakoff, and M. Johnson. Philosophy in the Flesh. New York: Basic Books.
Лејкоф и Џонсон 2003: G. Lakoff, and M. Johnson. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.
Лејкоф 2006: G. Lakoff, The contemporary theory of metaphor. In D. Geeraerts, ed., Cognitive Linguistics: Basic Readings. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 186-238.
Семино 2008: E. Semino, Metaphor in Discourse. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.
