A Cognitive Semantic Study of Animal Idioms in English

Volume 4 , Issue 1 , December 2025 , Pages 451-484

Authors

Nivin Basheer Ameen Ameen 1 ; Dr. Shilan Ali Hama Sur Hama Sur 1

1 Department of English/ College of languages/ University of Sulaimani

DOI logo 10.17656/11997

Keywords

Abstract

This study aims to explore the cognitive foundation of animal idioms in English language from the perspective of Conceptual Metaphor theory and Image Schema theory. It attempts to show how conceptual metaphor and physical interactions or sensory experiences (Image Schema) with animals shape idiomatic expressions and how they reflect cultural values and societal norms. A corpus of 50 animal idioms is compiled from reliable English dictionaries. A qualitative method is used to identify the common conceptual metaphors and image schemas underlying the selected animal idioms. The results show that five common Conceptual Metaphors are identified; including: HUMAN BEING IS AN ANIMAL, EMOTIONAL STATE IS AN ANIMAL, SITUATION IS AN ANIMAL, POSSESSION IS AN ANIMAL and LIFE/DEATH IS AN ANIMAL, where the conceptual metaphor HUMAN BEING IS AN ANIMAL tends to be the most commonly used one among most of the selected English animal idioms. Likewise, six dominant types of Johnson’s image schema; including: CONTAINER, FORCE, PATH, SCALE, PART-WHOLE and CENTRE- PERIPHERY image schemas are identified, where the CONTAINER schema tends to be the most commonly used type of image schema among the corpus. In conclusion, this study shows that animal idioms have cognitive basis and highlights the important role these cognitive theories play in shaping the abstract and the metaphorical meaning of some figurative expressions, particularly animal idioms in English language.

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  • First online29 December 2025
  • Published at29 December 2025

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