The role of the image schemas in the analysis of the semantic variation of action verbs. Data from Imagact.

Embodiment plays an essential role in both concrete and abstract semantic representations. Our perceptual and motor system does not only impact on the way we physically interact with the external world but also on the way we cognitively structure external inputs. Both our experiential and conceptual knowledge may be encoded, in natural language, by means of action verbs. The action verbs are primarily used to refer to concrete actions and physical events (e.g.,”To push the button”). Nevertheless, they are also extensively used to express figurative meanings (e.g.,”To push someone to change habits”). This study aims to show how the semantic core of action verbs does influence their metaphorical potential. In particular, the image-schematic structure of the semantics of these predicates provides us with precise details on the linguistic processing of highly abstract concepts. The study we present is carried out within the IMAGACT framework. The analysis focuses on the metaphorical variation of a set of 10 Italian action verbs, divided in 2 cohesive groups: one codifying a movement along the vertical axis (alzare, abbassare, salire, scendere, sollevare), and the other one codifying the application of force on tangible objects (attrarre, premere, spingere, tirare, trascinare). The results confirm that the metaphorical extensions of action verbs are not randomly created. Indeed, they are strictly constrained by the same image schemas that structure the core of the verb, when the verb is used to encode action concepts and events.