A linguaxe figurada e os simbolismos culturais do crisantemo en chinés

Abstract

The chrysanthemum carries a number of particular cultural connotations. This paper discusses the interaction between cultural symbols and linguistic signs by analyzing the symbolic background of the chrysanthemum’s figurative motivation in Chinese culture, as well as its semiotic traces in the figurative lexicon, idioms and proverbs. From a cultural and historical perspective, it bases on the Cognitive Theory of Figurative Language (Dobrovol’skij and Piirainen 2005) and the concept of cultureme (Pamies 2007). It reveals that the chrysanthemum is endowed with a number of special symbolisms in Chinese culture, and none of them exists in Spanish culture related with this flower. The Chinese figurative language associated with chrysanthemum is often loaded with its particular cultural information. In order to understand appropriately an idiom, one needs to know its origin and its underlying cultural background