Hadhrami Arabic and English Idioms of Body Parts

A cognitive Semantic Analysis

Abstract

In this study, the researcher analyzes Hadhrami Arabic and English idioms that include parts of the human body. One hundred and ten idioms (40 English idiom and 70 Hadhrami Arabic idioms) have been analyzed. The IPA symbols have been used in writing the Hadhrami Arabic idioms. George Lakoff''s conceptual theory has been used as a theoretical background for this analysis to find out whether the figurative meaning of such idioms is predictable from the meanings of their constituent parts. The study shows that cognitive strategies (general conventional knowledge, conceptual metaphors and metonymies) are at work when Hadhrami Arabic and English speakers infer the figurative meaning of these idioms.