Abstract
Between the time when you wake _up_ in the morning and _fall_ asleep in the evening, you might feel _down_ if you are _under_ a lot of pressure, or be _high_ in spirits if you feel on _top_ of a situation. Such spatial metaphors are present in most languages and this study focuses on how Mandarin verb complements indicating spatial direction, so-called directional verb complements, are used metaphorically.
Spatial metaphors are found in various parts of the Chinese language and directional verb complements are part of a larger whole. The purpose of this study is to relate the various complements and their metaphors to one another, provide a system in which the metaphors of directional complements fit into a larger context within the Mandarin language, and examine similar structures in other languages.
Between the time when you wake _up_ in the morning and _fall_ asleep in the evening, you might feel _down_ if you are _under_ a lot of pressure, or be _high_ in spirits if you feel on _top_ of a situation. Such spatial metaphors are present in most languages and this study focuses on how Mandarin verb complements indicating spatial direction, so-called directional verb complements, are used metaphorically.
Spatial metaphors are found in various parts of the Chinese language and directional verb complements are part of a larger whole. The purpose of this study is to relate the various complements and their metaphors to one another, provide a system in which the metaphors of directional complements fit into a larger context within the Mandarin language, and examine similar structures in other languages.