(Bulletin of Advanced English Studies, 2019) Gathigia, Moses Gatambuki; Maitaria, Joseph Nyehita
Starting from the premise that a metaphor is a cognitive mechanism in which one experiential
domain is partially mapped onto a different experiential domain , this paper examines the metaphoric
conceptualis ation of “LOVE IS A PLANT” in Gĩkũyũ from a cognitive semantics perspective. In order to
achieve this objective, t he study adopted the fundamental tenets of the C onceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT).
An interview schedule was administered to 48 speakers of Gĩkũyũ by the researcher assisted by two research
assistants of different gender. The data collected were subjected to the Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije
Universiteit (MIPVU) to find out whether the lexical items collected were metaphorical or not. Using four
annotators, includin g the researcher, the study identified nine plant osemic metaphors which play a pivotal role
in the understanding of love in G ĩ kũyũ. The study concludes that plantosemic metaphors are co nceptual
phenomena which are integral component of the Gĩkũyũ cultural milieu expressed in language . Further, the
study also notes
