21 Daša Stanič: METAPHORICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ... Daša Stanič UDK 811.131.1'373.612.2:159.942 Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana DOI: 10.4312/vestnik.15.21-43 Slovenia Izvirni znanstveni članek dasa.stanic@ff.uni-lj.si METAPHORICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS IN ITALIAN 1 INTRODUCTION With the emergence of cognitive linguistics and numerous studies in this field, the notion of metaphor, one of the most studied phenomena of language, has changed fundamental- ly. It has become a way of thinking and understanding the world, i.e. a cognitive phenom- ena that is present both in thought and in the everyday language in which it is manifested, and represents one of its realizations (Ortony 1975; Lakoff and Johnson 1980; Lakoff 1990; Gibbs 1994; Goatly 1997; Kövecses 2000a; Gibbs and Colston 2012). 1.1 Conceptual metaphor Conceptual metaphor (CM) is defined by Lakoff and Johnson (1980: 24) as a basic struc- ture of thought by which we conceptualize one experiential domain in terms of another. Kövecses (2010: 33) adopts Lakoff and Johnson’s definition and defines CM as a sys- tematic set of mappings between a source and a target domain. 1 Gibbs (2008: 3), on the other hand, defines metaphor as a fundamental scheme by which people conceptualize the world and their own activities. Furthermore, the same author (ibid: 4 and 5) emphasizes that for a good understanding of CMs, both linguistic as well as cognitive and cultural factors need to be included in the study. Any CM can be generalized to the formula TARGET DOMAIN IS SOURCE DOMAIN. The source domain is a concrete domain (e.g. CONTAINER, FORCES, BUILDINGS, LIGHT, etc.) related to our understanding of our body and to our physical and subjective experience, which is why we usually have extensive knowledge about this domain. The source domain 1 A domain is defined by Kövecses (2010: 4) as any coherent organisation of experience. Langacker (2008: 44) ex- plains that a domain is any conception or area of experience. Domains provide the basic information based on which lexical concepts can be understood and applied. A word invokes a set of domains (from a domain matrix) which is the basis for the construction of meaning. Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 21 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 21 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 22 VESTNIK ZA TUJE JEZIKE/JOURNAL FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGES helps us understand the target domain, which is an abstract and complex domain (e.g., EMOTION, KNOWLEDGE, HUMAN RELATION, etc.) and is characterized by not being direct- ly derived from physical experience. Target domains are usually complex domains and contain knowledge that relates to both concrete domains and some other abstract domains. The metaphorical process always proceeds in one direction only, namely from the source domain to the target domain, i.e. from the concrete to the abstract and not vice versa. The understanding of the target domain in relation to the source domain is possible because of the systematic, precise and unidirectional correspondences or mappings between the two domains, which take place at the level of the constituent elements of the two domains and occur automatically. Among the features is the systematicity that enables us to understand one concept in relation to another (Lakoff and Johnson 1980: 29), and which is reflected in metaphorical linguistic expressions (MLEs). Lakoff (1993: 215) further argues that in map - pings it is important to preserve the structure of the image schemas 2 underlying the source domains so that they match the structure of the target domain. Knowledge about the source domain is thus in some sense consistent with knowledge about the target domain, whose in - herent structure constrains the mappings. Since each metaphor structures one or only some aspects of a particular concept, the concept can therefore only be understood on the basis of a combination of several metaphors, Kövecses (2010: 96) states: “Since the concepts (both target and source) have several aspects to them, speakers need several source domains to understand these different aspects of target concepts.” 1.2 Conceptualization of emotions Previous research on emotion concepts in many languages shows that emotion concepts have a very complex conceptual structure (the most important authors in this context are Barcelona 1992; Matsuki 1995; Rull 2002; Soriano 2003; Będkowska-Kopczyk 2004; Stefanowitsch 2004 and 2996; Gibbs 2005; Oster 2010; Adamiczka 2011; Ogarkova and Soriano 2014; Kövecses, Szelid, Nusz, Blanco Carrión, Akkök and Szabó 2015; Tran 2019; Jelčić Čolakovac 2020; Yanti and Aziz 2021). Lakoff and Johnson, the founders of Conceptual Metaphor Theory, believe that some concepts, including emotions, are structured almost exclusively metaphorically. Moreover, they are convinced that no con- ceptual structure arises directly from emotional functioning (1980: 79). Emotional expe- riences, which are of great importance to individuals, are therefore less clearly defined than individuals’ experiences of their own bodies. Consequently, they are structured by better defined ones and perceived by the latter in an indirect way through metaphors. 2 The concept is introduced by Lakoff and Johnson in the context of their Conceptual Metaphor Theory. Lakoff (1987: 267) defines image schema as “relatively simple structures that appear continuously in our everyday bodily experiences and in various orientations and relations”, while Grady (2005: 34) defines them as “mental representa- tions of perceptual, including kinetic, experiences” and emphasizes their role in structuring metaphor. Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 22 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 22 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 23 Daša Stanič: METAPHORICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ... Many authors (Fainsilber and Ortony 1987; Fussell and Moss 1998; Gibbs 1994; Kövecses 2000a and 2014; Gibbs, Leggitt and Turner 2002) who have worked on the con - ceptualization of emotions make it clear that metaphorical language plays an important role in understanding the language of emotions, not only in describing and categorizing emotional experiences, but also defining them more precisely and even in creating them. They agree that there are systematic correspondences between emotions and our sensori- motor experiences that are reflected in metaphorical language. For this reason, the concep - tualization of emotions is mainly explored through metaphorical or metonymic linguistic expressions, and there are an enormous number of such expressions for a given emotion. Kövecses (2002: 110) concluded, based on several studies in English, that in most cases there should be more than a hundred expressions for a single emotion, which proved to be true in our study (Table 2). Gibbs et al. (2002: 125, 133 and 134) argue that emotions themselves can often be understood through many, sometimes even contradictory, meta- phors and that MLEs, their manifestations, reflect even very subtle differences in emotion - al experience, because metaphorical language allows for greater precision, directness and clarity and is therefore able to differentiate between the complex variations of a particular emotional state. It is also important to emphasize that people use linguistic metaphorical expressions not instead of literal expressions, but in addition to literal expressions (Fainsil- ber and Ortony 1987; Fussell and Moss 1998). Fainsilber and Ortony (1987: 247) describe the use of these expressions as necessary because they can express what literal expressions cannot, i.e. metaphorical language and literal language complement each other. Kövecses, who has devoted much of his research to the study of CMs of emotions, has on the one hand examined the conceptualization of individual emotions, especially HAPPINESS (Kövecses 2008, 2015) and ANGER (Lakoff and Kövecses 1987; Kövecses 2000b; Kövecses et al. 2015), but on the other hand also tried to answer some more general questions, such as: Are there source domains that are specific only to emotions? Are there domains that are specific to all emotions? And what are the specific metaphors for each emotion? (Kövecses 1998, 2000a, 2002; 2014 3 ). Comparing emotion conceptus to other concepts he found that source domains for emotion concepts were not domains specific only to emotion concepts. When comparing emotion concepts with each other he first found that there is a whole range of domains that are typical of (almost) all emotion concepts, second that some source domains apply to a group of emotions, and third that there are very few source domains that are specific to a single emotion. In general, the main source domains associated with emotions are the following: CON- TAINER, FORCE and OPPONENT. In the conceptual metaphor EMOTION IS A SUBSTANCE IN A CONTAINER, we think of the emotion as a substance and the human body as the container in which the emotion is contained. One can also metaphorize individual parts of one’s own 3 Kövecses (2014) studied the conceptualization of emotions on the basis of ten selected emotions: anger, fear, happiness, sadness, love, lust, pride, shame and surprise. Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 23 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 23 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 24 VESTNIK ZA TUJE JEZIKE/JOURNAL FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGES body, which means that one perceives the body as a container consisting of smaller contain - ers – body parts (Będkowska-Kopczyk 2009: 30) – and these parts then become containers for emotions. In Western cultures, for example, the heart is usually the body part that is con - sidered the seat of emotions in folk theory (Gibbs 2017: 39). Kövecses (2000a: 62) notes that the metaphor EMOTION IS AN AUTONOMOUS FORCE is based on the image schema FORCE, one of the most basic image schema of the conceptual system. Derived from our bodily experi - ence, it plays a central role in the conceptualization of emotions. Individuals are confronted daily with the effects of various forces within and outside their own bodies, in nature and in the environment. Dixon (2003: 3) argues that throughout history emotions have been per - ceived as forces that work against the individual, i.e. against their will and reason. In most cases, these are forces over which the individual has no control, which is consistent with the notion of emotions as phenomena that the individual cannot resist. The conceptual metaphor EMOTION IS AN OPPONENT describes emotions as something that works against the individual and that must be kept under control (Rull 2002: 186). This source domain is often used to refer to negative emotions or very intense emotions, regardless of their valence. 1.3 Valence and the Conceptualization of Emotions Kövecses (2000a: 4) argues that the source domains, and thus the MLEs that result from the mappings between the two domains, focus on different aspects (features) of emotion concepts, and it is these aspects that give us a more accurate insight into the conceptu- alization of emotions. He lists (ibid: 40-46) the following aspects: existence, intensity, passivity, control, positive – negative evaluation, difficulty, desire/need, non-physical unity, progress, and harm. Since this article deals only with valence (positive/negative), we will discuss only this feature in detail. Valence is probably one of the most important dimensions of emo- tions by which they are classified and described. Shaver, Schwartz, Kirson and O’Connor (1987: 1068) and Keltner, Oatley and Jenkis (2014: 174) note that there is every indi- cation that emotions at the higher level of categorization are divided into two clusters precisely on the basis of valence. According to Ogarkova (2013: 54), in Western cultures valence is perceived as a difference in the perceived (un)pleasantness of an emotional experience, Kövecses (2000a: 44) refers to this aspect as “positive – negative evalua- tion”. As for cultural differences, Karandashev (2021: 231) and Galati, Sini, Tinti and Testa (2008: 216) argue that the distinction between emotions with positive and negative valence is similar across cultures. Kövecses (2000a: 44) lists the following source domains that focus on the aspect of valence: UP-DOWN, LIGHT – DARK, W ARM – COLD, V ALUABLE – NON-V ALUABLE, 4 noting that 4 The first listed domain in all examples refers to positive valence, the second domain to negative valence. Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 24 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 24 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 25 Daša Stanič: METAPHORICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ... they can only be used with emotions that are inherently good or bad. Source domains, on the other hand, can also focus on the negative or positive aspects of each emotion, regard - less of its valence. Other source domains associated with negative valence in the literature are ILLNESS (Kövecses 2002a), FORCE – its negative effects (Kövecses 2002a, Rull 2002), OPPONENTS (Rull 2002), WEIGHT (Kövecses 2020), FOOD – taste (Zhou in Tse 2020: 7, 9 and 11), OPPONENT (Rull 2002). Source domains associated with positive valence are RAP- TURE/BEING DRUNK (Kövecses 2000a: 75, 2008: 136), LIGHT (Kövecses 2008: 136). The following findings about positive and negative valence (Averill 1980: 7 and 9; Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Finkenauer and Vohs 2001: 355) are also relevant and may influence the conceptualization of emotions: negative events have a longer-lasting effect than positive events; individuals remember emotions with negative valence more strong- ly; emotions with negative valence have stronger effects; and individuals experience emotions with negative valence twice as intensely as emotions with positive valence. Emotions with negative valence are also discussed more frequently and more thoroughly in the literature because they are considered ‘problematic’. The predominance of emo- tions with negative valence is also said to be reflected in language, where words describ- ing emotions with negative valence are more common than words for emotions with positive valence (Averill 1980: 8). More recently, however, especially with the rise of positive psychology, interest has shifted to emotions with positive valence. Since valence has proven to be an important feature of emotions, we expected that it would also influence the conceptualization of emotions in Italian and that there would be some significant differences between emotions with positive and emotions with nega- tive valence, both at the level of CMs and at the level of MLEs. Following other authors (Kövecses 2002a and 2008; Rull 2002) we expected most of the differences in the fol- lowing metaphors: EMOTION IS AN OPPONENT, EMOTION IS AN ILLNESS, EMOTION IS FOOD, EMOTION IS AN AUTONOMOUS FORCE. We have assumed that even in metaphors that seem to be shared by several emotion concepts, many differences arising from will emerge at the level of MLEs 2 METHODS In order to determine the differences in the conceptualization of positive and negative emotions we focused on five emotions – three with negative valence (FEAR, ANGER, SAD- NESS) and two with positive valence (HAPPINESS and LOVE) 5 . To identify the MLEs, and thus CMs, we opted for a corpus-based approach, which has proven to be one of the most suitable for the study of the conceptualization of 5 The selected emotions correspond to those that have been shown in various studies to be very good representa- tives of the category of emotions in Italian and English (Shaver et al. 1987: 1067; Frijda et al. 1995: 12; Zammuner 1998: 267–272; Kövecses 2000a: 3, 2002: 114). Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 25 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 25 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 26 VESTNIK ZA TUJE JEZIKE/JOURNAL FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGES emotions, as it allows us to systematically identify metaphors and metonymies in natural discourse (Oster 2010; Stefanowitsch 2006). Based on the assumption that each emotion is structured as a category, we selected from the target domain two (2) to six (6) keywords for each emotion (Table 1). Table 1: Keywords for the five selected emotions FEAR ANGER SADNESS HAPPINESS LOVE paura rabbia tristezza felicità amore panico bile afflizione gioia innamoramento sgomento collera disperazione allegria spavento furia infelicità contentezza terrore furore mestizia rallegramento timore ira The 24 selected keywords are all nouns, i.e. the names of the selected emotions and their synonyms. 6 Fussell and Moss (1998: 128–129) found that when expressing emotions, people do not use metaphorical expressions in place of literal expressions, but together with them. Metaphorical expressions are therefore used as an additional expla- nation to literal terms. For this reason, we have assumed that with well-chosen keywords from the target domain we can use this method to find many MLEs in which emotion concepts are manifested. In addition to identifying CMs (and metonymies) that structure the concepts of emo- tion, the corpus-based approach gives us insights into the broader context and use of a single MLE, all of which allows us to describe emotion concepts using multiple dimen- sions. Another advantage of the corpus-based approach is the possibility to quantify data, i.e. to determine the frequency for each MLE. We choose the itWaC, 7 the Italian Web Corpus, a reference corpus of the written Italian that contains more than one billion words and is the largest corpus of modern Italian. Given the available Italian corpora, we considered the selected corpus to be the most appropriate in terms of its size and composition for the study of the conceptualization of emotions. 8 In the corpus, we searched for MLEs using the keywords listed in Table 1. For each keyword, we first searched for all concordances in the corpus and then analysed the first 6 Oster (2010: 735) states that conceptual metaphors are most often expressed with nouns and verbs, while adjec- tives are used to describe individual emotions. 7 The corpus itWaC consists of online texts. However, the creators of the corpus emphasise that the corpus is con- structed in such a way that, in addition to typical Internet texts, it also includes texts that are published on the Internet but were not originally created for publication on the Internet. It is therefore a collection of very different types of texts dealing with very different topics. 8 Oster (2010: 734) considers that the size of the corpus is more important for the study of the conceptualization of emotions than the composition of the corpus itself, since words denoting emotions are not very frequent. Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 26 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 26 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 27 Daša Stanič: METAPHORICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ... 10,000 random concordances. If a keyword has fewer than 10,000 occurrences, we ana- lysed all the concordances we obtained for that word. We transferred the concordances for each keyword into MS Excel, where we then sorted and analysed them. 3 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION With a detailed corpus analysis of more than 160,000 9 concordances, we obtained: • 1,862 different MLEs used 16,280 times for emotions with negative valence. • 656 different MLEs used 5,949 times for emotions with positive valence. The analysed concordances and the obtained MLEs allowed us to draw some im- portant conclusions about the conceptualization of the selected emotions and about the conceptualization of emotions with positive and negative valence. In order to be as sys- tematic as possible, and to be able to compare the emotion concepts and MLEs for all emotion concepts, we created a list of CMs for emotion concepts in Italian based on the analysis of all MLEs obtained in the corpus. The list is presented in Table 2, where the frequencies 10 of the MLEs for each CM are also listed for a better understanding of the further discussion. Table 2: Conceptual metaphors for emotion concepts in Italian with frequencies of different LMEs and the number examples of LMEs in the concordances CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR F A S H L EMOTION IS A SUBSTANCE IN A CONTAINER (BODY) MLE MLEe 94 575 179 1754 62 646 109 1105 14 73 EMOTION IS A SUBSTANCE IN THE BODY (non- specifically located) MLE MLEe 24 164 55 498 19 202 24 396 2 29 EMOTION IS A SUBSTANCE IN A PARTICULAR PART OF THE BODY MLE MLEe 17 91 8 48 8 113 17 100 2 10 EMOTION IS A SUBSTANCE (LIQUID) THAT COMES INTO THE BODY FROM OUTSIDE MLE MLEe 17 78 5 23 7 44 9 223 2 8 EMOTION IS A (HOT) LIQUID IN THE BODY MLE MLEe 4 11 47 193 5 6 20 109 5 9 EMOTION IS A SUBSTANCE ((HOT) LIQUID) THAT RISES WHEN IT IS STRONGER AND FALLS WHEN IT IS WEAKER MLE MLEe 25 166 19 166 12 74 12 54 1 2 9 A total of 50,152 for fear, 11,745 for anger, 25,887 for sadness, 32,029 for happiness and 12,491 for love. 10 It is impossible to draw important conclusions from the frequencies alone, as the numbers are not directly com- parable due to the different number of keywords and analysed concordances. However, from the overall analysis we were able to conclude that the number of MLEs does not depend only on the number of considered concordances. From this we can conclude that frequencies can be an additional piece of information that, together with the analysis of linguistic expressions, gives a more detailed picture of the conceptualization of emotions. Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 27 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 27 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 28 VESTNIK ZA TUJE JEZIKE/JOURNAL FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGES CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR F A S H L EMOTION IS A SUBSTANCE (LIQUID) THAT CAUSES PRESSURE WHEN IT IS STRONG MLE MLEe 4 8 36 781 4 18 20 172 0 0 EMOTION IS A SUBSTANCE THAT IS DEEP INSIDE A BODY MLE MLEe 3 48 9 45 7 189 7 51 2 15 EMOTION IS A CONTAINER/BOUNDED SPACE MLE MLEe 47 630 6 654 10 646 16 569 8 148 EMOTION IS AN OPPONENT MLE MLEe 205 1321 191 1318 76 417 35 92 21 52 EMOTION IS AN OPPONENT MLE MLEe 83 781 122 1029 52 312 22 31 13 25 EMOTION IS AN OPPONENT WE FIGHT MLE MLEe 59 324 44 252 14 56 8 24 4 19 EMOTION IS A SUPERIOR MLE MLEe 55 181 18 30 10 49 5 37 4 8 EMOTIONS IS AN EVIL FORCE MLE MLEe 8 35 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 EMOTION IS AN ILLNESS MLE MLEe 94 267 41 83 36 84 46 263 23 65 EMOTIONS IS A PHYSICAL ILLNESS MLE MLEe 57 173 1 1 31 78 8 107 11 33 EMOTIONS IS A MENTAL ILLNESS (INSANITY) MLE MLEe 37 94 40 80 4 4 19 92 8 24 EMOTIONS IS DRUGS A DRUG (ADDICTION) MLE MLEe 0 0 0 0 1 2 11 36 4 8 EMOTIONS IS A MEDICINE MLE MLEe 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 28 0 0 EMOTION IS AN AUTONOMOUS FORCE MLE MLEe 206 1939 315 2436 95 819 136 518 56 209 EMOTION IS AN UNDEFINED FORCE MLE MLEe 49 351 81 827 15 246 16 47 11 44 EMOTION IS AN NATURAL FORCE MLE MLEe 49 343 56 119 43 206 42 278 10 17 EMOTION IS COLD MLE MLEe 16 25 4 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 EMOTION IS HEAT MLE MLEe 0 0 13 31 2 3 0 0 0 0 EMOTION IS LIGHT MLE MLEe 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 73 5 16 EMOTION IS DARKNESS MLE MLEe 1 6 0 0 13 107 0 0 0 0 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 28 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 28 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 29 Daša Stanič: METAPHORICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ... CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR F A S H L EMOTION IS FIRE MLE MLEe 16 18 66 322 0 0 12 25 15 54 EMOTION IS A LIVING THING (PERSON OR PLANT) MLE MLEe 41 463 30 98 14 107 30 78 9 64 EMOTION IS A WILD (CAPTURED) ANIMAL MLE MLEe 34 758 65 1029 8 150 10 17 6 14 EMOTION IS AN OBJECT MLE MLEe 93 1785 46 229 66 652 133 2185 30 264 EMOTION IS A PHYSICAL OBJECT MLE MLEe 36 1467 8 51 19 460 67 1942 17 230 EMOTION IS A BUILDING MLE MLEe 0 0 0 0 1 1 9 49 3 8 EMOTION IS FOOD MLE MLEe 0 0 10 17 17 44 51 179 9 25 EMOTION IS A BURDEN MLE MLEe 35 74 18 91 21 87 6 15 0 0 EMOTION IS AN OBSTACLE MLE MLEe 22 244 10 70 8 60 0 0 1 2 EMOTION IS A GOAL MLE MLEe 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 386 0 0 *The word emotion is used generically and can be interchanged with any or all of the emotions discussed **F – fear, A – anger, S – sadness, H – happiness, L – love, MLE – number of different MLEs, MLEe – number of times the LMEs are found in the analysed concordances Based on the obtained results, we can confirm that the emotion concepts analysed in Italian have a very complex conceptual structure. Since the selected concepts FEAR, ANGER, SADNESS, HAPPINESS and LOVE belong to the category EMOTIONS, similarities in the conceptualization of emotion concepts were to be expected. Many authors – Kövecses (2000a: 36, 2014: 16) in particular, but also Rull (2002: 180), Stefanowitsch (2006: 91) and others – have written about the source domains that apply to all or most emotion concepts in English, Spanish, German and other languages. The analysis of the linguistic material from the itWaC corpus has shown that all the selected emotion concepts in Ital- ian share pretty much all the basic metaphors for emotions. The emotions under consid- eration are therefore conceptualized in Italian as a: • SUBSTANCE IN A CONTAINER • CONTAINER/BOUNDED SPACE • OPPONENT • ILLNESS • AUTONOMOUS FORCE • OBJECT Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 29 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 29 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 30 VESTNIK ZA TUJE JEZIKE/JOURNAL FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGES The similarities between the emotion concepts are also evident at the level of lan- guage, and we found many linguistic metaphorical expressions that apply to all or to most emotion concepts we analysed (examples 1 to 22). Examples of EMOTION IS A SUBSTANCE IN A CONTAINER: (1) pieno di paura/spavento/timore/terrore/panico/rabbia/ira/tristezza/mestizia/feli- cità/gioia/amore (2) riempire di paura/terrore/timore/panico/rabbia/collera/furore/tristezza/dispera- zione/felicità/gioia/allegria/amore (3) traboccare di paura/timore/rabbia/ira/tristezza/disperazione/felicità/gioia/allegria/ amore (4) la paura/lo spavento/ti timore/la rabbia/la collera/la tristezza/ l’infelicità/ la dispe- razione/l’infelicità/l’allegria/la felicità/l’amore cresce (5) paura/terrore/panico/rabbia/furia/tristezza/disperazione/felicità/gioia/amore profondo(a) Examples of EMOTION IS A CONTAINER/BOUNDED SPACE: (6) nella tristezza/nell’infelicità/nel furore/nella felicità (7) vivere nella paura/nello spavento/nel panico/nell’amore Examples of EMOTION IS AN OPPONENT: (8) la paura/lo spavento/l’ira/la collera/la tristezza/la disperazione/la felicità/l’al- legria/l’amore vince (9) sopraffatto dall’amore/dall’allegria/dalla tristezza/dalla rabbia/dal terrore/dalla paura (10) la gioia/la tristezza/la furia/la collera/il panico/la paura invade Examples of EMOTION IS AN ILLNESS: (11) morire d’amore/di terrore/di disperazione/di tristezza (12) paura/terrore/rabbia/ira/felicità/gioia/allegria/amore folle/pazzo(a) Examples of EMOTION IS AN AUTONOMOUS FORCE: (13) paura/gioia/amore forte, la forza della felicità/dell’amore/della disperazione (14) la paura/il timore/la rabbia/la disperazione/l’allegria spinge, spinto dalla disper- azione/dalla rabbia/ dal terrore/dal timore/dalla paura (15) la paura/il timore/il terrore/l’amore muove, mosso dalla disperazione, dal timore/ dalla rabbia/dalla collera/dalla gioia (16) generare paura/timore/ira/infelicità/gioia/amore (17) in preda alla paura/allo spavento/al terrore/al panico/alle rabbia/all’ira/alla tris- tezza/alla disperazione Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 30 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 30 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 31 Daša Stanič: METAPHORICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ... Examples of EMOTION IS AN OBJECT: (18) nascondere la paura/il timore/la rabbia/la tristezza/la disperazione/la felicità/la gioia/l’amore (19) portare terrore/tristezza/infelicità/felicità/gioia/allegria (20) creare panico/sgomento/infelicità (21) produrre felicità/sgomento/panico/timore (22) avere paura/timore/terrore/gioia/allegrezza If at the basic level there seem to be more similarities than differences between the emotion concepts, the differences between the emotion concepts considered and between emotion concepts with positive and negative valence emerge at the level of the specific metaphors and from the analysis of MLEs and their number. For the metaphor EMOTION IS A SUBSTANCE IN A CONTAINER (BODY) the similarities between the emotion concepts seem to be obvious. There are some differences between emotions that are not manifested at the level of negative and positive valence but are the peculiarities of each emotion concept. For example, only ANGER and HAPPINESS are conceptualized as a LIQUID SUBSTANCE (examples 23 to 25) and only ANGER as a HOT LIQUID (examples 26 and 27): Examples of EMOTION IS A (HOT) LIQUID SUBSTANCE IN A CONTAINER: (23) sprazzo di allegria/felicità (24) goccia di felicità (25) sprizzare felicità (26) la collera/la rabbia/l’ira (ri)bollente (27) sbollire/bollire/ribollire di rabbia. Although the basic metaphor EMOTION IS A CONTAINER/BOUNDED SPACE is an im- portant way of conceptualizing all the emotions in the study, the analysis of the MLEs reveals some interesting differences between emotions with different valences. MLEs for emotions with positive valence mostly refer to the existence and duration of the emotion (examples 28 to 32) and its intensity (examples 33 to 35). The latter is indicated as a full container. However, in the case of emotions with negative valence, there are many realizations that refer to the intensity of the emotion, which is understood as the depth of the container (examples 36 to 40). Negative emotions are also seen as a bounded space that we want to leave. The MLEs expressing this aspect refer to the end of the emotion (example 41): Examples of EMOTION IN A CONTAINER/BOUNDED SPACE: (28) essere nella gioia (29) vivere nella felicità/gioia/in allegria (30) giocare in allegria (31) in mezzo all’allegria Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 31 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 31 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 32 VESTNIK ZA TUJE JEZIKE/JOURNAL FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGES (32) nell’amore (33) in piena allegria (34) la gioia è piena (35) la pienezza dell’allegria/della gioia (36) affondare nel panico (37) piombare nel panico (38) precipitare nello sgomento/nel terrore (39) sprofondare nello sgomento/nella paura (40) cadere nel terrore (41) uscire dalla paura/dal terrore/dalla disperazione. Valence as an important feature of emotions also influences conceptualization when we examine in detail the MLEs and the number of their frequencies for the metaphor EMOTION IS AN OPPONENT. The opponent in our metaphor is a very broad concept and includes an enemy (in war), an opponent, a rival or/and a competitor. The source do- mains OPPONENT and ENEMY are frequently mentioned in the literature in relation to emotions (Kövecses 1990a, 2000a; Rull 2002; Kövecses 2008, 2014). Our study has also confirmed that this metaphor is one of the most important in the conceptualization of emotions. Moreover, it clearly shows that while we perceive all five considered emo- tions as opponents, we perceive the negative ones as opponents or enemies to a greater extent. In the analysed concordances, we found 257 different MLEs and 2,122 examples of MLEs for negative emotions versus 35 different MLEs and 57 examples of MLEs for positive emotions. The realizations are shown in examples 42 to 50 and mostly refer to the intensity of the emotion. Examples of EMOTION IS AN OPPONENT: (42) la tristezza/la paura/il panico/la collera/il furore/la disperazione/l’allegria invade (43) vittima della paura/della rabbia/dell’ira/della tristezza/dell’amore (44) la paura/il terrore/il panico/il furore/l’ira/l’infelicità/la disperazione/la gioia colpisce (45) la rabbia/la collera/il furore/la furia violento(a) (46) la paura/il furore minaccia (47) sfuggire al panico/all’ira/al furore/alla tristezza/alla disperazione (48) la paura/la collera/l’ira/la tristezza/la disperazione vince (49) assalito dal timore/dal terrore/dallo sgomento/dalla rabbia/dall’ira/dal furore (50) cedere alla paura/al panico/alla rabbia/alla collera/all’ira/alla furia/alla disperazione Moreover, in Italian only negative emotions are seen as enemies that we must resist and fight (examples 51 to 59). Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 32 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 32 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 33 Daša Stanič: METAPHORICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ... (51) vincere la paura/il timore/il panico/l’ira/la tristezza/la disperazione (52) combattere la paura/il panico/la rabbia Examples of NEGATIVE EMOTION IS AN OPPONENT WE FIGHT: (53) combattere la paura/il panico/la rabbia (54) affrontare la paura/il timore/la rabbia/la collera/l’ira/la furia/l’infelicità/la disperazione (55) lottare contro la paura/il terrore, lotta contro la paura/la rabbia/la furia (56) sfidare la paura/la rabia/l’ira/il furore (57) (s)cacciare la tristezza/il timore/la tristezza (58) proteggere dall’ira/dalla collera/dalla furia (59) sconfiggere la paura/il timore/il panico/la tristezza This is in line with Rull’s (2002: 186) findings, namely that we perceive emotions with negative valence as opponents, adversaries, and enemies because we must try or fight to gain control over them, whereas we do not have the need to fight emotions with positive valence. Ogarkova (2013: 54) believes that valence in Western cultures is per- ceived as differences in the perceived (un)pleasantness of an emotional experience, which explains why we fight the negative (unpleasant) rather than the positive (pleasant) ones. Our study has shown that the source domain ILLNESS plays an important role in the conceptualization of emotions in general, but also shows significant differences between emotions with positive and negative valence. While the specific metaphors EMOTION IS A PHYSICAL DISEASE and EMOTION IS A MENTAL ILLNESS (INSANITY) are particularly impor- tant for emotions with negative valence, all specific source domains (PHYSICAL ILLNESS, MENTAL ILLNESS, DRUG and MEDICINE) are important for emotions with positive valence. In the case of emotions with positive valence, many interesting peculiarities emerged at the level of the MLEs. Kövecses (2000a: 44) believes that the source domain PHYSICAL DISEASE is mainly used to conceptualize emotions with negative valence, but our research has shown that this is not entirely the case in Italian. The metaphor itself is very important for the con- ceptualization of FEAR and SADNESS, but we did not find any linguistic realizations for ANGER (examples 60 to 64). Furthermore, we found quite a lot of linguistic realizations for emotions with positive valence as well. The analysis of the MLEs provided us with further insights: we were able to establish that only one aspect of the source domain PHYSICAL ILLNESS is important for the conceptualization of HAPPINESS, and this aspect is its contagiousness (see example 65). For LOVE, which is also an emotion with positive valence, we found very similar linguistic realizations as for emotions with negative va- lence, and the analysis of the concordances led us to conclude that all these MLEs refer to cases of rejected, unrequited love, i.e. to the negative aspects (unpleasantness) of this emotion (examples 66 to 68). Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 33 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 33 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 34 VESTNIK ZA TUJE JEZIKE/JOURNAL FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGES Examples of EMOTION IS A DISEASE: (60) soffrire di paura/per lo spavento/di timore/di tristezza/di amore/per amore (61) morire di/per spavento/di tristezza/d’amore (62) malato di tristezza/di infelicità, malattia d’amore/ammalarsi di tristezza (63) alleviare l’infelicità/la paura/la tristezza (64) guarire dalla paura/la tristezza/l’infelicità/dalla disperazione (65) felicità/allegria contagiosa, contagiare con l’allegria/di gioia (66) soffrire per amore, sofferenza d’amore (67) curare le ferite del cuore (68) sintomo dell’innamoramento The source domain RAPTURE/HIGH or more specifically DRUNKENNESS/BEING DRUNK is frequently mentioned in the literature in connection with various emotions, in- cluding LOVE and HAPPINESS (Kövecses 1986: 92; Apresjan 1997: 182; Kövecses 2000a: 26; 2018: 73), in various languages. Kövecses (1990a: 178, 2000a: 75) cites this source domain as typical of positive emotions and suggests that it has much in common with the domain INSANITY. The states of insanity and drunkenness overlap to some extent as the behaviour of the individual in both states is similar – irrational, and excessive – but the cause of this behaviour is different. However, when we speak of positive emotions the feeling of partial irrationality induced by drugs/alcohol is combined with a pleasant feeling. For Italian, our data show that this metaphor can only be associated with positive emotions, since we found MLEs for both positive emotions considered (examples 69 to 71) and not for the three emotions with negative valence. Examples of EMOTION IS A DRUG/DRUNKENNESS: (69) ebro di felicità/di gioia, ebbrezza di felicità/dell’amore (70) ubriaco di gioia/di allegria/di amore, inebriante allegria (71) sbronza di felicità In our study the specific metaphor EMOTION IS MEDICINE (examples 72-75) is char- acteristic of HAPPINESS and not for emotions with positive valence as we expected based on the literature where this metaphor is mentioned primarily for LOVE. Examples of EMOTION IS MEDICINE: (72) dose di allegria (73) l’allegria fa bene (74) effetti benefici dell’allegria (75) iniezione di felicità/allegria The metaphor seems to be consistent with the prevailing idea, particularly important in the last few decades, of the importance of non-physical factors, including happiness, Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 34 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 34 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 35 Daša Stanič: METAPHORICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ... in disease. Happiness is understood in popular theories of emotion as something that has a positive effect on a person’s health and more generally on their quality of life. Some correlations have also been scientifically proven: on the one hand the negative effects of depression and anxiety on physical health have been established, and on the other hand the positive effects of happiness have also been reported, especially with regard to the significantly longer life expectancies of happy people (Veenhoven 2008: 455). The metaphor EMOTIONS ARE AUTONOMOUS FORCES is mentioned by most authors who have studied the conceptualization of emotions. Kövecses (2000a: 62) explains that this metaphor is based on the image schema FORCE, which is one of the most basic image schemas of the conceptual system. It has its origins in our bodily experience and plays a central role in the conceptualization of emotions. Every day a person encounters the ac- tions of various forces within and outside their own body, in nature and in the environment. Dixon (2003: 3) notes that throughout history emotions have been perceived as forces that work against the individual, i.e. against their will and reason. In most cases these are forces over which the individual has no control, which is consistent with the folk theories that understand emotions as phenomena over which the individual has no control and cannot resist. This metaphor also proved to be very important in our study, for all the emotions considered: we found 808 linguistic realizations of this metaphor and 5,746 examples of these realizations. The metaphor is also important when we try to determine differences in the conceptualization of positive and negative emotions. The most obvious difference lies in the specific metaphor EMOTION IS A NATURAL FORCE, in which it becomes clear that, although all the emotions are conceptualized as NATURAL FORCES, emotions with posi- tive and negative valence are conceptualized as different forces of nature: emotions with positive valence are conceptualized as LIGHT (examples 76 to 80), emotions with negative valence do not have a unique pattern, as SADNESS is conceptualized as DARKNESS, FEAR as COLD and ANGER as HEAT (examples 81 to 83). Examples of POSITIVE EMOTION IS LIGHT: (76) raggiante di felicità/di contentezza (77) brillare di felicità/allegria (78) raggio di allegria/di gioia/d’amore (79) irradiare gioia/felicità/amore (80) offuscare la felicità/l’allegria Examples of NEGATIVE EMOTION IS DARKNESS/COLD/HEAT: (81) ombra di tristezza/mestizia, tristezza nera, tristezza oscura, tetra disperazione, cupa disperazione, il tunnel della tristezza/disperazione (82) gelare di spavento, spavento/timore gelido, ghiacciato dal terrore (83) covare rabbia/la collera/il furore/l’ira, friggere di rabbia, la rabbia/il furore scalda Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 35 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 35 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 36 VESTNIK ZA TUJE JEZIKE/JOURNAL FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGES An important difference between positive and negative emotions is also evident in the metaphor EMOTION IS A WILD (CAPTURED) ANIMAL. Kövecses (2000a: 62) notes that the behaviour of a person who is not in control of their emotions is often compared to the behaviour of a wild animal. The same author (2018: 76) makes the connection between this metaphor and the concept of emotions (of which Darwin is the most prominent repre- sentative) as instinctive reactions that humans have inherited from their animal ancestors over evolution. The desire to have an emotion under control is shown in the version CAP- TURED WILD ANIMAL. Rull (2002: 185 and 186) makes the connection between the con- trol of an emotion and a wild animal we keep in captivity because we see it as dangerous. For this metaphor we found an extremely high number (107 MLEs used 1,337 times) of realizations for negative emotions (examples 84) and only a few (16 MLEs used 31 times) for positive emotions (examples 85), which correspond to the realizations we also found for negative emotions and which almost all refer to the aspect of intensity. So, as expected, in Italian negative emotions are seen as more dangerous and intense. The same MLEs are sometimes used to refer to a very strong positive emotion. Examples of EMOTION IS A WILD (CAPTURED) ANIMAL: (84) rabbia/collera/ira feroce, in preda alla paura/allo spavento/al timore/alla rabbia/ all’ira/alla tristezza, ringhiare di rabbia, gli artigli del panico, controllare la rab- bia/l’ira/la paura (85) gioia feroce, gioia/amore selvaggia(o), in preda all’amore/alla gioia, nido d’amore Interesting differences in relation to the various valences were also revealed in the basic metaphor EMOTION IS AN OBJECT, or more precisely in quite all its specific meta- phors. For the conceptual metaphor EMOTION IS A BUILDING we found MLEs only for emotion concepts with positive valence. We found a few very different realizations (ex- amples 86 to 90). At least some of them refer to the fact that it is possible to build or de- stroy happiness (and love) and that the individual plays an important role in this. The oth- er MLFs refer to the aspect of the existence of emotions and to the intensity of emotions. Examples of EMOTION IS A BUILDING: (86) costruire la felicità/amore (87) distruggere la felicità, amore distrutto (88) felicità incrollabile (89) la porta della felicità (si chiude/si apre) (90) i pilastri della felicità Smith (2020) believes that the concept of happiness as something that can be me- thodically constructed and controlled has only been present in Western cultures since the 18th century, before which happiness was seen as a matter of chance, fate or even the grace of God (Kövecses 2015: 166). Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 36 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 36 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 37 Daša Stanič: METAPHORICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ... Also important for the conceptualization of negative emotions are the metaphors EMOTION IS A BURDEN and EMOTION IS AN OBSTACLE. Kövecses (2020: 49) mentions a source domain WEIGHT, which can be elaborated in BURDEN or/and in OBSTACLE. The realizations are of different types, but all refer on the one hand to the intensity of the emotion (examples 91 to 93 and 96 to 97), and on the other hand to our desire to control our emotions (examples 94 to 95 and 98 to 99). Since positively valued emotions bring pleasure, we do not regard them as obstacles and/or burdens. Examples of EMOTION IS A BURDEN: (91) lasciarsi schiacciare dalla paura/dal terrore (92) (stra)carico di timore/terrore/sgomento/d’ira/di tristezza/di mestizia/di disperazione (93) la paura/il timore pesa, portare il peso della paura/della collera/ dell’infelicità (94) far cadere la paura (95) reggere allo spavento/alla paura Examples of EMOTION IS AN OBSTACLE: (96) la paura/il timore blocca, bloccato dalla furia/dal terrore/dal panico (97) la paura insuperabile (98) superare la paura/lo spavento/il timore/il terrore/il panico/lo sgomento/lpira/la tristezza/la rabbia (99) affrontare la paura/il terrore Although we found MLEs for the metaphor EMOTION IS FOOD for all the considered emotions (except FEAR), we found significant differences between emotions with positive and negative valence, especially in relation to taste. Other authors, for example Zhou and Tse (2020: 7, 9 and 11), also found a relationship between sadness and a bitter taste, and a bitter taste and negatively valenced emotions in general. Similarly, the analysis of the LMEs has shown that in Italian emotions with a positive valence are associated with a good and sweet taste (examples 100 to 101). and those with a negative valence (except fear) are associated with a bitter taste (examples 102 to 103). Examples of EMOTION IS FOOD: (100) gustare l’amore/l’allegria/la gioia, deliziosa gioia (101) felicità/amore dolce, la dolcezza della felicità (102) l’amarezza dell’infelicità/dell’afflizione, rabbia/tristezza/afflizione/mestizia amara (103) addolcire la mestizia/la tristezza Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 37 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 37 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 38 VESTNIK ZA TUJE JEZIKE/JOURNAL FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGES 4 CONCLUSIONS Valence, one of the most important properties of emotions, also influences their concep- tualization. For Italian we found differences at the level of specific metaphors, but even greater differences emerged at the level of metaphorical linguistic expressions themselves. We found that the source domains OPPONENT, OPPONENT WE FIGHT, ILLNESS, DARKNESS, COLD, HEAT, CAPTURED WILD ANIMAL, FOOD (bitter taste), BURDEN and OBSTACLE were relevant for negative emotions. 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Številni avtorji (Fainsilber in Ortony 1987; Fussell in Moss 1998; Gibbs 1994; Köve- cses 2000a; Gibbs, Leggitt in Turner 2002; Kövecses 2014), ki so se ukvarjali s konceptualizacijo čustev, so prepričani, da ima metaforični jezik pomembno vlogo pri razumevanju jezika čustev, saj ne le opisuje in kategorizira čustveno doživljanje, temveč ga tudi natančneje opredeljuje in celo ustvarja. Ker je valenca ena najpomembnejših značilnosti čustev, nas je zanimalo, kako vpliva na njihovo konceptualizacijo in kako se razlike v valenci kažejo na ravni konceptualnih metafor in metaforičnih jezikovnih izrazov. Analizirali smo več kot 150000 konkordanc iz korpusa itWaC in ugotovili, da imajo čustva tudi v italijanščini kompleksno konceptualno strukturo. S primerjavo re- zultatov glede na valenco smo ugotovili, da se razlike med čustvi s pozitivno in negativno valenco ne pojavljajo na ravni osnovnih metafor, temveč na ravni nekaterih specifičnih metafor in še jasne- je na ravni metaforičnih jezikovnih izrazov. Ugotovili smo, da, čeprav se vsa čustva do neke mere pojmovana kot NASPROTNIK/SOVRAŽNIK, to velja še posebej za čustva z negativno valenco. Samo čustva z negativno valenco so pojmovana kot NASPROTNIK, KI SE MU UPREMO, kar nakazuje na to, da jih je treba premagati in nadzorovati. Čustva s pozitivno valenco so pojmovana kot ZDRA VILO, DROGA, SVETLOBA in ZGRADBA. Pri metafori ČUSTVO JE HRANA metaforične jezikovne realizacije kažejo, da je pozitivna valenca jasno povezana z dobrim in sladkim okusom, negativna valenca pa z grenkim okusom. Če so čustva s pozitivno valenco pojmovana kot SVETLOBA, so čustva z negativno valenco pojmovana kot TEMA (ŽALOST), MRAZ (STRAH) in TOPLOTA (JEZA). Na ravni metaforičnih jezikovnih izrazov smo našli še nekaj drugih zanimivih razlik. Ključne besede: konceptualna metafora, koncepti emocij, valenca, italijanščina ABSTRACT METAPHORICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMO- TIONS IN ITALIAN The aim of this article is to discuss the conceptualization of negative and positive emotions in Italian. In other languages, emotions have been found to have a very complex conceptual struc- ture. Many authors (Fainsilber and Ortony 1987; Fussell and Moss 1998; Gibbs 1994; Kövecses 2000a; Gibbs, Leggitt and Turner 2002; Kövecses 2014) who worked on the conceptualization of emotions make it clear that metaphorical language plays an important role in understanding Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 42 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 42 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 43 Daša Stanič: METAPHORICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ... the language of emotions, not only describing and categorizing emotional experiences, but also defining them more precisely and even creating them. Since valence is one of the most important features of emotions, we were interested in how it influences their conceptualization and how differences in valence are manifested at the level of metaphors and metaphorical linguistic ex- pressions. We analysed more than 150,000 concordances from the itWaC corpus and found that emotions in Italian have a complex conceptual structure. Comparing the results by valence, we found that the differences between emotions with positive and negative valence do not occur at the level of basic metaphors, but at the level of some specific metaphors and even more clearly at the level of metaphorical linguistic expressions. We found that while all emotions are perceived as OPPONENT / ENEMY, this source domain applies in particular to emotions with negative valence. Only emotions with negative valence are perceived as OPPONENT WE FIGHT, which means that we have to overcome and control them. In contrast, only positive emotions are perceived as LIGHT, MEDICINE, DRUG and BUILDING. As with the metaphor EMOTIONS ARE FOOD, positive valence is clearly associated with a good and sweet taste and negative valence with a bitter taste. If emotions with a positive valence are perceived as LIGHT, emotions with a negative valence are perceived as DARKNESS (SADNESS), COLD (FEAR) and HEAT (ANGER). At the level of metaphorical linguistic expressions, we found some other interesting differences. Keywords: conceptual metaphor, emotion concepts, valence, Italian Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 43 Vestnik_za_tuje_jezike_2023_FINAL.indd 43 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01 8. 12. 2023 10:10:01