This study focuses on whether the metaphors of visual perception are really as universal as has been argued in the literature as research in non-Western languages has demonstrated that the metaphors are not universal. Thus, this study aims at unraveling the conceptual metaphors underlying the linguistic expressions of the Arabic verb of visual perception ىأر (ra’a) in fiction writing. This study adopts a qualitative approach and is situated within the field of cognitive semantics. A corpus of Arabic fiction writing, comprising 1 million words, between the period of 2010 and 2017 was compiled from different sources. Specifically, a sample consisting of 1,000 examples of the Arabic verb of visual perception ىأر was randomly extracted from the corpus using Ghawwas_V4.6 concordancer. The metaphor identification procedures (MIPs) were used to identify the metaphorical linguistic expressions in the corpus, and Lakoff and Johnson’s and Sweetser’s analytical frameworks were adopted for data analysis. The data analysis revealed many conceptual metaphors of knowledge and understanding underlying the metaphorical linguistic expression of the verb ىأر in Arabic. The findings of this study support Sweetser’s claim regarding the universality of conceptual metaphors related to the verbs of visual perception in motivating metaphors of knowledge and intellection. Thus, this study contributes to the literature on verbs of perception, particularly verbs of visual perception, as it is the first to address the conceptual metaphors underlying the verb ىأر in Arabic using real authentic corpus of fiction writing.

The study aims at unraveling the conceptual metaphor underlying the English verb of visual perception see in fiction writing. It has two research questions: 1) What are the conceptual metaphors underlying the linguistic expressions of the English verb of visual perception see in fiction writing and 2) What are the theoretical implications of MIND-AS-BODY theory on the motivation of conceptual metaphors underlying the English verb of visual perception see. This study adopts a qualitative approach and is situated within the field of cognitive semantics. A corpus of English fiction writing between the period of 2010 and 2017 was compiled from different sources comprising one million words. Specifically, a sample consisting of 1,000 examples of the English verb of visual perception see was randomly extracted from the corpus using the AntConc 3.5.0 concordancer. The Metaphor Identification Procedures (MIP) were used to identify the metaphorical linguistic expressions in the corpus, and Lakoff and Johnson's (2003) as well as Sweetser's (1990) analytical frameworks were adopted for data analysis. The data analysis revealed various conceptual metaphors underlying the English verb see. These conceptual metaphors are related to the domains of knowledge, intellections, and understanding which support Sweetser's claim regarding the primacy of vision in motivating metaphors of cognition in human speech and thought. Thus, this study contributes to the literature on verbs of perception, particularly verbs of visual perception, as it is the first to address the conceptual metaphors underlying the verb see in English using a real authentic corpus of fiction writing.

The study aims at unraveling the conceptual metaphor underlying the English verb of visual perception see in fiction writing. It has two research questions: 1) What are the conceptual metaphors underlying the linguistic expressions of the English verb of visual perception see in fiction writing and 2) What are the theoretical implications of MIND-AS-BODY theory on the motivation of conceptual metaphors underlying the English verb of visual perception see. This study adopts a qualitative approach and is situated within the field of cognitive semantics. A corpus of English fiction writing between the period of 2010 and 2017 was compiled from different sources comprising one million words. Specifically, a sample consisting of 1,000 examples of the English verb of visual perception see was randomly extracted from the corpus using the AntConc 3.5.0 concordancer. The Metaphor Identification Procedures (MIP) were used to identify the metaphorical linguistic expressions in the corpus, and Lakoff and Johnson's (2003) as well as Sweetser's (1990) analytical frameworks were adopted for data analysis. The data analysis revealed various conceptual metaphors underlying the English verb see. These conceptual metaphors are related to the domains of knowledge, intellections, and understanding which support Sweetser's claim regarding the primacy of vision in motivating metaphors of cognition in human speech and thought. Thus, this study contributes to the literature on verbs of perception, particularly verbs of visual perception, as it is the first to address the conceptual metaphors underlying the verb see in English using a real authentic corpus of fiction writing.