In this paper the framework of Cognitive Grammar (CG) developed by Langacker is adopted to attain a cognitive semantic analysis of the use of the Arabic prepositions (fii) in the horizontal and vertical axes, as used in the Taizzi dialect. Although, encoding the sense of CONTAINMENT, the preposition (fii) is assumed not to play any role in the horizontal and vertical axes; the use of the preposition (fii) in the TD proves things differently. The problem with (fii) is that it is very tempting to be used in the locative sense in which one physical entity is CONTAINED WITHIN another physical entity. However, the cognitive analysis of (fii) justifies the use of this preposition in many instances of the Taizzi dialect where this preposition is seemingly exploited to encode non-containment-related spatial relations. This unfolds some of the unsolved issues concerning prepositions in general and the Arabic prepositions in particular taking the use of (fii) in the Taizzi dialect as a sample. The data presented in this paper show that speakers of the Taizzi dialect extend the use of (fii) to depict spatial relations other than the ones where the Trajector (TR) is actually contained within the boundaries of the Landmark (LM). The instances analyzed in this paper show that (fii) encodes spatial relations in which the TR and the LM are horizontally or vertically related to each other. However, the use of the preposition (fii) by speakers of the Taizzi dialect to encode these spatial relations proves they cognitively characterized the LMs as containers that contain the TRs.

All languages have proverbs that reflect their community’s attitudes, thoughts, values, and beliefs. Similarities between proverbs of different languages can be accounted for in cognitive semantics as motivated by shared human experience and universal schemas. At the same time, differences in the proverbs can be linked to the general idea of cultural diversity and hence language specificity in proverbs. This paper investigates twelve Arabic proverbs from a cognitive semantics viewpoint to determine their underlying schemas. The main aim is to arrive at a better understanding of the universal and language-specific nature of the Arabic proverbs. The methodology employed in the analysis is to explicate and determine, utilizing a cognitive semantics framework, whether the twelve Arabic proverbs have literal equivalence in English with shared schemas. In this regard, the Arabic proverbs and their English counterparts that have shared schemas are evidence for universality. While Arabic proverbs that have no literal equivalence in English and hence no shared schemas are good candidates in support of language specificity. Some of the proverbs might have shared schema but still, exhibit some variations that could be a manifestation of diversity of values and cultural background. Based on the analysis presented in this study, the Arabic proverbs examined fall into three categories: (i) proverbs that demonstrate universal construals; (ii) proverbs that demonstrate universal construal with variations; and (iii) proverbs that demonstrate language-specific construals.