Plant Metaphor of Love in English and Khowar: A Cross-Cultural Linguistic Study

Abstract

Purpose of the study: The study aims to explore the 'plant metaphors' in English and Khowar to conceptualize the emotion concept 'love.' It is intended to examine the universally shared understanding and cultural embodiment of the emotional concept of love in terms of plant/s to show the organic nature of Khowar like English for contributing in the existing literature.
 Methodology: Qualitative content analysis was employed as a method, and the data were collected systematically. The data was studied and examined thoroughly and coded into manageable categories as well as sorted into similar groups thematically to explore the similarities and differences of the conceptual metaphors in English and Khowar. The thematically categorized plant metaphors of love were interpreted within Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT).
 Findings: The study revealed that the Khowar speech community seemed to express their love indirectly by employing the names of various plants metaphorically to express their love: whereas the English people seemed to be more eager to express their love frankly and directly. Thus, the 'plant metaphors' to conceptualize the emotion concept 'love' seemed to be culturally embodied rather than universal.
 Applications: This paper will open a fresh avenue in the field of cognitive linguistics by unwrapping the plant metaphors of love in English and Khowar for debate and discussion academically. Besides, this paper will contribute to the existing body of literature in the field. Moreover, it will encourage researching the marginalized languages like Khowar.
 Novelty: This study was conducted from the orientalist perspective to show the organic or living nature of the Khowar language and culture in terms of English. Such study on the topic has yet not been conducted to fill the gap in the field of cognitive linguistics. It intended to preserve Khowar in the phase of globalization.