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8
Metonymy
In the cases of personification that we have looked at we are , imputing human qualities to things that are not human---theories, diseases, inflation, etc. In such cases there are no actual human beings referred to. When we say "Inflation robbed me of my savings," we are not using the term "inflation" to refer to a person. Cases like this must be distinguished from cases like
The ham sandwich is waiting for his check.
where the expression "the ham sandwich" is being used to refer to an actual person, the person" who ordered the ham sandwich. Such cases are not instances of personification metaphors, since we do not understand "the ham sandwich" by imputing human qualities to it. Instead, we are using one entity to refer to another that is related to it. This is a case of what we will call metonymy. Here are some further examples:
He likes to read the Marquis de Sade. (= the writings of the marquis)
He's in dance. (= the dancing profession)
Acrylic has taken over the art world. (= the use of acrylic paint)
The Times hasn't arrived at the press conference yet. (= the reporter from the Times)
Mrs. Grundy frowns on blue jeans. (= the wearing of blue jeans)
New windshield wipers will satisfy him. (= the state of having new wipers)
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We are including as a special case of metonymy what traditional rhetoricians have called synecdoche, where the part stands for the whole, as in the following.
THE PART FOR THE WHOLE
The automobile is clogging our highways. (= the collection of automobiles)
We need a couple of strong bodies for our team. (= strong people)
There are a lot of komi heads in the university. (= intelligent people)
I've got a new set of wheels. (= car, motorcycle, etc.)
We need some new blood in the organization. (= new people)
In these cases, as in the other cases of metonymy, one entity is being used to refer to another. Metaphor and metonymy are different kinds of processes. Metaphor is principally a way of conceiving of one thing in terms of another, and its primary function is understanding. Metonymy, on the other hand, has primarily a referential function, that is, it allows us to use one entity to stand for another. But metonymy is not merely a referential device. It also serves the function of providing understanding. For example, in the case of the metonymy the part for the whole there are many parts that can stand for the whole. Which part we pick out determines which aspect of the whole we are focusing on. When we say that we need some good heads on the project, we are using "good heads" to refer to "intelligent people." The point is not just to use a part (head) to stand for a whole (person) but rather to pick out a particular characteristic of the person, namely, intelligence, which is associated with the head. The same is true of other kinds of metonymies. When we say "The Times hasn't arrived at the press conference yet," we are using "The Times" not merely to refer to some reporter or other but also to suggest the importance of the institution the reporter represents. So "The Times has not yet arrived for the press conference" means something different from
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"Steve Roberts has not yet arrived for the press conference," even though Steve Roberts may be the Times reporter in question.
Thus metonymy serves some of the same purposes that metaphor does, and in somewhat the same way, but it allows us to focus more specifically on certain aspects of what is being referred to. It is also like metaphor in that it is not just a poetic or rhetorical device. Nor is it just a matter of language. Metonymic concepts (like the part for the whole) are part of the ordinary, everyday way we think and act as well as talk.
For example, we have in our conceptual system a special case of the metonymy the part for the whole, namely, the face for the person. For example:
She's just a pretty face.
There are an awful lot of faces out there in the audience.
We need some new faces around here.
This metonymy functions actively in our culture. The tradition of portraits, in both painting and photography, is based on it. If you ask me to show you a picture of my son and I show you a picture of his face, you will be satisfied. You will consider yourself to have seen a picture of him. But if I show you a picture of his body without his face, you will consider it strange and will not be satisfied. You might even ask, "But what does he look like?" Thus the metonymy') the face for the person is not merely a matter of language. In our culture we look at a person's face---rather than his posture or his movements---to get our basic information about what the person is like. We function in /terms of a metonymy when we perceive the person in terms of his face and act on those perceptions.
Like metaphors, metonymies are not random or arbitrary occurrences, to be treated as isolated instances. Metonymic concepts are also systematic as can be seen in the following representative examples that exist in our culture.
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THE PART FOR THE WHOLE
Get your butt over here!
We don't hire longhairs.
The Giants need a stronger arm in right field.
I've got a new four-on-the-floor V-8.
PRODUCER FOR PRODUCT
I'll have a Lőwenbräu.
He bought a Ford.
He's got a Picasso in his den.
I hate to read Heidegger.
OBJECT USED FOR USER
The sax has the flu today.
The BLT is a lousy tipper.
The gun he hired wanted fifty grand.
We need a better glove at third base.
The buses are on strike.
CONTROLLER FOR CONTROLLED
Nixon bombed Hanoi.
Ozawa gave a terrible concert last night.
Napoleon lost at Waterloo.
Casey Stengel won a lot of pennants.
A Mercedes rear-ended me.
INSTITUTION FOR PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE
Exxon has raised its prices again.
You'll never get the university to agree to that.
The Army wants to reinstitute the draft.
The Semite thinks abortion is immoral.
I don't approve of the government's actions.
THE PLACE FOR THE INSTITUTION
The White House isn't saying anything.
Washington is insensitive to the needs of the people. The Kremlin threatened to boycott the next round of SALT talks.
Paris is introducing longer skirts this season.
Hollywood isn't what it used to be.
Wall Street is in a panic.
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THE PLACE FOR THE EVENT
Let's not let Thailand become another Vietnam.
Remember the Alamo.
Pearl Harbor still has an effect on our foreign policy.
Watergate changed our politics.
It's been Grand Central Station here all day.
Metonymic concepts like these are systematic in the same way that metaphoric concepts are. The sentences given above are not random. They are instances of certain general metonymic concepts in terms of which we organize our thoughts and actions. Metonymic concepts allow us to conceptualize one thing by means of its relation to something else; When we think of a Picasso, we are not Just thinking of a work of art alone, in and of itself. We think of it in terms of its relation to the artist, that is, his conception of art, his technique, his role in art history, etc. We act with reverence toward a Picasso, even a sketch he made as a teen-ager, because of its relation to the artist. This is a way in which the producer for product metonymy affects both our thought and our action. Similarly, when a waitress says "The ham sandwich wants his check," she is not interested in the person as a person but only as a customer, which is why the use of such a sentence is dehumanizing. Nixon himself may not have dropped the bombs on Hanoi, but via the controller for controlled metonymy we not only say "Nixon bombed Hanoi" but also think of him as doing the bombing and hold him responsible for it. Again this is possible because of the nature of the metonymic relationship in the controller for controlled metonymy, where responsibility is what is focused on.
Thus, like metaphors, metonymic concepts structure not just our language but our thoughts,attitudes, and actions. And,like metaphoric concepts, metonymic concepts are grounded in our experience. In fact, the grounding of metonymic concepts is in general more obvious than is the case with metaphoric concepts, since it usually involves direct physical or causal associations. The part for
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whole metonymy, for example, emerges from our experiences with the way parts in general are related to wholes. producer for product is based on the causal (and typically physical) relationship between a producer and his product. the place for the event is grounded in our experience with the physical location of events. And so on.
Cultural and religious symbolism are special cases of metonymy. Within Christianity, for example, there is the metonymy dove for holy spirit. As is typical with metonymies, this symbolism is not arbitrary. It is grounded in the conception of the dove in Western culture and the conception of the Holy Spirit in Christian theology. There is a reason why the dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit and not, say, the chicken, the vulture, or the ostrich. The dove is conceived of as beautiful, friendly, gentle, and, above all, peaceful. As a bird, its natural habitat is the sky, which metonymically stands for heaven, the natural habitat of the Holy Spirit. The dove is a bird that flies gracefully, glides silently, and is typically seen coming out of the sky and landing among people.
The conceptual systems of cultures and religions are metaphorical in nature. Symbolic metonymies are critical links between everyday experience and the coherent metaphorical systems that characterize religions and cultures. Symbolic metonymies that are grounded in our physical experience provide an essential means of comprehending religious and cultural concepts.