Semantic Extension of zadan (hit): Metaphor or Metonymy? A Four-category Theory of Polysemy Approach

This paper focuses on the semantic extensions of zadan (to hit) in terms of two vital processes, namely, metonymy and metaphor by adopting the four-category framework of Riemer (2005) as its analytical tool. It provides a descriptive-analysis by looking at the data gathered from certain Persian texts such as the eight-volume of Sokhan dictionary. The analysis of the data revealed that all four categories including metaphor, effect metonymy, constituent metonymy and context metonymy play a role in the semantic extensions of zadan. Moreover, it was revealed that the aforementioned patterns had a considerable flexibility to explain the semantic diversity of zadan (to hit) in Persian. The flexibility had two dimensions: a) it had the ability to explain language specific examples which had compatibility with one of the existing sub-classes and could easily be placed under one of the suggested classifications; b) it also had the potential to improve the classifications in placing specific data which had no correspondence in English or Warlpiri by adding some new sub-categories to Riemer’s framework. Finally, the examination of the semantic diversity of zadan explicitly shows that out of the two main linguistic devices (i.e., metaphor and metonymy), metonymy by far plays a more significant role in creating the semantic diversity for the verb zadan and the semantic extensions are mainly the results of functions of metonymy and post-metonymy.