著者

山田 仁子

出版者

徳島大学

雑誌

言語文化研究 (ISSN:13405632)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.6, pp.177-196, 1999-02-20

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Wine aficionados search for exact words to describe their impressions. They are often unsatisfied with ordinary language usage, and borrow words from glossaries of books about wine tasting, or even invent new expressions themselves. Their use of words simultaneously indicates the limit of established language usage and the creative power of language. This paper examines synesthetic metaphors in wine tasting, especially those in which adjectives of 'hearing,' 'vision,' and 'dimension' modify the sensory experiences of 'smell' and 'taste.' These directions of modification do not seem to match with previous studies on synesthetic metaphors like Williams (1976) or Yamada (1992, 1993, 1994). The data examined in this paper provide evidence that 'light' and 'dimension' hold the status of 'sensation' in the language of English, and show that some factors other than the sensory mechanism of synesthesia can help produce uncommon synesthetic metaphors.