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10 Orazgozel Esenoya

One thing we know about seeds is that they do not germinate immediately after they have been sown but they undergo a dormant period. This period continues until there are favourable environmental conditions for plant growth (appropriate soil temperaturę, oxygen, water etc). We use this knowledge about seeds when we talk about our latent emotions. The Oxford English Dictionary gives us the following example in which a latent emotion is viewed as a dormant seed:

(5)    He almost constantly allows a dormant passion to germ and sprout forth, and effloresce by slow degrees.

When the seed is sown and the dormancy period is over, it starts germinating. In the expressions below, germination correlates with the awakening of an emotion.

(6)    In this close companionship, tender emotions germinate and develop.

(7)    Ego, hatred and jealousy germinate when the mind gets corrupted.

(8)    Respect must be present in order for love to germinate and grow.

(9)    A young, spontaneous love sprouted.

As is obvious, similar conceptualisation is also present in (5).

The next stage in plant growth is budding. This stage too correlates with feelings that start developing. This can be explained by the fact that there is a perceived similarity between the process of seed germination and budding. A seed swells before germination and then the seed shell breaks open and a new plant appears. Buds undergo a parallel process: first they swell, then they Split open and a leaf, flower or shoot emerges. These parallels in experience allow us to map these two stages in the source domain onto the initial stage of emotion in the target. Let us consider some linguistic examples: