The Embodied Cognitive Frame of Ezāfe-ye Eqtirānī in Persian

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Bonab Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bonab, Iran

Abstract

The primary aim of this study is to analyze the semantic and structural properties of Ezāfe-ye Eqtirānī (conjunctive ezāfe) in Persian through the lens of the theory of embodied cognitive frames—a theory that considers the human body as the primary source of conceptual structuring in language. Within this approach, the body not only plays a central role in conceptualization but also contributes to grammatical categorization, especially in the representation of semantic relations within noun phrases. Among the various types of ezāfe in Persian, Ezāfe-ye Eqtirānī—due to its semantic complexity, the divergence of grammatical opinions regarding it, and its high capacity for metonymic extensions—merits a renewed investigation from an embodiment-oriented perspective. Using a descriptive method and argument-based content analysis, this paper aims to provide a clearer definition of this type of ezāfe and to distinguish it from other syntactic constructions. In light of this approach, the data show that the structure of Ezāfe-ye Eqtirānī is grounded in image-schematic connections rooted in embodied experience and sensorimotor representations. The head noun serves as the instantiation of a stabilized conceptual frame based on bodily cognition, while the dependent noun (the ezāfe-modifier) acts as a conceptual elaborator and image-space activator. This analysis confirms the efficacy of the embodied frame approach in explaining the syntactic-semantic behavior of this type of ezāfe, demonstrating that conjunctive relations—emerging from embodied organizations—interact with the cultural and aesthetic layers of language to generate multilayered, flexible, and context-sensitive meanings. From this perspective, Ezāfe-ye Eqtirānī can be identified as a dynamic, intersubjective, and meaning-generating sub-system in Persian.

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Main Subjects

Literary Theory and Criticism

Articles in Press, Corrected Proof
Available Online from 22 May 2025

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