9.2. Metonymy
Metonymy means that one entity stands for another related entity. Simple lexical metonymies in which a prototypical physical characteristic is used to represent the whole entity are common in LSC. For example, the following signs depict prototypical physical properties of these animals: the beak, the ears, and horns, respectively.
a) bird
(based on Wilcox, Wilcox & Jarque, 2003: 144)
b) horse
(based on Wilcox, Wilcox & Jarque, 2003: 144)
c) bull
The different types of metonymies found in LSC are presented below.
Action for instrument:
In these types of metonymies, the action of the hands in interaction with some object represents the instrument of action. The examples of LSC signs including this type of metonymy are the following:
a) piano
b) guitar
(based on Wilcox, Wilcox & Jarque, 2003: 144)
c) toothbrush
(based on Wilcox, Wilcox & Jarque, 2003: 144)
Prototypical action for activity:
The hands and their movement may also be used to represent some prototypical action taken with some object; this in turn may come to metonymically express the general activity. In LSC, the following signs exemplify this type.
a) eat
(based on Wilcox, Wilcox & Jarque, 2003: 145)
b) bathe
(based on Wilcox, Wilcox & Jarque, 2003: 145)
Salient characteristic of a person for a quality:
A number of signs in LSC rely on a type of iconic, gestural metonymy in which a salient characteristic of a well-known person is extended to stand for a more general quality. These metonymies also typically involve metonymic chains. For example, the LSC sign “Charlie-Chaplin” is a compound that iconically depicts Chaplin’s moustache and the movement of holding the cane and moving it in circles as Chapin did, thus relying on two physical characteristics for person metonymy.
charlie-chaplin
(based on Wilcox, Wilcox & Jarque, 2003: 145)
Deviant behavioral effect for intensity of experience:
A related set of metonymies occurs in LSC in which a visible, behavioural response to some experience stands not for the causing experience itself but for the intensity of the causing experience. The LSC sign glossed as crazy-eyes (an iconic sign depicting the eyes open wide) means ‘really good’; the sign could be used, for example, to describe delicious food. Similarly, open-mouth means ‘astonishment’.
a) crazy-eyes
(recreated from Wilcox, Wilcox & Jarque, 2003: 146)
b) open-mouth
(recreated from Wilcox, Wilcox & Jarque, 2003: 146)
Metonymy and name signs:
Name signs form a distinct subsystem of words in LSC, and most signed languages. Name signs function much like proper names in that they refer to a particular person instead of an object or concept common to the experience of all users of the language:
a) two-freckles
b) big-nose
c) short-fringe