METAPHORICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE DEAF WORLDVIEW IN ABBOU VICTOR’S NOVEL «THE KEY TO THE WORLD»

Abstract

The conceptual and linguistic worldview of the deaf is unique due to the specific life experiences of this community and may not be fully understood by people who hear and communicate verbally. Viсtor Abbouʼs novel «The Key to the World» is a kind of attempt to promote mutual understanding between these two worlds and to present the main issues of the deaf community in contemporary society. Through metaphor, he represents concepts such as social isolation, obstacles to communication, the struggle for the rights of deaf people, sign language. It has been established that the means of depiction in metaphors often involve simple objects from the material world (closed / open doors, walls, wells), physical phenomena (light / darkness), living beings (animals / plants), and spatial deictics, which simultaneously have an iconic character in the sign language that the author himself uses in everyday life. Numerous quotes from the novel text are provided for analysis. The article analyzes not only the mechanism of metaphor functioning and the most common means of representation for the key concepts of the worldview of the deaf, but also considers the socio-cultural and civilizational aspects of their formation, based on the research of Mariana da Silveira Schmitz, André Minguy, Christian Cuxac, and Dominique Poirier. Special attention in the article is given to the concept of sign language, which becomes the foundation for building a unique identity of the deaf community as a whole and of an individual. Its functioning principle through physical «showing» is analogous to the principle of using metaphors to describe the unknown or abstract, according to the scientific method of G. Lakoff and M. Johnson. The principle of «showing» through metaphor is realized not only in the authorial dimension but also in the example of conventional metaphors or idiomatic expressions. Thus, metaphor becomes a valuable reflection of the structure and priorities of the conceptual system and the content of the linguistic worldview of a community of people with disabilities of hearing.