Is Time Money, Is Argument War? Swahili Cultural Conceptualizations and Language Usage

Recent research within linguistic and cultural studies demonstrates that interdependencies between language and culture are very tight, although they are not direct but rather mediated by what is labeled cultural frames (scripts), cultural models, cultural metaphors, or cultural conceptualizations (Holland and Quinn 1987; Lakoff and Johnson 1980; Palmer 1996; Sharifian 2011, 2017). These conventionalized patterns organize cognition and provide guidance for mental representations and linguistic structures. The present contribution discusses cultural conceptualizations characteristic of the Swahili language, as used by its speakers in East Africa, and observed from the perspective of lexical categories and expressions, grammatical structures, and discourse strategies. Using the paradigm of Cultural Linguistics, coupled with the theoretical apparatus of Cognitive Linguistics, it will be shown that Swahili cultural conceptualizations are strongly connected to social norms and values such as, for example, utu “humanness,” aibu “shame, modesty,” or sitara “concealment.” A special attention will be paid to cultural conceptualizations which are prevalent in Western cultures, such as the two metaphors “time is money” and “argument is war” that are not well entrenched in Swahili. It is proposed instead that they have counterparts such as time is social value and argument is dance that not only comply with Swahili social values and behaviors but can also be seen as metaphors that shape and organize Swahili discourse.