To Compare and Contrast Expressions of Sadness and Happiness in English and Arabic

Abstract

This paper sheds light into the similarities and differences between expressions related to sadness and happiness in English and Arabic and establish the commonality of conceptualization and understanding these emotions. The work of Kovecses and others is reviewed and a comparison is determined as far as the two emotions, sadness and happiness in applying some of the emotional mappings such as; sadness is DARKNESS, as AN ILLNESS, as AN OPPONENT, and happiness LIFTS YOU UP, HAPPINESS IS LIGHT among others between English and Arabic. A conclusion was reached that most emotions across the two cultures when it comes to metaphor mapping are similar among some minor differences.