YJSSH
Vol. 1 No. 3 (2025): Young Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities

How the Mind Understands Meaning: A Cognitive Semantic Approach

Gurning, Daniel Daniel Saputra (Unknown)
Damanik , Bernieke Anggita Ristia (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
03 Aug 2025

Abstract

This study investigates how meaning is cognitively constructed through metaphor, image schemas, and semantic frames in English and Indonesian discourse. Employing a qualitative descriptive design, it analyzes 30 text samples from political, religious, educational, and digital communication contexts. Drawing on Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), Image Schema Theory, and Frame Semantics, the findings demonstrate that meaning-making is embodied, culturally embedded, and contextually situated. Metaphors like Life Is A Journey and Argument Is War dominate across domains, while image schemas such as Container and Path underlie the cognitive organization of abstract concepts. Semantic frames further enrich meaning by activating situational knowledge structures. The results highlight that linguistic meaning is not fixed but shaped by socio-cultural experiences and cognitive structures.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

yjssh

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Social Sciences

Description

Young Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (YJSSH) is an academic journal which focuses on social and humanistic issues, both of a conceptual and an empirical nature. The journal uses a multidisciplinary perspective with a focus on the main issue. The journal is open to all to contribute to it, ...