Conceptualising Human–Environment Relationships in Ekegusii: A Study of Metaphoric and Metonymic Expressions

Abstract

This paper examines dominant metaphoric and metonymic expressions in Ekegusii that conceptualise relationships between humans and the environment. The study is premised on the understanding that language serves as a repository of cultural knowledge and reflects how communities perceive and interact with their surroundings. While previous cognitive linguistic studies on Ekegusii have focused on themes such as emotion, gender, disease, music, and social relations, limited attention has been given to environmental conceptualisation. Guided by Conceptual Metaphor Theory, the study adopts a qualitative research design and employs purposive sampling to select knowledgeable native speakers of Ekegusii from Kisii and Nyamira Counties. Data are collected through semi-structured interviews, focused elicitation sessions, and the analysis of oral discourse. The collected data are transcribed, translated, and subjected to thematic analysis to identify recurrent metaphoric and metonymic patterns. The study seeks to classify the dominant conceptual structures through which environmental features, ecological processes, and human interactions with nature are represented in Ekegusii. It is anticipated that the findings will reveal the cognitive mechanisms that underpin environmental discourse and demonstrate how language encodes indigenous ecological knowledge. The study contributes to cognitive linguistic scholarship by extending the understanding of metaphor and metonymy in African languages while documenting the environmental worldview embedded in the language and culture of the Abagusii community