Metaphorical, metonymic and metaphthonymic character in Spanish verbal phraseological units based on the noun cabeza: a classification proposal and analysis

The present contribution focuses on metaphoricity and metonymicity related to the field of phraseology. Its more specific aim is to classify a series of Spanish verbal phraseological units (PUs) which contain the noun cabeza in order to observe the relationships between metaphoricity, metonymicity and literality of the conceptualisations at their root. The classification proposed is based on the consultation of different studies in the field of conceptual metaphor and phraseology (related to the mental mechanisms of associative comprehension and to the characteristics of the PUs, with special attention to their potential idiomaticity); it comprehends completely metaphorical and completely metonymical expressions at two extremes and intermediate stages of interaction between metaphor and metonymy with the possible presence of literal elements within the PU. The analysis of 131 expressions previously compiled by Baran À Nkoum (2018) (some of which are repeated due to their polysemic value), has shown a higher incidence of metaphoricity with respect to metonymicity and a dominance of metaphorical PUs where the element cabeza is metonymically conceptualised and refers to the brain or the intellectual faculties of humans. The results of the analysis carried out also suggest the validity of the proposed classification for possible future phraseological studies.