Exploring the cognitive concept of love in a non-literary context Persian and Arabic languages

Introduction
We have almost certainly come across the sentence, "Love belongs to the tales." This statement, in essence, suggests that love should be sought in imagination and literature, rather than in ordinary life and everyday reality. Implicit in this claim is the idea that the conceptualization of love, as it exists in imagination and literary contexts, is primarily expressed through literary language rather than through ordinary, colloquial speech. Indeed, if the linguistic expressions of love are removed from daily discourse, no significant impact occurs; in contrast, in literature, if love is absent, a substantial part of its essence is lost. Moreover, when we seek to understand the concept of love within a specific language or culture, we naturally turn to its literature, stories, myths, poetry, and poets. Similarly, to experience or comprehend moments of love, we often engage with poems, songs, and melodies, which are typically rich in love-related themes.
The fact that we predominantly encounter the language of love in literary contexts rather than in everyday language may also reflect the inherent nature of love: it is not an ordinary, everyday emotion. It goes beyond the fundamental emotions—joy, sorrow, anger, and fear—which are experienced repeatedly and serve as mechanisms for survival. Love, however, transcends the primary obligations of life, seeming to exist for a more meaningful and enriched form of existence beyond mere biological survival. It engages the imagination, fosters creativity, and creates novel mappings between elements, connecting them in new and meaningful ways. In doing so, love constantly challenges existing reality and elevates it to a higher, more transcendent level. In this study, we aim to address the following questions through a cognitive exploration of this emotional concept:

What are the most common source domains for understanding and expressing the concept of love in Persian and Arabic?
What is the conceptual metaphor structure of love in these languages?
What similarities and differences exist in the conceptual structure of love between the two languages?

 
Background
Research on the concept of love in the "conventional" Persian and Arabic languages has been relatively limited. However, numerous studies have explored the concept of love in "literature," particularly focusing on mystical or Sufi love. Among the studies that have examined this emotion in Persian language and literature, the following are noteworthy:
The dissertation titled “A Comparative Study of Metaphor in Persian and English Based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory” by Sarahi (2012) examined metaphors of anger, joy, love, sadness, fear, and color. It is one of the few studies that also collected some linguistic expressions of conventional love. The results revealed numerous similarities and differences among the metaphors corresponding to these concepts in the two languages.
Other notable works include the article “Cognitive Analysis of Love Metaphors in Sanai’s Ghazals” by Zarghani et al. (2013), the dissertation “Examining the Metaphorical Systems of Love in Five Mystical Texts Based on Cognitive Metaphor Theory” by Hashemi (2013), the article “Cognitive Metaphors of Love in Rumi’s Masnavi” by Asperham and Tasdighi (2018), and the study titled “Dual Nature in the Conceptualization of Love Metaphors in Persian: A Cognitive Approach” by Tavakoli Garmaseh (2020).
In Arabic, the article “A Conceptual Approach to the Structure of Psychological Verbs in Arabic” by Al-Fraouzi and Marzooq (2021) briefly addresses love/hate, anger/discontent, sadness/joy, pride/shyness, and similar concepts. It classifies sadness, anger, hate, and shame as introvert or constrictive emotions, while their opposites are considered expansive emotions.
 
Method
The methodology of this study is descriptive-analytical, employing a cognitive semantics approach. In this framework, we first collect conventional and common conceptual metaphors of love in Persian and Arabic that reveal the cognitive mechanisms underlying the concept of love. Then, we study, analyze, and organize these metaphors systematically. The distinguishing feature of the present research lies in its cognitive examination of the source domains that represent love in language, allowing us to observe and systematically identify the ways speakers of these two languages conceptualize love.
 
 
 
 
Results
An analysis of a selected set of conventional linguistic expressions in Persian and Arabic indicates that the linguistic manifestations of love are primarily literary-metaphorical, followed by conventional-metaphorical, and then literal-physical or figurative-physiological. In other words, love is not an all-encompassing emotion or experience, and this characteristic is reflected in its linguistic representation. A substantial portion of these expressions consists of personal, creative, and idiosyncratic interpretations, often reflected in literature. However, beyond this largely individual-centered domain, there is also a collective system; in other words, the understanding and expression of love can be both personal and communal. Love is as personal as the creative aspect of individual thought and expression (specific literature), while the remainder, shaped by a secondary inclination and the psychological needs of the general population, predominantly appears in literary or non-literary conventional usage. Therefore, constructing a complete conceptual structure of love without reference to literature and non-conventional language is incomplete or impossible.
 
Discussion
Speakers of Persian and Arabic often conceptualize the abstract experience of love through tangible experiences such as Container, Force, Atmosphere, Path/ Pathlessness (confusion), Personification, Pain, Illness, and similar source domains. For example, when experiencing love, one may perceive themselves as being affected by a powerful Force with strong attraction or pull (I was captivated/ enamored; in Arabic: خلبه وسحره الحب، أخّاذ بجماله، یسلب اللُّب), or as a Container with its contents and properties (with a broken heart/ full of love, pure and sincere love; أحبّه  من صمیم القلب، رفع الصمّام عن شعوره بحبها، عمق وتدفّق وخلجات الحب), or as pain embodied in a burning phenomenon (fiery love, heartbroken lover; نار المحبة، حب متّقد، حبّها أضرم قلبی). The data reveal extensive cognitive overlaps between the two languages, which may stem from intercultural interactions as well as a fundamental physiological arousal mechanism. Nevertheless, in relation to love, the role of culture in each language cannot be ignored, as it shapes unique experiential and cognitive patterns, which in turn influence specific linguistic expressions.
Cognitive models of love, while generally aligning with the five-stage scenario of emotional experience (cause, onset, attempt to control, loss of control, reaction), demonstrate distinctive characteristics. One such distinction is that love often elicits one of the basic emotions—joy, fear, or sadness—depending on the individual’s hopefulness, despair, or anxiety during the experience, producing a kind of overlap, simultaneity, or interdependence of two emotions throughout the scenario. Consequently, the lover may display characteristics of a fearful, happy, or sorrowful individual, revealing important cultural and cognitive differences. For instance, if a culture is more conservative or introverted regarding love, the expression or confession of love may become more complex. The stage of emotional control may become so dominant that the continuation of the scenario is prevented. In a tribal culture where marriages within kinship are valued, the cognitive model of “love for a stranger” often functions in a fragmented manner. In patriarchal cultures, male acceptance of love may be seen as counter-normative or a form of involuntary lapse, while the aspects of enchantment, seduction, and allure of women are broadly reflected in the cultural-linguistic expressions (وقع فی حب فاتنة).
Another distinction of love from other emotions is the longer temporal unfolding of these stages and its narrative-like scenario, which explains its prominent presence in literature as long poetic or prose narratives and reflects the cultural prominence of love. Historically, love was not a universal experience because it was not essential for survival. However, with the current prominence of the Atmosphere Personification domain, this experience has acquired a normative and purposeful dimension, being actively pursued by many as an ideal.
 
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