Narrowing: the Prototype Effect

To begin with, in the similes involving entity-concept comparisons, we find that the entity behind the connecting words (i.e., the entity in the source domain) is more prototypical than the target entity of the shared concept. Using the prototype effect, we analyze this phenomenon by conceptually categorizing it according to the level of “being representative”

of any element of a cognitive model. Rosch (1973) primarily proposed that every domain of human perceptions is construed “into nonarbitrary, semantic categories which develop around perceptually salient ‘natural prototypes.’” Lakoff (1987c) later suggested that the

prototype effect is a by-product of the ICM: a basic kind of prototype effect results from gradience in the fitting between the background conditions of the ICM and our knowledge

of categorical concepts. One predication behind this effect of fitting gradience is that a clear-cut conceptual boundary between lexical units is absent or fuzzy. In fact, the other predication, a more radical approach to conceptual categorization, is that there is no single and generally accepted cognitive modality for a common concept (in Lakoff’s (1987; 76) example, he applies the basic concept of “mother”). Accordingly, since there is no definite matching between concepts and lexicons within a certain cognitive modality, our goal for using the prototype effect in mapping similes is to understand the prototypical gradience in the conceptualization of the flavor percept.

Firstly, pure comparisons of coffee and other foods mostly take the form of similes.

Finding the prototype for certain flavor impressions from coffee tasting is hard as tasters are told to clarify the details of the flavor quality. Hence, simply describing the “coffee flavor”

tasted in a non-figurative way is not allowed. In specifying the quality of the coffee flavor, the similes comparing coffee and other foods are very enlightening and informational for beginners and inexperienced tasters to capture the coffee flavor. Because the extra flavor aroused from a certain coffee cannot be captured by a simple gustatory description using words such as bitter, sour, sweet, or umami, tasters are required to search for entities that reflect that flavor in a concordant way.

When describing the quality of smoke in a certain coffee, tasters often make analogies to the flavor of tobacco or tobacco-related entities as the prototype. In examples (6.1) to (6.3), the idealized concept to be defined is “smoke.” Owing to the vagueness of meaning in

“smoke flavor from the coffee,” tasters find “second-hand smoke from a cigarette,” “cigarette

smoke from an ashtray,” or “smoke from a tobacco pipe” to be more precise in indicating what we know about smoke. In other words, we might describe the sensation of smoke as tobacco-like or cigarette-like, but it is far from common knowledge to describe it as coffee-like. Thus, these expressions are more prototypical in describing the sensation of smoke rather than the taste of coffee itself.

(6.1)

Aftertaste 呢有點怪，感覺很像是吸了一口二手菸的感覺。

The aftertaste is a bit weird, as if having inhaled second-hand smoke.

(6.2)

…當然它的風味就會有比較多的煙味。可能是瑕疵豆比較多的關係，

它會有是煙灰缸的味道…

… of course its flavor has a much more smoky smell. It may be because it has more defective beans inside, which would lead it to have an odor of an ashtray.

(6.3)

再來第二個牙買加藍山咖啡的部分，他最大的特色就像一個老爺爺的老 煙槍(斗)，他基本上他雖然是一種煙味，但卻不是難聞的…

And then in the second one, the Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, its main distinct feature is that it is like an old man’s tobacco pipe. Although it is basically a smoky smell, it is not a bad smell…

The descriptions of “second-hand smoke” (二手菸) and “ashtray” (煙灰缸) are usually given by non-smokers or people who have a negative attitude towards smoking. In particular, when smoking or second-hand smoke is mentioned, there is an unfavorable sensation along with an uncomfortable feeling. We view this emotive, evaluative response as another abstract

works and what its function is in the later sections.

Further, the simile of a burnt flavor in deep roast coffee being equated to guoba (i.e., scorched rice) is also common in our cupping data. Although both deep roast coffee and scorched rice are overcooked, the use of “burned rice” is more appropriate than “burned coffee” as a way to limit the concept of a “burnt flavor.” In addition, other comparisons of the burnt flavor to puffed rice (爆米香), burnt charcoal (炭燒), and a roasted flavor (燒烤味) are generally evident in our data as well.

(6.4)

緬甸與越南的arabica 比較有層次，可能是越南的 Robusta 的話，可能是

缺陷豆的問題，就是我們喝下來始終覺得，他焦掉的米的味道非常重，

甚至是，你可以想像你的飯煮焦掉，然後那個鍋巴磨成粉，然後就在喝 那個東西。就是那個細的焦的顆粒，你就一直在嚐那個苦的味道。

The Burmese and Vietnamese arabica coffee are more structured. The Vietnamese Robusta coffee, when tasted—maybe because of its defective beans—still has a heavy flavor of burned rice. Even like, you can imagine that your rice has been overcooked to burnt rice, and you grind the rice to powder, and then you drink it. It is that small burned particle that you are tasting, and you keep tasting that bitterness.

In some similes that are aiming to capture a sensory experience, the sensation of flavor in the target domain is paralleled with the correspondent feelings of taste or smell in the source domain. As we see in example (6.5), the flavor experience in tasting the espresso is compared with the experience of the burned and bitter taste of tea-goose. The taster’s motivation is to specify the quality of the burned-bitter gustation. Rather than saying that the coffee is burned and bitter, the taster finds that the taste of the dish of tea-goose completely fits with his ideal modal meaning of simultaneous sensations of scorchedness and bitterness.

(6.5)

然後在那個美式的話，他喝起來像茶鵝，就是有一道菜叫茶鵝，那他喝 起來中後段有點像茶鵝後面那個焦焦苦苦的味道。

The Americano tastes like tea-goose, which is a dish. The middle and later parts taste more like the burned and bitter taste of tea-goose.

Most importantly, these referred entities are within the audience’s grasp of cognitive modalities owing to their culture-based characteristics from the Eastern world or Taiwan. In other words, the choice to use more prototypical foods that precisely contain these flavors in similes reflects the speaker’s cultural priming. While people of different cultural backgrounds may think of these dishes or foods as foreign or newfangled, the speakers as well as the local audience consider these cuisines as part of their lives. Applying them in simile comparisons aims to strike a chord with the regional audience easily.

(6.6)

在喝Americano 的時候，我們這組給了一個比較極端的評價，很像是沒

有勾芡的酸辣湯。

In tasting the Americano, our group gave an extreme evaluation for this coffee, namely, that it is like hot and sour soup without flour thickening.

Another example of the prototype effect can be seen in example (6.6). In order to define the negative concept of “being extremely (bad) (比較極端的評價),” the speaker used hot and sour soup without flour thickening to analogize. To more precisely justify the use of this kind

of cuisine as an analogy, we must use another simile to describe the hot and sour soup without flour thickening, namely, that it is like crispy doughnuts without frosting. Instead of applying an object-to-object comparison, the speaker applies the prototype effect in this example to

chord with the audience. Apparently, in example (6.6), the coffee flavor is understood as negatively evaluated, since flour thickening is an indispensable procedure in making hot and sour soup. Without thickening, the broth will be tasteless and fail to be qualified as traditional Chinese cuisine. Besides pure descriptive readings, evaluative and affective expressions are embedded within the descriptions. Thus, the speaker chooses to use a made-up version of a familiar cuisine to describe the extremely terrible flavor of the coffee, evoking a negative emotion in the audience, rather than capturing the precise quality of flavor. Based on complete simile comparisons, taste expressions are formed with more representative contents, allowing the audience to accurately recognize certain perceptual feelings.

(6.7)

Espresso 的部分，他酸味的靈活度很高…然後接下來就是帶有果酸，以 及些微藥味，以及胺樹的藥味，簡單來說它就是非常活潑，很像未經世 事的小孩，這是第三個的部分。

As to the espresso, the flexibility of its acidity is high… afterwards, it has fruity acidity, a bit of a medicinal flavor, and a cinoelic flavor. Simply speaking, the flavor is like a child with agility, innocent and lively. This is the third part of the cupping.

To put it in a more extreme way, when mentioning prototypical entities to capture the ideal concept (of flavor qualities), the flavor can be metaphorized or even personified and mapped onto personality or human characteristics. Consider example (6.7), in which the flavor is described as an innocent and lively child with agility. The only ideal concept we can infer from the context is “a feature of being highly flexible and multifarious.” Since this ideal concept is too complicated to illustrate by inanimate features, the speakers choose animate human traits to increase the level of interactivity and vividness of the idea closer to his/her

prototypical figure. In addition, if we do not consider the form of similes, this expression can be further defined as a metaphorical strategy or an example of personification.