This study explores the polysemous nature of the English verb “consider” and its Vietnamese equivalents through the lens of Cognitive Linguistics, specifically drawing upon conceptual metaphor theory and the image schema framework. While English utilizes “consider” as a versatile “container” verb for various mental processes, Vietnamese requires a more granular lexical system that reflects specific cognitive and physical source domains. By analyzing authentic data from English – Vietnamese corpora and dictionaries, the research identifies several key metaphorical extensions: thinking is seeing (e.g., xem xét), evaluation is weighing (e.g., cân nhắc), and social orientation (e.g., đoái hoài). The findings reveal a significant cognitive divergence: whereas English emphasizes a “Rational-Linear”” model of mental labor, Vietnamese prioritizes an “Embodied-Relational” model. In Vietnamese, the act of “considering” is consistently anchored in physical experience and social harmony, moving from the pragmatic balancing of resources (liệu cơm gắp mắm) to the validation of personal worth through visual recognition (đoái hoài). The study concludes that these linguistic differences are not mere lexical curiosities but are deeply rooted in distinct cultural worldviews. These insights have practical implications for contrastive semantics, translation studies, and second language acquisition (SLA), particularly for Vietnamese learners of English who struggle with the lack of one-to-one equivalence in mental state verbs.
Publication Date: 2026-06-18