The conceptualization of <i>ido</i> ‘eye’ in Hausa

Abstract The human body has been found to be an extremely productive source domain for the expression of various linguistic concepts in diverse languages and cultures of the world. Although previous research on many languages shows that the eyes are one of those body parts terms that are frequently used as a source domain for the conceptualization of other abstract domains, the Hausa ido is yet to be studied from the cognitive perspective. Based on the cognitive linguistics framework, this paper analyzes the conceptualization of the Hausa ido ‘eye’ and its extension into various target domains, as well as the metaphors and metonymies used in these conceptualizations. The data for this study was collected from a mini-corpus ( Will, 2005 ) and Hausa dictionaries, from which over 150 expressions involving the term ido ‘eye’ were elicited and analyzed. Based on the usage, the term ido was found to be extensively used in various domains including sight, knowledge, attention, decision-making, emotions, character traits, and so on.