Naslov
Up the creek with a paddle: Conceptual metaphors as a tool for teaching culture-specific vocabulary

Autori
Jelčić, Jasmina

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, neobjavljeni rad, znanstveni

Skup
Third International Symposium on Figurative Thought and Language

Mjesto i datum
Osijek, Hrvatska, 26.04.2017. - 28.04.2017

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Domaća recenzija

Ključne riječi
metaphoric awareness, culture-specific vocabulary, EFL learning

Sažetak
To speak figuratively benefits both native and second and foreign language speakers inasmuch as it provides speakers with an additional way of acquiring vocabulary. Figurative language underlies a great deal of vocabulary and when a speaker is aware of these motivating bonds between single lexemes and vocabulary chunks, he or she is better equipped to confine them to memory (Kövecses & Szabó (1996) ; Boers (2000)). Conceptual metaphors (CMs) are believed to exist in our minds in order to help us understand one thing in terms of another (e.g. to understand anger in terms of fire through the ANGER IS FIRE metaphor). They form the basis of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) which assumes CMs are a universal occurrence whose presence in the minds of the speakers is evident in language (Lakoff & Johnson (1980)). This study is based on the postulates of CTM: CMs govern our conceptual systems and figurative language such as idioms are motivated by CMs ; some CMs are universal and shared across languages. The present study aims to investigate whether awareness of the existence of CMs can also facilitate the comprehension of culturally-specific (CS) idiomatic expressions which do not lend themselves so readily to any CM. An experiment was designed in order to try and answer the following question: is the comprehension of CS idioms raised with metaphoric awareness? Croatian learners of English were tested on their comprehension of CS idioms by means of a questionnaire which contained a translation task in which the participants were asked to provide Croatian translations for the 10 CS idioms from English. The testing was preceded by a 20-minute introductory lesson on idiomatic language and idiomatic expressions. In addition, the Experimental group was introduced to the concept of CMs and was given examples of metaphors motivating idioms in order to illustrate the connection between the two concepts. This was denied to the Control group that remained unaware of the connection between idioms and CMs. The results showed that metaphor-aware students performed statistically better with culturally-specific items than those students who were denied the same tool. Making the learners aware of the idioms’ underlying motivation seems to heighten their understanding of culture-specific vocabulary items, which is in accordance with previous research (Boers (2000) ; Boers, Demecheleer & Eyckmans (2004)). The study suggests CMs present a useful tool in the retention of vocabulary.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Filologija

POVEZANOST RADA