Importance Of Animal Metaphors

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The present study is within cognitive -semantic framework. Over the years there has been an interest in research about idioms, proverbs and expressions within various frameworks, but studies on animal expres-sions are few in Arabic language. This research is an attempt to show some semantic meanings through an-imal expressions and proverbs by using Jordanian Bedouin dialect. According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), Lakoff (1987, 1993), and Johnson (1987) in cognitive –semantic framework metaphor is the corner stone in categorization the world and thinking processes. Metaphor has considered as the most important form of figurative language use. Metaphors allow us to understand one domain of experience in terms of another. To serve this function, there must be some grounding, some concepts that are not completely understood via metaphor to serve as source domains. (Lakoff and Turner 1989: 135).

2.2 Historical Background Research on animal metaphors has revealed the …show more content…

Specifically, the animals – domestic and wild, in-volved in metaphors and their individual distinctive characteristic features that motivate their metaphorical interpretations are highlighted. Findings of the study revealed that the sources of animal metaphors were lo-cated in three areas, namely: the Yorùbá naming culture, animal characteristic habits and behaviour, and the Yorùbá poetry. Animal metaphors involve transference of meanings, and whatever meanings or interpreta-tions are assigned to a particular animal metaphor, are culture and context dependent. The study concludes with stylistic and communicative functions of animal metaphors, with the submission that stylistically animal metaphors contribute to aesthetics and poetic elegance of literary texts through their lexical tones, which can be stylistically

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