NININS 2020
International
Scientific Forum «National Interest, National Identity and National Security»
ANALYSIS OF METAPHORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS IN TEXTBOOKS ON RUSSIAN AS FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Golovko Nikolay (a)*, Odekova Feruza (b), Sheiko Darya (c)
*Corresponding
author
(a) North Caucasus Federal University, Pushkina street 1, Stavropol, Russian Federation, info@ncfu.ru
(b) North Caucasus Federal University, Pushkina street 1, Stavropol, Russian Federation, info@ncfu.ru
(c) North Caucasus Federal University, Pushkina street 1, Stavropol, Russian Federation, info@ncfu.ru
Abstract
A new and interesting concept in the linguistic didactics that is currently being developed in global research and starts to attract attention of Russian authors is that of metaphorical competence of foreign language learners. In conjunction with the problematic question of semantical reference of metaphors, it constitutes a notable area to be studied and analyzed. As a part of a greater project dedicated to this area, we have performed initial referential and typological analysis of metaphorical constructions found in texts and exercises of three major series of textbooks on Russian as a foreign language. Each series thus received early evaluation in terms of how actively it contributes to the development of metaphorical competence in students of Russian as a foreign language. And as a part of this effort we have reviewed and classified in accord with different aspects of semantical reference a total of 367 metaphorical constructions and were able to distinguish 45 types of basic semantical concepts that these constructions were carrying. Further research is planned with the ultimate objective to evaluate the importance of development of metaphorical competence within the context of foreign language learning in application to the Russian language for students of higher education institutions.
2357-1330
© 2020 Published by European Publisher.
Keywords:
foreign language
learning, Russian as a foreign language, metaphorical competence, applied
linguistics, cognitive linguistics
1. Introduction
Metaphors have been attracting attention of linguists and other researchers for many years. For example, in the field of cognitive linguistics a list of notable and frequently cited authors would include, but not be limited to G. Lakoff and M. Johnson (since 1980), L. Cameron (since 1999), L. Boroditsky (since 2000), Z. Kövecses (since 2002), J. Littlemore (since 2003), J. Charteris-Black (since 2004), A. Deignan (since 2005), E. Semino (since 2008). Findings in this area have a lot of potential and practical applications; for instance, indirect meanings constitute a considerable obstacle for machine interpretation and understanding of texts in natural languages.
One of such applications lies in the area of language teaching and learning. Native speakers are used to relying on metaphorical constructions that are tightly linked with their culture and its traditions. However, for a foreign learner such constructions might be counter-intuitive and generally unclear due to a different cultural background. It thus comes as no surprise that in the latest years we have observed a considerable number of research articles dedicated to analysis of metaphors in the context of linguistic didactics. Interesting recent examples are Pérez (2019), Birdsell (2018), Kelso (2018). The concept of ‘metaphoric(al) competence’ can be found in such papers in particular and is generally understood as the students’ ability to perceive and produce metaphors in a second or foreign language.
We have also noticed that certain authors address the referential aspect of metaphors. In some articles, they claim that the phenomenon of reference is still not sufficiently researched in modern linguistics or is even ignored (see Raskin and Chernouski, 2017, for example). This aspect is indeed of particular interest, and we believe that it could produce meaningful results not only in the narrow area of language learning but also in the field of semantics and semiotics in general. As it is pointed out in (Stepanova et al., 2018), the way in which humans relate language signs to real world phenomena and objects is still not entirely clear.
As a part of a research project that is currently carried out by the Department of Russian Speech Culture within the Humanities Institute of the North Caucasus Federal University, our team has decided to analyze a set of popular textbooks on Russian as a foreign language and review their usage of metaphorical constructions. This particular paper will be focused on a relatively narrow task of collecting samples of metaphors and reviewing them in accord with their references and types.
2. Problem Statement
As far as we are aware, the idea of development
of metaphorical competence in students of second or foreign languages is a
relatively new and not yet sufficiently explored field in linguistic didactics.
Certain research that we have mentioned in the Introduction suggests
that it might play a notable role in the process of language learning and to an
extent define the students’ efficiency in understanding and using the foreign
language. If there is considerable influence, then this factor must be
evaluated and properly accounted for.
However, research efforts related to metaphorical
competence are mostly focused on English as a second or foreign language. This
is a logical consequence of obvious circumstances such as a wide spread of
English studies across the globe. In its turn, scientific thought on
application of this concept to other languages has only started emerging. Thus,
there is still room for findings on development of metaphorical competence in
terms of Russian as a foreign language. It is not yet fully known whether
popular and widely used methodical literature, such as textbooks, for learners
of Russian actually contributes to formation of this aspect of language
acquisition; this constitutes the narrow problem of this paper.
The greater problem that our research project
is aimed at could be phrased as follows. The influence of students’ levels of
metaphorical competence in the Russian language on their academic and
communicative achievements has not yet been fully estimated either. It is thus
necessary to determine types of metaphorical expressions that have not received
sufficient coverage in manuals for learners of the Russian language, develop
additional methodical and didactical materials for students. One must also
introduce these materials into teaching practice to ensure improved development
of metaphorical competence, and lead the students through further comparison of
language proficiency against students who had usual training.
Additionally, a secondary problem that is of certain interest for us is the need to perform wider studies of the referential aspect of metaphors in the context of language acquisition and interpretation. This connection between linguistic didactics and cognitive / applied linguistics is still not completely described; however, it may be resourceful not only for foreign language studies, but also for certain areas of robotics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
3. Research Questions
Consideration of the problems has led us to
formulation of questions that represent our primary and secondary objectives,
as well as our intentions concerning the work towards possible solutions.
The primary research questions of this certain
paper are as follows:
1) What metaphorical expressions are used in
exercises and texts of major popular Russian series of textbooks on Russian as
a foreign language?
2) Upon analyzing the metaphorical expressions
and their contexts, what types of the expressions can be differentiated in
accord with their semantical reference?
3) What exact types of the metaphorical
expressions are the least and the most frequent in exercises and texts of major
popular Russian series of textbooks on Russian as a foreign language?
4. Purpose of the Study
By means of combining the previously described
problems with research questions, we achieve the ability to establish and
formulate the purpose of our research effort.
The immediate purpose of this study is to
collect metaphorical expressions from exercises and texts of major local series
of textbooks on Russian as a foreign language, analyze the foundations of
metaphorical transitions and define the semantical reference of each expression.
The aim was to perform typological classification of the metaphorical
expressions in accord with their previously defined semantical references,
determine amounts and frequency of each type of expressions in each series, and
subsequently attempt initial evaluation of each series in regard to development
of metaphorical competence in students of Russian as a foreign language.
5. Research Methods
We have chosen to analyze three major series of
textbooks on Russian as a foreign language that are popular and frequently used
in educational practices of Russian universities in general and of the North
Caucasus Federal University in particular. These sets of academic instructions,
texts and exercises cover a wide scope of language mastery levels, starting
from Elementary (A1) and following up to Intermediate/Upper Intermediate
(B1/B2), and we find their applications in basic Russian training of foreign
students who need to obtain certain language proficiency prior to beginning
their studies. Due to the fact that authors aimed at persistent longitudinal
acquisition of the language, these series of textbooks provide solid material
for evaluating the gradual increase in the amount and quality of tasks,
exercises, and lexical material designed for development of metaphorical
competence in foreign students.
The analyzed series are Doroga
v Rossiyu [Road to Russia] by V. Antonova,
M. Nakhabina and A. Tolstykh
(9th edition, in 4 volumes); Zhili-Byli
[Once Upon a Time] by L. Miller, L. Politova
and I. Rybakova (7th edition, in 2 volumes); Poekhali [Let’s Go] (volume 1 by S. Chernyshov, 7th edition; volumes 2.1 and 2.2 by S.
Chernyshov and A. Chernyshova,
2nd edition). Texts and exercises in the textbooks were scanned for
metaphorical expressions (i.e. those that had indirect meanings based on
similarity); the expressions were written out along with their physical
contexts and then classified by types in accord with their respective semantical
reference. In this certain study, we have determined to use the notion of
reference to address the foundations on which metaphorical transitions take
place. For example, a phrase such as sour smile would be classified as
referring to 1) facial expressions and 2) taste. We admit that this use of the
term ‘reference’ might not be entirely accurate, as it is usually associated
with concrete real objects a speaker is talking or writing about. However, such
an approach would not allow us to provide any typological classification of
metaphors, as they would all refer to different concepts, subjects, phenomena
etc. described in each individual text. This situation is more or less
inevitable due to the fact that almost any modern learning book in a foreign
language contains a patchwork of separate texts that are not related to each
other.
As far as our definition of metaphorical
expressions is concerned, we find it necessary to note that it has intentionally
been given a wide scope. From the point of view of a native speaker, some
expressions are not perceived as metaphorical any more due to the fact that
their transition-based meaning has since been frequently used and become more
or less commonplace. However, for a student of a foreign language such
constructions would require actual use of metaphorical competence to understand
the transition and internalize the concept. This approach is consistent with
other papers on the topic of metaphorical competence that we mentioned in the Introduction.
For example, in (Pérez 2018) the phrase heated argument was
regarded as an object of metaphorical competence, as Spanish students of
English as a foreign language needed to acquire the idea of one’s anger being
linked to fire, explosions, etc.
It is necessary to remark that we intentionally
ignored set expressions, idioms and other phraseology that is reproduced in a
fixed form and is supposed to be learned ‘by heart’ as is. Even though such
expressions are often based on metaphorical transitions, they have long since
turned into clichés. We wanted to focus on less standard, ‘freer’
phrases that require certain linguistic efforts and are able to change their
physical contexts. The principal criterion that we used for differentiation is
more or less standard. If the word that carries out the metaphorical transition
cannot be replaced by a similar one, then a word combination is considered as a
set expression. And if there are several parallel combinations, then a phrase
is regarded as one having enough semantical and syntactical freedom to be
separated from the body of phraseological units. For example, phrases such as to
fall ill or to catch cold would therefore be marked as idioms, as
there are no alternatives – ‘to rise ill’ and ‘to grab cold’ are not possible,
the combinations are contextually bound. In its turn, the aforementioned smile
could be warm or cold (temperature), bitter or sweet
(taste), radiant or dim (visual perception), and thus these
combinations would be classified as contextually unbound. It could be argued
that this criterion has some roughness in it, but we believe that it is
sufficient for our immediate study purposes.
A partial consequence of this previously
described approach was our decision to pay more attention to adjectival and
nominal constructions (i.e. those where the metaphorical transition is
expressed by an adjective or a noun). We believe that they are more adjacent to
the notion of similarity conveyed by metaphors (due to the fact that similarity
is usually based on comparison of objects’ attributes), and that their degrees
of contextual freedom tend to be greater in comparison with verbal
constructions – the other frequent type of metaphorical expressions. Adjectival
adverbs and adjectivized participles have also been included, whereas verbal
constructions were placed aside for further separate research.
Each expression was then described by means of defining the types of 1) what exactly undergoes indirect comparison (we named it Source), 2) the Target of comparison, and 3) the basis of metaphorical transition (the Attribute). For example, if we consider the phrase heavy duty, then the source is ‘Activity’, the target is ‘Object’, and the attribute is ‘Weight’: someone’s activity is compared to a physical object on the basis of supposedly having certain mass.
6. Findings
Upon collection and preliminary processing of
linguistic material from the major textbooks on Russian as a foreign language,
the following categories and types were defined to be used in ‘source’,
‘target’, and ‘attribute’ fields of statistical tables for metaphorical
expressions. It is crucial to note that all entries in the table below are
translated from the Russian language, as they were used to process Russian
linguistic material; they might not be consistent with English metaphors and
are only provided as illustrations. Names and contents of suggested types are
based on data provided in a semantical dictionary of the Russian language
(Shvedova 2003).
Table 01. Nomenclature of referential types
Categories and types |
Contents |
Manifestations |
Entities |
||
Subject |
Any living being that is able to act |
Human; animal |
Human |
Any action or attribute that is only associated with humans |
Friend; certain person |
Plant |
Any notion associated with vegetation |
Flower; defoliation |
Object |
Any physical body |
Rock; table |
Body part |
Any separate fragment of a subject’s body |
Lips; leg |
Substance |
Any notion related to matters and essences |
Air; soil |
Actions and processes |
||
Event |
Any time-based finite set of actions with a result |
Life; fight |
Activity |
Any process performed over time by a subject or an object |
Studying; blossoming |
Facial expression |
Any meaningful movement of a subject’s face |
Smile; frown |
Endowment |
Anything related to giving or donation |
Gifted |
Thinking |
Any mental activity of a person |
Outlook; thought |
Speech |
Anything related to manner and content of discourse |
Words; text |
Physical phenomena and properties |
||
Weight |
Any mass-based attribute |
Light; heavy |
Dimension |
Any attribute based on single dimension |
High; far; wide |
Magnitude |
Any idea based on several dimensions |
Large; volume |
Material |
Anything that is used to make something |
Food; durable; gold |
Exterior |
Any non-specific visual aspect of an object or a subject |
Dusty; grey-haired |
Light |
Any visual aspect associated with emission of light |
Star; brilliant |
Combustion |
Any attribute associated specifically with burning |
Fire; flaming |
Shape |
Any visual aspect related to a geometrical form |
Ring; circle |
Freezing |
Anything related to transfer between solid and liquid forms |
Melting; ice |
Sound |
Any attribute related to acoustics |
Quiet; loud |
Softness |
Any attribute associated with mellowness of surface |
Rough; tender |
Filling |
Any notion related to containment |
Full; empty; dry |
Openness |
Any aspect associated with the notion of closure |
Open; enclosed |
Firmness |
Any form of resistance to physical force |
Firm; sturdy |
Freshness |
Any aspect of being new and ready for consumption |
Fresh; stale |
Strength |
Anything related to a subject’s physical strength |
Strong; weak |
Structure |
Any part of a subject’s or an object’s constitution |
Branch; foundation |
Fluidity |
Any aspect of being able to flow |
Stream; source |
Temperature |
Anything associated with heat |
Hot; cold |
Clarity |
Any idea associated with contamination |
Clear; transparent |
Density |
Any aspect related to an object’s density |
Tight; loose |
Psychics and feelings |
||
Relationship |
Any form of persistent interaction between individuals |
Friendship |
Taste |
Any attribute related to gustation |
Bitter; sweet |
Emotional experience |
Any emotion or inner feeling |
Love; happy |
Abilities |
Any description of a subject’s competence |
Smart; stupid |
Character |
Any aspect of a subject’s persistent psychical traits |
Kind; evil |
Abstract notions |
||
Age |
Anything related to a subject’s age |
Old; young |
Function |
Any notion related to an object’s purpose |
Displaying; unlocking |
Phenomenon |
Any abstract notion of an objective process |
Wind; music |
Information |
Anything associated with knowledge, including media |
Newspaper; data |
Concept |
Any abstract notion based on generalization |
Level; measure |
Set |
Any finite and complete combination of elements |
World; nature; fleet |
Multitude |
Any number-based aspect of quantity or quality |
Rich; diversity |
It is evident that degrees of specification
vary in different sections of the table. For example, Physical phenomena and
properties are represented in more detail. We opted for a wider scope of
narrower types in order to single out more possible aspects of the semantic
reference and, consequently, possible variants of metaphorical transitions with
respect to concrete tasks of language learning. It would have been easy to
merge Light with Sound, or Weight with Temperature,
but from the viewpoint of second or foreign language acquisition these types of
meaning transfer are notably different and should be treated separately.
We can now proceed with the statistical data themselves.
In Doroga v
Rossiyu, a total of 371 contexts was written out
of the 4 volumes in the series. Volume 1 (Elementary) only contained one
metaphorical expression; volume 2 (Basic) – 62; volume 3 (Intermediate) – 117;
volume 4 (Upper Intermediate) – 223. 176 metaphorical expressions were
classified as verbal and separated for future research. The remaining 195
combinations constituted the body of material for statistical analysis. In Zhili-Byli, 65 contexts were marked as verbal
whereas the remaining 69 were analyzed for this certain study; the total number
of samples found in 2 volumes was thus equal to 134. Volume 1 (Elementary) had
5 metaphorical expressions in total; volume 2 (Basic) contained the rest. In Poekhali, 103 non-verbal contexts of metaphorical
expressions were collected from 3 volumes and underwent further typological
evaluation. The total number of contexts was equal to 162; in volume 1
(Elementary) there were 38 contexts, in volumes 2 and 3 (Basic) – 38 and 86,
respectively.
The table below contains numbers of contexts
per category for ‘source’, ‘target’, and ‘attribute’ fields respectively. For
practical convenience, typological categories were sorted alphabetically. D
stands for Doroga v Rossiyu,
Z – for Zhili-Byli, P – for Poekhali. Certain narrower types that may be
considered relevant for objectives and tasks of Russian linguistic didactics
were grouped alongside larger adjacent notions in the ‘Notable subtypes’ column
wherever it is possible. It should be noted that certain contexts contained
several metaphorical expressions and / or belonged to several types
simultaneously.
Table 02. Statistical data per referential types and textbook series
# |
Types |
Notable subtypes |
Source contexts |
Target contexts |
Attribute contexts |
||||||
D |
Z |
P |
D |
Z |
P |
D |
Z |
P |
|||
1 |
Abilities |
- |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
Strength |
|
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
15 |
2 |
3 |
|
3 |
Activity |
- |
29 |
7 |
10 |
|
2 |
|
7 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
Facial expressions |
3 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5 |
Speech |
6 |
4 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6 |
Thinking |
2 |
1 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7 |
Age |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
6 |
1 |
31 |
8 |
Character |
|
7 |
3 |
5 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
3 |
9 |
Concept |
|
12 |
3 |
8 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
10 |
Emotional experience |
|
7 |
9 |
12 |
|
|
|
11 |
|
1 |
11 |
Event |
|
40 |
3 |
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
12 |
Exterior |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
11 |
8 |
2 |
13 |
Combustion |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
3 |
|
|
14 |
Freezing |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
15 |
Light |
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
11 |
2 |
4 |
|
16 |
Shape |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
2 |
3 |
|
17 |
Function |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9 |
7 |
7 |
18 |
Information |
|
5 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
19 |
Magnitude |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
25 |
2 |
16 |
20 |
Dimension |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
27 |
10 |
7 |
|
21 |
Weight |
|
|
|
|
|
|
37 |
4 |
3 |
|
22 |
Material |
- |
3 |
1 |
1 |
16 |
6 |
5 |
7 |
4 |
|
23 |
Freshness |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
|
4 |
|
24 |
Softness |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
25 |
Temperature |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
4 |
|
|
26 |
Multitude |
- |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
2 |
3 |
27 |
Set |
11 |
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
28 |
Object |
- |
22 |
10 |
34 |
129 |
33 |
45 |
|
|
|
29 |
Body part |
16 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
|
1 |
|
|
30 |
Phenomenon |
|
19 |
8 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
|
|
|
31 |
Relationship |
- |
7 |
|
3 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
2 |
32 |
Endowment |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
1 |
|
33 |
Sound |
|
2 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
34 |
Structure |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
|
1 |
35 |
Filling |
|
|
|
|
|
|
7 |
3 |
6 |
|
36 |
Firmness |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
2 |
1 |
|
37 |
Openness |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
2 |
|
|
38 |
Subject |
- |
2 |
|
1 |
39 |
10 |
38 |
|
|
|
39 |
Human |
10 |
6 |
1 |
6 |
5 |
10 |
|
|
|
|
40 |
Plant |
1 |
|
|
2 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
41 |
Substance |
- |
2 |
|
2 |
8 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
42 |
Clarity |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
4 |
|
|
43 |
Density |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
44 |
Fluidity |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
|
45 |
Taste |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6 |
1 |
1 |
For Doroga
v Rossiyu, the following observations can be
made:
i) The most frequent sources of transitions,
i.e. phenomena that undergo metaphorical comparisons, belonged to such types as
‘Event’, ‘Activity’, ‘Object’, ‘Phenomenon’, and ‘Body part’.
ii) The absolute majority of targets, i.e.
phenomena that ‘sources’ were indirectly compared to, belonged to the ‘Object’
type, followed by ‘Subject’ and ‘Material’.
iii) The most actively used types of attributes
that served the purpose of metaphorical transitions were related to ‘Weight’,
‘Dimension’, and ‘Magnitude’, followed by ‘Strength’.
A rough derivation would be that a typical
metaphorical expression found in Doroga v Rossiyu would indirectly compare a process to an object
on the basis of its weight or size, or compare a phenomenon to a subject on the
basis of its strength. This would include combinations such as heavy labor
or strong character. Of course, these are only illustrations; it is
beyond doubt that other combinations are equally possible.
In Zhili-Byli,
several dominating categories can also be distinguished:
i) The ‘sources’ do not manifest any
considerable dispersion, but the leaders of the group are ‘Object’, ‘Emotional
experience’, and ‘Phenomenon’, closely followed by ‘Activity’ and ‘Human’.
ii) The greatest amount of ‘target’ contexts is
associated with ‘Object’ and ‘Subject’ types.
iii) ‘Attribute’ contexts are rather equally
distributed among types, thus being similar to ‘sources’; the top 3 entries are
‘Dimension’, ‘Exterior’, and ‘Function’.
An interesting peculiarity of Zhili-Byli is its relatively active use of
metaphorical expressions where emotional experiences undergo indirect
comparisons to material objects. The contexts also indicate that activities are
exclusively compared to objects and materials in this series of textbooks. A
‘typical’ construction would thus look like thin feelings.
For Poekhali,
principal characteristics are as follows:
i) The most notable types of phenomena that are
compared to other notions via metaphorical transitions are ‘Object’, ‘Emotional
experience’ and ‘Event’, followed by ‘Activity’.
ii) The scope of possible entities that
indirect comparisons were aimed at is rather limited and includes 7 entries.
The greatest frequency was determined for the ‘Object’ type; ‘Subject’ was
actively used either. The third popular category was ‘Human’.
iii) The set of attributes was dominated by
‘Age’ and ‘Magnitude’.
Therefore, Poekhali
makes larger and more extensive use of metaphorical expressions where objects
are compared to subjects on the basis of age. Phrases such as old town
or old car were very frequent. Even though such combinations might look
trivial, we still find them worthy of notice, as they might not be immediately
clear for a foreign student who is a representative of a different culture. A
native speaker of the Russian language would naturally say my old car
referring to the vehicle they have sold to purchase another, even if their
previously owned asset does not actually have many years in existence.
Further comparison of all gathered data
suggests that students who use the three major series textbooks on Russian as a
foreign language are all being increasingly exposed to metaphorical expressions
as the language mastery level rises. It should also be remarked that starting
with Basic level (A2), the authors of the textbooks begin adding dedicated
exercises based on contrast between direct and indirect meanings. However, the
nature and contents of metaphorical expressions vary. Students of Doroga v Rossiyu
would encounter a lot of weight-based transitions and learn to understand
indirect comparisons of events to other phenomena. Those who work with Zhili-Byli would mostly face phrases where objects
undergo comparison, as well as see a greater number of dimension-based
transitions expressed by adjectives such as long or deep. Learners
using Poekhali would be more familiar with
metaphorical expressions based upon rethinking of age.
At the same time, the numbers indicate that in
all three scenarios, indirect comparisons to objects and subjects would be the
most common, and upon some generalization it could be claimed that metaphorical
expressions in major textbooks on Russian as a foreign language are usually
based on physical attributes – mass, size, visual traits etc. We find it
possible to assume that this sort of expressions is the easiest to be explained
by teachers and grasped by students; they are likely to be rather universal
across different cultures.
On the other hand, the data suggest that
certain areas, mostly related to some physical and psychical processes, are not
sufficiently covered in any of the three series. None of those made notable use
of metaphorical expressions that would be to any extent based on mental
abilities and intellect, traits of character in general, facial expressions,
combustion or freezing, sound, taste, tactile feelings such as softness,
pressure, or temperature. These areas might require additional attention in the
process of formation of metaphorical competence in students of Russian as a
foreign language.
7. Conclusion
The following conclusions, or answers to our
research questions, can be made:
1. In exercises and texts of major popular
Russian series of textbooks on Russian as a foreign language, 367 adjectival,
nominal, and adverbial metaphorical expressions were identified and studied
statistically. A comparably large group of verbal metaphorical expressions was
singled out for future research.
2. Upon analyzing the metaphorical expressions
and their contexts, three referential aspects were separated for each phrase:
‘source’ (the initial member of comparison), ‘target’ (the other member of
comparison), and ‘attribute’ (the foundation of metaphorical transition). To
describe each of the aspects, 45 typological categories were differentiated,
following a dedicated semantical dictionary of the Russian language and taking
into account specific traits and tasks of foreign language learning.
3. As a result of statistical research and
analysis, it was determined that the most frequent types of metaphorical
expressions found in exercises and texts of major popular Russian series of
textbooks on Russian as a foreign language were related to objects, subjects,
activities, events, dimensions, weight, material, magnitude, emotional
experience, and age. The least frequent types were associated with freezing,
density, fluidity, facial expressions, softness, endowment, plants, sound,
structure, and openness.
The research project that we are aiming to perform has only been started. As a part of this conference presentation, we wished to share and discuss initial preliminary findings. It is beyond doubt that these results and conclusions are open for further addition, elaboration and analysis. The next immediate objective would be to process the bodies of verbal metaphorical expressions. In perspective, we will refine our results by means of student testing and corpus research, as well as make practical application of these results in development of tasks and exercises for students of Russian as a foreign language, aimed at more intense formation of metaphorical competence.
Acknowledgments [if any]
References
Birdsell, B. J. (2018). Conceptual wandering and novelty
seeking: Creative metaphor production in an L1 and L2. Journal of Cognitive
Science, 19(1), 35–67. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325555019
Gutiérrez
Pérez, R. (2019). The development of a metaphoric competence. A didactic
proposal of educational innovation. Innovation in Language Learning and
Teaching, 13(4), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2018.1466891
Kelso, J.M. (2018). Boundaries and hybrid blends: How one multilingual narrator displays symbolic competence in a college writing class. Linguistics and Education, 45, 50–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2018.03.002
Lakoff, G., Johnson,
M. (1980). Metaphors We Live by. Chicago: The University of Chicago
Press.
Raskin, V., Chernouski, L. (2017).
Extending reference into cognitive computing: Through the eyes of ontological
semantics. Proceedings of 2017 IEEE 16th International Conference on
Cognitive Informatics and Cognitive Computing, ICCI*CC 2017, article no.
8109724, 16–21. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCI-CC.2017.8109724
Shvedova, N.Y. (2003) The
Russian semantical dictionary. Moscow: Azbukovnik.
Stepanova, K., Klein, F. B., Cangelosi, A., Vavrecka, M. (2018). Mapping language to vision in a
real-world robotic scenario. IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and
Developmental Systems, 10(3),
784–794. https://doi.org/10.1109/TCDS.2018.2819359