Metaphorical Conceptualizations of Language: Networks of Meanings and Meta-functions

Martin Cortazzi, Lixian Jin

Abstract


This paper employs the innovative method of Elicited Metaphor Analysis to present original research in Malaysia into students’ metaphors for ‘language’. We summarize reasons why language and first/ second language learning are centrally important in education, and show patterned features of language metaphors in proverbs and in teacher talk about literacy. These may be one strand of student socialization into language-literacy conceptions. We then report our study of 408 university students in Malaysia who gave 977 metaphors for ‘language’. Using a socio-cultural extension of conceptual metaphor theory from cognitive linguistics, we analyse these data into thematic clusters and metaphor networks of meanings. In student voices, this presents a surprisingly rich picture of language and shows evidence of linguistic meta-functions: student metaphors for language can be seen not only cognitively with affective and socio-cultural meta-functions, but also with moral-spiritual and aesthetic functions. These meta-functions accord with some educational theories. To show wider insider metaphor perspectives we cite our research with ‘teacher’ and ‘learning’ metaphors in Malaysia, and ‘language’ findings from China, Iran, Lebanon and the UK. The metaphor meanings and meta-functions broaden our conception of language as a medium of learning with strong implications for the teaching of languages and literacy.

Keywords


Language Concepts, Metaphor Analysis, Meta-functions, Networks of Meanings

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abbs, P. (2012). Aa is for Aesthetic (RLE Edu K): Essays on Creative and Aesthetic Education. Routledge.

Abbs, P. (1994). The educational imperative: a defence of Socratic and aesthetic learning, RoutledgeFalmer.

Aitchison, J. (2013). Language change: Progress or decay? (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Aitchison, J. (2000). The seeds of speech: Language origin and evolution. Cambridge University Press.

Barkhuizen, G. (Ed.) (2013). Narrative research in applied linguistics, Cambridge University Press.

Barkhuizen, G., Benson, P. O., & Chik, A. (2014). Narrative inquiry in language teaching and learning research. Routledge.

Berendt, E. (Ed.) (2008). Metaphors for learning, cross-cultural perspectives. John Benjamins.

Bigger, S. & Brown, E. (Eds.) (2012). Spiritual, moral, social and aesthetic education: exploring values. Routledge.

Bodmer, F. (1994). The loom of language. Allen & Unwin.

Bresler, L. (Ed.) (2004). Knowing bodies, moving minds, towards embodied teaching and learning. Kluwer.

Bringurst, R. (2008). The tree of meaning: language, mind and ecology. Counterpoint.

Brown, P. (2019). Aesthetic intelligence: How to know it and use it in business and beyond. Harper Business

Byram, M. (2008). From foreign language education to education for intercultural citizenship. Multilingual Matters.

Byram, M., Golubeva, I., Han, H., & Wagner, M. (2016). From principles to practice in education for intercultural citizenship. Multilingual Matters.

Cameron, L. J. (2011). Metaphor and reconciliation, the discourse dynamics of empathy in post-conflict situations. Routledge.

Cameron, L. J. (2003). Metaphor in educational discourse. Continuum.

Chomsky, N. (1982). The ideas of Chomsky. In B. Magee (Ed.), Men of ideas, some creators of contemporary philosophy (pp. 173-192). Oxford University Press.

Cortazzi, M. (1991). Primary teaching: How it is, a narrative account. David Fulton.

Cortazzi, M. & Jin, L. (2020a). Good Teachers: visions of values and virtues in university student metaphors. KEMANUSIAAN, The Asian Journal of Humanities, 27(2), 145–164.

Cortazzi, M. & Jin, L. (2020b). Elicited metaphor analysis: Insights into teaching and learning. In S. Delamont & M. Ward (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research in education (pp. 486-503). Edward Elgar.

Cortazzi, M. & Jin, L. (2019). Journeys of learning: Dimensions of metaphor and narrative landscapes across cultures. In M. Hanne & A. Kall (Eds.), Narrative and metaphor in education: Look both ways (pp. 164-176). Routledge.

Cortazzi, M. & Jin, L. (2014). Building bridges, using weapons or making music together? Metaphoric (re)framing in intercultural language learning. In X. Dai & G-M. Chen (Eds.), Intercultural communication competence: Conceptualization and its development in cultural contexts and interactions (pp. 239–260). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Cortazzi, M. & Jin, L. (1999). Bridges to learning: Metaphors of teaching, learning and language. In L. Cameron & G. Low (Eds.), Researching and applying metaphor (pp.149-176). Cambridge University Press.

Cortazzi, M.; Jin, L., Kaivanpanah, S., & Nemati, M. (2015). Candles lighting up the journey of learning: Teachers of English in Iran. In C. Kennedy (Ed.) English language teaching in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Innovations, trends and challenges (pp. 123–138). London: British Council.

Cortazzi, M., Jin, L., & Wang, Z. (2009). Cultivators, cows and computers: Chinese learners’ metaphors of teachers. In T. Coverdale-Jones & P. Rastall (Eds.), Internationalizing the university, the Chinese context (pp.107–129). Palgrave Macmillan.

Crystal, D. (2014). Language death. Cambridge University Press.

Eaude, T. (2008). Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (2nd ed.). Learning Matters.

Eisner, E. W. (2002). From episteme to phronesis to artistry in the study and improvement of teaching, Teaching and teacher education, 18(4), 375-385.

Everett, D. (2012). Language, the cultural tool. Profile Books.

Fisher, L. (2017). Researching learners’ and teachers’ beliefs about language learning and metaphor. In S. Wortham, D. Kim & S. May (Eds.), Discourse and education, Encyclopedia of language and education (pp. 329-339). Springer.

Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, R. (2003). An introduction to language (7th ed.). Thompson Heinle.

Gannon, M. J. & Pillai, R. (2015). Understanding global cultures; metaphorical journeys through 34 nations, clusters of nations, continents and diversity. Sage.

Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple intelligences: new horizons in theory and practice. Basic Books.

Gibbs, R. J. (2017). Metaphor wars: Conceptual metaphors in human life. Cambridge University Press.

Gibbs, R. W. (Ed.). (2008). The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought. Cambridge University Press.

Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: why it can mean more than IQ. Basic Books.

Guasty, M. T. (2016). The life and growth of grammar. MIT Press.

Jesperson, O. (1905). Growth and structure of the English language. Teybner.

Kniper & W. Scott Allen (2017). An introduction to English language (4th ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

Halliday, M. A. K. (1978). Language as social semiotic. Arnold.

Hasim, Z., Mohtar, T. M. T., Barnard, A., & Zakariah, A. (2013). Metaphors used by Malaysian teachers-in-training: Implications for language teacher education. Creative Education, 4(9), 74-77.

Haugen, E. (1972). The ecology of language. Stanford University Press.

Illeris, K. (2018). Contemporary theories of learning; learning theorists … in their own words (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Illeris, K. (2016). How we learn; learning and non-learning in school and beyond (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Hanne, M. & Kaal, A. (Eds.). (2019). Narrative and metaphor in education: Look both ways. Routledge.

Jin, L. & Cortazzi, M. (2020). Reaching for the gold standard: Metaphors and good university teachers. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 43(2), 131–149.

Jin, L. & Cortazzi, M. (2019). Investigating Chinese cultures of learning through elicited metaphor research. In C. R. Huang, Z. Jing-Schmidt, & B. Meisterernst (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of applied Chinese linguistics (pp.131-148). Routledge.

Jin, L. & Cortazzi, M. (2017). Engineering the soul: Construction and sacrifice in the teaching profession in China and Iran. In A. Liljegren & M. Saks (Eds.), Professions and metaphors: From turf battles to zoos and circuses (pp. 130-162). Routledge.

Jin, L. & Cortazzi, M. (2011). More than a journey: ‘Learning’ in the metaphors of Chinese students and teachers. In L. Jin & M. Cortazzi (Eds.), Researching Chinese learners; skills, perceptions, adaptions (pp. 67-92). Palgrave Macmillan.

Jin, L. & Cortazzi, M. (2008). Images of teachers, learning, and questioning. In E. Berendt (Ed.), Metaphors for learning, cross-cultural perspectives (pp. 177-202). Continuum.

Joyce, B., Calhoun, E., & Hopkins, D. (Eds.). (2010). Models of learning – tools for teaching (3rd ed.). Buckingham: Open University Press.

Kövecses, Z. (2016). Language, mind, and culture, a practical introduction. Oxford University Press

Kövecses, Z. (2005). Metaphor in culture, universality and variation. Cambridge University Press.

Kövecses, Z. (2000). Metaphor and emotion; language, culture, and body un human feeling. Cambridge University Press.

Lakoff, G. (1993). The contemporary theory of metaphor. In A. Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (pp. 202– 251). Cambridge University Press.

Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1999). Philosophy in the flesh, the embodied mind and its challenge to Western thought. Basic Books.

Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press.

Lern Helfer (website) (2000). Humboldt zur Sprache, https://www.lernhelfer.de/schuelerlexikon/deutsch/artikel/humboldt-zur-sprache (accessed 5-01-2011)

Lennick, D. & Kiel, F. (2011). Moral intelligence: enhancing business performance and leadership success. Pearson Education.

Lucas, B. & Claxton, G. (2010). New kinds of smart: how the science of learnable intelligence is changing education. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Lucas, B., Claxton, G., & Spender, E. (2013). Expansive education; teaching learners for the real world. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

McGregor, W. B. (2015). Linguistics, an introduction. Bloomsbury.

Mitchell, J. (1908). Significant etymology: or, roots, stems, and branches of the English language. William Blackwell.

Mouraz, A., Pereira, A. V, & Monteiro, R. (2013). The use of metaphors in the process of teaching and learning in higher education. International Online Journal of Education Sciences, 5(1), 99-110.

Mühlhãusler, P. (1996). Linguistic ecology, language change and linguistic imperialism in the Pacific Rim. Routledge.

Nikitina, L. & Furuoka, F. (2008). “A language teacher is like…”: Examining Malaysian students’ perceptions of language teachers through metaphor analysis. Electronic Journal of Language Teaching, 5(2), 192–205.

Ng, H. W. & Prihadi, K. (2020). Why some religious individuals are not emotionally smart? The explanatory role of spirituality. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 9(1), 83-92.

Preece, S. (Ed.). (2019). The Routledge handbook of language and identity. Routledge.

Saussure, F. D. (1960). Course in general linguistics (transl. W. Baskin). Peter Owen.

Scarcella, R.C. & Oxford, R.L. (2012). The tapestry of language learning: The individual in the communicative language classroom. Heinle.

Stibbe, A. (2021). Eco-linguistics: language, ecology and the stories we live by (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Sullivan, K. (2017). Conceptual metaphor. In B. Dancygier (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of cognitive linguistics (pp. 385-406). Cambridge University Press.

Thomas, D. C. & Inkson, K. (2017). Cultural intelligence: surviving and thriving in the global village (3rd ed.). Berrit-Koehler.

Toosi, S. A. D., Emalian, S., Soleimani, M., Muhammadi, L., & Doustdari, M. S. (2016). Relationship between different types of emotional and spiritual intelligence and second grade high school students’ religious orientation, in Sari, Iran. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 5(4), 116-121.

Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind and society. Harvard University Press.

Wan, W. & Low, G. (Eds.). (2015). Elicited metaphor analysis. John Benjamins.

Wells, G. & Claxton, G. (Eds.). (2002). Learning for life in the 21st century. Blackwell.

Whitney, W. D. (1875). The life and growth of language. Appletree.

Wittgenstein, L. (1958). Philosophical investigations. Basil Blackwell.

Yule, G. (2014). The study of language (5th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Zhang, Y. (2013). Roots and branches: a systematic way of learning Chinese characters. Outskirts Press.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.9n.1p.2

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Bookmark and Share


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

2013-2023 (CC-BY) Australian International Academic Centre PTY.LTD.

International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies  

You may require to add the 'aiac.org.au' domain to your e-mail 'safe list’ If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox'. Otherwise, you may check your 'Spam mail' or 'junk mail' folders.