Cultural Constraints On Metaphor Comprehension For EFL Learners

The study of metaphor can be traced back to 2000 years ago. Traditionally it is regarded as a figure of speech; however, studies in recent years prove the cognitive nature of metaphor.The general hypothesis of the present thesis is that there exist cultural constraints on metaphor comprehension for EFL learners, and the present research investigates the cultural constraints on metaphor comprehension for EFL learners. According to the theoretical structure established by the author, four cognitive aspects (image schemas, metaphorical concepts, related knowledge and psychological association) are involved in metaphor comprehension. Therefore, the specific questions under the general hypothesis and the theoretical structure are: (1) How cultural universals and cultural differences facilitate and inhibit EFL learners' metaphor comprehension with regard to the four cognitive aspects respectively? (2) What are the applications of the author's study for EFL teaching and learning?The investigation for testing metaphor comprehension accuracy of cultural-specific and cultural-sharing items shows that the Chinese students have a higher level of comprehension accuracy for cultural-sharing items, but they also exhibit more errors for cultural-specific ones. It is indicated that Chinese students tend to employ the image schemas, metaphorical concepts, related knowledge and psychological associations in relation to Chinese culture to interpret the items. The data analysis and results thus prove the hypothesis and theoretical structure of the present study.