Cultural Cultural Perception of Animals through Idioms: A Comparative Study of Sindhi and English IdiomsRepresentation through Animal Idioms: A Comparative Study of Sindhi and English Idioms
Abstract
Abstract Views: 0
Idioms are an important part of any language and they are a very prominent source of understanding the culture of a language due to their rich cultural content and character. Despite the potential role of idioms to be a great source of insight into a culture, the cross-cultural exploration of Sindhi and English language, through idioms, is an under-researched area. This research is an attempt to explore the similarities and differences regarding the perception of animals in the above-mentioned cultures through the idioms with animal imagery. For this purpose, the data was collected from three books of idioms for each language and the technique employed to collect the data was that of purposive sampling. The analysis of data was guided by the Conceptual Metaphor Theory or CMT presented by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) in their seminal work “Metaphors We Live by”. The findings of the research show that the idioms of Sindhi language demonstrate a more negative perception of animals than the idioms of English language. In addition to that, it was observed that English and Sindhi idioms have similarities as well as differences when it comes to the perception and representation of animals. Hopefully, this research will prove to be helpful in clarifying the confusions faced by the native Sindhi speakers who are actively engaged in learning English as their second language.
Downloads
References
Adwani, K. S. R. (1905). Gul Shakar. Al-Muna’um Library Larkana. گل شڪر (سنڌي پهاڪن بابت ڪتاب)
Afraz, S., & Kia, A. M. (2016). A contrastive analysis: Animal metaphors in Persian and English. International Journal of Educational Investigations, 3(1), 40–47.
Ahmed, I. (2012). Investigating students' experiences of learning English as a second language at the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan [Doctoral dissertation, University of Sussex]. Figshare. https://tinyurl.com/4jhcrfda
Ali, S. S., Farukh, A., & Ishtiaq, M. (2019). Value of animal idioms in bringing about native-like proficiency among EFL learners. Global Regional Review, 4(4), 360–368. http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/grr.2019(IV-II).39
Boroditsky, L. (2000). Metaphoric structuring: Understanding time through spatial metaphors. Cognition, 75(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-0277(99)00073-6
Cacciari, C., & Tabossi, P. (1988). The comprehension of idioms. Journal of Memory and Language, 27(6), 668–683. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-596X(88)90014-9
Collins Dictionaries. (2010). Collins easy learning English idioms. Collins. https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=HD9HPgAACAAJ
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach. Sage Publications.
Crystal, D. (2007). How language works: How babies babble, words change meaning, and languages live or die. Penguin.
De Saussure, F. (2011). Course in general linguistics. Columbia University Press.
Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford University Press.
Flavell, L., & Flavell, R. (1994). Dictionary of idioms and their origins. Kyle Cathie Ltd.
Gibbs, R. W., Jr. (1979). Contextual effects in understanding indirect requests. Discourse Processes, 2(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/01638537909544450
Gibbs, R. W., Jr. (1980). Spilling the beans on understanding and memory for idioms in conversation. Memory & Cognition, 8(2), 149–156. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213418
Gibbs, R. W., Jr. (1990). Psycholinguistic studies on the conceptual basis of idiomaticity. Cognitive Linguistics, 1(4), 417–452. https://doi.org/10.1515/cogl.1990.1.4.417
Gibbs, R. W., Jr. (1992). What do idioms really mean? Journal of Memory and Language, 31(4), 485–506. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-596X(92)90025-S
Gibbs, R. W., Jr., & O'Brien, J. E. (1990). Idioms and mental imagery: The metaphorical motivation for idiomatic meaning. Cognition, 36(1), 35–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(90)90053-M
Gulland, D. M., & Hinds-Howell, D. (1986). The Penguin dictionary of English idioms. Penguin Books. https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=K8tZAAAAMAAJ
Jamshaid, S., & Akhtar, R. N. (2022). Metaphorical use of animals in English and Punjabi exocentric compounds: A cognitive-cultural perspective. Pakistan Social Sciences Review, 6(1), 123–136.
Khan, A. M., Sardar, I., & Yousaf, M. (2017). Gender representation through animal metaphors: An analysis of Urdu proverbs. Journal of Gender and Social Issues, 16(1), 61–74.
Kramsch, C. (2014). Language and culture. AILA Review, 27(1), 30–55. https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.27.02kra
Kumar, R. (2011). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. Sage Publications
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Conceptual metaphor in everyday language. Journal of Philosophy, 77(8), 453–486.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (2008). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press.
Lyu, S., & Li, Z. (2020). A comparative analysis of Chinese and English animal idioms from culture perspective. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 10(6), 708–712. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1006.12
Mawlood, A. M. A. (2018). Animal idioms in English and Kurdish: With some pedagogical implications [Doctoral dissertation, University of Leicester]. Figshare. https://tinyurl.com/3ctv4v9u
Muttar, Y. (2016). A comparison of English and Arabic idiomatic expressions related to animal behavior, with a brief discussion of translation. Journal of Al-Frahedis Arts, 3, 1–19.
Preet, Z. (2017). Pahaka pahar jeda (Linguistics). Kanwal Publication Kamber. پھاڪا پھاڙ جيڏا (لسانيات)
Sapir, E. (2004). Language: An introduction to the study of speech. Courier Corporation.
Seidl, J., & McMordie, W. (1992). Oxford pocket English idioms. Oxford University Press. https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=MYIsngEACAAJ
Shahani, M. J. (2012). A handbook of Sindhi idioms. Sindhi Language Authority. sindhilanguagelibrary.com/books/view/11
Taherdoost, H. (2016). Sampling methods in research methodology: How to choose a sampling technique for research. International Journal of Academic Research in Management, 5(2), 18–27.
Ts, O. (2017). Commonly used idiomatic expressions related to animals in Mongolian and English. Modern Trends in The Development of Science and Technology, 4(3), 16–19.
Xu, Y. (2013). A sociolinguistic view of animal names in idiomatic expressions in Chinese and French. Chinese Semiotic Studies, 9(1), 160–195. https://doi.org/10.1515/css-2013-0112
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
