The development of language metaphors of younger school-age pupils

Abstract

Language metaphor lies in the nature of language, and has no aesthetic but communicative value implying the transfer of a name from one notion to another based on similarity. Since it is very important for the enrichment of vocabulary, the aim of our research was to examine the level of the acquisition and understanding of lexical metaphors, and to study the role of metaphors in the language development of the pupils of younger elementary-school age. We were also interested in eventual gender differences in this respect. The sample included 429 pupils of younger elementary-school age (7-8 years), i.e. the first-grade pupils in five elementary schools from different regions (Belgrade, Jagodina). In each school all first-grade pupils 55.2% (237) boys and 44.8 (192) girls were tested. The evaluation of the metaphor development was conducted within the framework of two levels. The first level of the assessment was realized by the use of a questionnaire designed especially for this research, and the other level of assessment included the application of the Lexical-semantic test - III subtest: Metaphorical transition by Z. Kašić (1996). The results show that metaphor is underdeveloped in the language of the first-grade pupils, which opens the question of the development of active and passive lexicon of this population of pupils. Further, it was found out that there were no gender differences in the level of metaphor acquisition. In the context of these observations it can be concluded that for understanding language metaphors cognitive and metalinguistic development are crucial, as well as the child's experience with objects, beings and phenomena that are discovered by metaphors. Also, metaphor can be used not only in the teaching of the mother tongue but can be a good indicator of higher levels of knowledge and understanding of students, and can help in acquiring reading and writing skills.

Jezička metafora sadržana je u prirodi jezika, nema estetsku, već komunikativnu vrednost i podrazumeva prenos imena s jednog pojma na drugi na osnovu sličnosti. Budući da je veoma značajna za bogaćenje rečnika, cilj našeg istraživanja bio je da ispitamo nivo usvojenosti i razumevanja leksičkih (jezičkih) metafora, kao i da sagledamo ulogu metafora u jezičkom razvoju učenika mlađeg osnovnoškolskog uzrasta. Takođe, ispitivali smo da li u ovom pogledu postoje razlike s obzirom na pol učenika. Uzorak je obuhvatio 429 učenika mlađeg osnovnoškolskog uzrasta (od 7 do 8 godina), odnosno učenike prvog razreda iz pet osnovnih škola iz različitih sredina (Beograd, Jagodina). U svakoj školi ispitani su svi učenici prvog razreda, od čega je 55,2% (237) dečaka i 44,8% (192) devojčica. Procena razvijenosti metafora sprovedena je u okviru dva nivoa. Prvi nivo procene realizovan je primenom upitnika koji je koncipiran isključivo za potrebe ovog istraživanja, a drugi nivo procene sproveden je primenom Leksičko-semantičkog testa – III suptest: Metaforički prenos autora Z. Kašić (1996). Rezultati ispitivanja ukazuju na nedovoljnu razvijenost metafore u jeziku učenika prvog razreda, što otvara pitanje razvijenosti aktivnog i pasivnog leksikona ove populacije učenika. Sem toga, ustanovljeno je da na ovom uzrastu između devojčica i dečaka nema razlike u nivou usvojenosti metafore. U kontekstu ovih zapažanja, možemo zaključiti da su za razumevanje jezičkih metafora veoma važni jezički, kognitivni i metalingvistički razvoj, ali i iskustvo deteta sa predmetima, bićima i pojavama koje se putem metafora otkrivaju. Takođe, u nastavi se metafora može koristiti ne samo kao sadržaj iz oblasti maternjeg jezika, već može predstavljati i dobar pokazatelj viših nivoa znanja, odnosno razumevanja kod učenika, a može pomoći i u ovladavanju veštinama čitanja i pisanja.