The Poetic Metaphor Interpretation processes of L1 and L2 readers : A Relevance-theoretic perspective

ISBN-13: 9783659915383 / Angielski / Miękka / 2016 / 700 str.

Fehmi Khelil

Opis

This study was undertaken to provide a better understanding of the process of poetic metaphor interpretation. The study was conducted on twenty postgraduate L1 and L2 learners. In this study, Relevance Theory was adopted as a theoretical framework. By referring to Relevance Theory, it was predicted that the L1 and L2 participants would infer a wider range of implicatures for creative than for conventional metaphors. It was also predicted that the L1 participants would infer fewer implicatures for conventional metaphors and a wider range of implicatures for creative metaphors than the L2 participants on account of their superior access to relevant cultural knowledge.The think-aloud technique was used to collect data about the students' interpretation processes and to verify the study's hypotheses. The empirical approach proved quite useful in revealing the underlying processes used by the L1 and L2 readers, showing similarities as well as differences in the processing of conventional and creative metaphors. The study contributed insightful findings regarding the process of poetic metaphor interpretation and provided a stronger basis for deriving helpful pedagogical implication.

O autorze

Fehmi Khelil is a university assistant who currently teaches at the University of Kairouan, Tunisia. He graduated from the University of Mannouba, Tunis in 1998, with a bachelor of arts in English language and literature. He also completed an MA at the same faculty in 2003. In 2013, he obtained his PhD from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland.