Positive and negative effects of mother tongue knowledge on the interpretations of figurative expressions

本研究考察了源于母语或源于母语的知识对比喻理解的影响。为了获得定量数据，我们设计了一项名为隐喻认知测试的测试，并对日本EFL学生和以英语为母语的人进行了测试，以考察比喻解释的各个方面以及不同母语使用者在解释上的差异。测试包括描述性类型测试(40个项目)和多项选择型测试(19个项目)，这些项目的特点是具有相同概念/词语的短语和源自英语和日语的短语。为了收集定性信息，本研究对许多受试者进行了访谈。研究假设译员会激活他们的认知过程，例如求助于母语知识，利用图式和/或逻辑思维作为口译策略；然而，这些认知过程…定量和定性研究表明，母语知识对大多数日语和英语中概念/词语相同的项目有正面影响，而对于相同/相似词语但概念/意义不同的项目，母语知识存在矛盾效应。后者的一个独特现象是有一个模糊的区域，在那里出现了分支，特别是在非母语中。分支导致正确或不正确的解释。如果它是真实的原义(通常是作为一个成语或谚语)，它不会产生任何或很少的问题，然而，如果它采取了在原始语言中不常用的分支，尽管比喻、逻辑思维是合适的，但在该语言中它是有问题的或失败的。在这里，具体的文化元素涉及很大。在我们的语言教学中，我们应该对这些现象保持警惕。较少

This research investigates the effects of knowledge originated in or generated from the mother tongue on the understanding of figurative expressions. A test, Metaphor Cognition Test, was designed to obtain quantitative data and administered on Japanese EFL students and native English speakers to investigate the aspects of figurative interpretations and the differences in interpretations by different mother tongue users. The test consisted of a descriptive type test (40 items) and a multiple choice type test (19 items), and the items were featured with the expressions having shared concepts/wordings and the, expressions originated in English and Japanese. To collect qualitative information, interviews with a number of participants took place.The assumption was that the interpreters would activate their cognitive processes, for example, resorting to the knowledge of their mother tongue, utilizing schemas, and/or logical thinking as interpretation strategies; however, these cognitive proc … More esses might have ambivalent (positive and negative) effects on certain test items of the Metaphor Cognition Test.The quantitative and qualitative investigation indicates that the positive effects of mother tongue knowledge are found on the majority of the items having shared concepts/wordings between Japanese and English while ambivalent effects are found on the items of the same/similar wordings with different concepts/meanings between the languages. A unique phenomenon in the latter is that there is a blurred area, where a branching-off occurs, especially in a non-native language. The branching-off leads to a correct or incorrect interpretation. If it is true to the original meaning (usually as an idiom or a proverb), it creates no/few problems, however, if it takes a branching-off not commonly used in the original language, though figurative, logical thinking is appropriate, it is problematic or a failure in that language. Here specific cultural elements involve greatly. We should be cautious about these phenomena in our language teaching. Less