Exploring the Semantic Molecules of Animal Names from Bushehr and Shahrekord: A Cognitive-Semantic Approach

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Alzahra University

Abstract

The present paper examines the semantic molecules of 35 animal names in Bushehr and 35 animal names in Shahrekord based on Hsieh's semantic-cognitive approach (2006). The research data was obtained from the responses of 100 Bushehri speakers and 100 Shehrekordi speakers and the study of written sources such as proverb books, poetry, stories and the like. In this research, frequently used animal names in the everyday speech of the two areas were extracted, then questions were asked in the form of a questionnaire from the native speakers of each region about the animals. By analyzing the data of the questionnaire, one or more semantic molecules were obtained for each animal. Then, for each semantic molecule, the corresponding basic metaphors were identified. Behavior and habit, appearance, intelligence, food and eating habits, usage, outstanding features, connotative meaning and contractual meaning are among the metaphors for classification of the semantic molecules of the animals. The results of the research show that the metaphor of habit and behavioral metaphor in the two regions has the highest frequency for describing the semantic molecules of the animals.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Iranian Dialects & Linguistics
Volume 4, Issue 2
February 2020
Pages 59-85

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History

  • Receive Date: 26 April 2019
  • Revise Date: 07 October 2019
  • Accept Date: 12 September 2020

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