Immigration metaphors in a corpus of legal English: an exploratory study of EAL learners’ metaphorical production and awareness
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7203/qf.22.11310Keywords:
corpus linguistics, conceptual metaphor, metaphorical awareness, legal discourse, EAL learners
Abstract
Metaphor is central to human understanding and communication. It pervades our everyday language and also abounds in specialized discourse, with legal language not being an exception. This is particularly relevant since metaphors are powerful framing tools able to affect our worldview. With the aim of exploring the use that EAL law undergraduate students make of metaphorical expressions as well as their awareness of their connotations, a learner corpus was compiled and qualitatively analyzed. Results have shown that learners, like native speakers, rely on the use of conceptual metaphors such as MIGRATION IS A NATURAL FORCE, STATES ARE CONTAINERS or IMMIGRANTS ARE A THREAT to describe immigration issues. This exploratory study has also revealed that learners are not always conscious of the negative slant that metaphors may convey and that raising their awareness is key to enhance critical thinking.
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Author Biographies
Emilia Castaño Castaño, University of Barcelona
Department of English and German Philology
Natalia Judith Laso Martín, University of Barcelona
Department of English and German Philology
Isabel Verdaguer Clavera, University of Barcelona
Department of English and German Philology
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Published
2018-01-07
How to Cite
Castaño Castaño, E., Laso Martín, N. J., & Verdaguer Clavera, I. (2018). Immigration metaphors in a corpus of legal English: an exploratory study of EAL learners’ metaphorical production and awareness. Quaderns De Filologia - Estudis Lingüístics, 22(22), 245–272. https://doi.org/10.7203/qf.22.11310
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