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Part II: Issues in Second-Language Learning
Content made available by Georgetown University Press, DigitalGeorgetown,
and the Department of Linguistics.
language works, how it changes, and how meanings are created and extended. Thus,
learners may develop a new perspective on language in general.
An example for different metaphorizations in the two languages in question—
German and English—are color metaphors (see also Niemeier 1998). In English we
find expressions such as “to feel blue,” “blue movie,” or “red tape,” the understanding
of which entirely relies on cultural background information. The meanings are
metonymically related to melancholy, the fact that laws against showing such movies
used to be printed on blue paper, and the fact that legal proceedings were tied to-
gether with a reddish ribbon, respectively. If we don’t know about the metonymic re-
lationships (which usually is the case), however, we interpret the meanings as meta-
phors, see also Niemeier 2000. We do not find any of these expressions in German;
thus, learners need to know about the background culture to be able to decipher the
meanings in question. For example, if a German states that he “ist blau” (literally:
feels blue
), he is actually saying that he is drunk—an interpretation that, again, relies
on cultural background knowledge. Knowledge about these culture-bound meta-
phors and metonymies can enable listeners to avoid misunderstandings.
Furthermore, from a more functional point of view, we can state that metaphors
often are used for manipulative purposes, such as in advertising or political propa-
ganda. If news coverage of a war or political unrest metaphorically frames one party
as “the bad guys” and the other as “the good guys”—and does so by exploiting com-
mon conceptual metaphors—we normally are not even aware of this kind of manipu-
lation, so the possibility that we will see the events in any other light is limited. To
take an example from advertising in Germany: A recent IKEA ad for home office
furniture says “Kommen Sie doch auf einen Karrieresprung vorbei,” by which we un-
derstand something like “do visit us for a career jump.” This slogan is a play on a
popular German saying inviting people for a short visit: “Kommen Sie doch auf
einen Sprung vorbei” (literally:
Do drop in for a jump
⫽
for a short while
). We real-
ize that common conceptual metaphors are involved here: A jump is an upward
movement, so the orientational metaphor
good is up
is involved, and because a jump
generally also is a forward movement,
life is a journey
is at work as well.
This advertisement is manipulative insofar as it suggests that the future home of-
fice furniture owner’s career will be pushed ahead (
good is up
)—an interpretation for
which there is absolutely no objective reason. Thus, by mentioning the upward move-
ment, the ad implicitly states that buying the furniture is a positive asset that may pay
off. Had the ad simply presented the information as “here is our new selection of
home office furniture,” this notion would not have developed. What is more, the
life
is a journey
metaphor—suggesting that we move in life on a certain path—is acti-
vated by the use of the verb “vorbeikommen” (
drop in
), which in English does not
mention the path of the movement as it does in German but focuses on the manner of
movement. This metaphor goes hand-in-hand with the orientational metaphor
good
is up
because advancing in one’s job is equally conceptualized as a forward
movement.
The manipulative potential of metaphors, then, is one of the reasons learners
should at least be made aware of the notion of a conceptual metaphor, so that they
have a chance to see as well as to react to it and realize what a powerful and flexible
APPLIED COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS AND NEWER TRENDS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
105
Content made available by Georgetown University Press, DigitalGeorgetown,
and the Department of Linguistics.
tool language really is. This statement, of course, is true not only for a foreign lan-
guage/culture but also for the native language/culture. Once learners realize how a
foreign language works and how things are conceptualized in a foreign culture, they
may see their native language and culture in a different light because they realize that
there are different words and ways to talk about and deal with certain topics. Thus,
via the alienating effect of realizing how the foreign language/culture works, one
may also arrive at a more realistic view of one’s own language/culture.
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