Since the publication of the seminal work by Lakoff and Johnson (1980a), Metaphors we live by, countless research has been done on metaphor. This research was conducted because, in the past, metaphor was considered a deviant and poetic device that could be used only by those who were skilful. These scholars offered another view: metaphor is a matter of thought. They showed that linguistic metaphor is the manifestation of conceptual metaphors that are in our subconscious mind and are found in every day language. In other words, metaphors are a revelation of how we think. Linguists and translation scholars claim that it is a challenge to translate metaphor. The main objective of this study is to determine how conceptual metaphor theory can contribute towards the development of translation in African languages. The study seeks to identify conceptual metaphors in Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, which was written in English, and then analyse how these were translated into isiXhosa and isiZulu. This implies that this study involves a corpus. In identifying metaphors from the source text a Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit (MIPVU), which was conceived by Steen and his colleagues at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, was used (Steen et al 2010). ParaConc concordancer was used to investigate and compare how the metaphors were translated. The results showed that most metaphors were translated the same way in isiXhosa and isiZulu, which implies that the translators conceptualised the metaphors in the same way. These results revealed that the translators’ styles were similar. This confirms the fact that the two languages are related. As scholars in earlier research indicated, metaphors in translation pose a problem, yet the translators of Mandela’s book successfully met this challenge. They were able to render the metaphors in their respective languages in an acceptable manner. They tried to adhere to the style of the source text writer, but traces of their own style are evident in the texts. / Linguistics and Modern Languages

The aim of this study has been to analyse metaphorical strings which have been interpreted literally, a process referred to as metaphor reversal. This was first described by Löflund (1999:18) and the specific term was later coined by Alm-Arvius (2006:6). Metaphor reversal is basically a subcategory of the broader term polysemy punning. When a metaphor unexpectedly is interpreted literally, a humorous effect takes place and a pun is created. Especially if the metaphorisation in question has an entrenched figurative meaning, the unexpectedness of the literal interpretation is greater and the pun more obvious. The examples of these puns exploiting metaphor reversal have been taken from films featuring the verbal comedian Groucho Marx (GM), who frequently used this type and other kinds of puns in his films. The terms internal and external metaphor, coined by Alm-Arvius (2003:78), have been used in order to distinguish between two different types of metaphorisations. Internal metaphor refers to metaphors with obvious internal collocational clashes and external metaphor refers to metaphors without such clashes, which can thus be given a literal as well as a figurative reading. However, this is not a clear-cut distinction and occasional overlapping between the two categories is common. Therefore, a continuum has been given which shows the overlapping category ‘more figurative external metaphors’. These are metaphors without collocational clashes, but with entrenched figurative meanings which make them metaphorical and not literal. GM does not only revert external metaphors; he also reverts internal metaphors although this category contains collocational clashes which should make a literal interpretation impossible. Internal metaphor puns tend to be more absurd than external metaphor puns due to the collocational clashes which make the literal interpretation less probable. Reverted external metaphors are referred to as REM and reverted internal metaphors as RIM. Most examples analysed are metaphorisations with idiom status with clearly preferred figurative meanings. Consequently, their figurative meanings are deeply entrenched and should not be altered. However, these figurative meanings are altered by GM in his punning; they are reverted and interpreted literally. This indicates that one of the few occasions when it is accepted or even possible to interpret a metaphorical idiom literally is in punning.

Some researchers that work with metaphor theory claim that metaphors and figurative language are understood and processed just as easily as literal language. However, as this thesis will explore in detail, other research indicates that such is not always the case. That is, if the category of metaphor is further subcategorized into conventional and non-conventional metaphor, the scope will change because of the fact that it is possible to argue that non-conventionalized metaphors require a more conscious path of processing. In order to explain this alternative path, there are two primary approaches to language processing worth introducing: implicit and explicit. These approaches vary in required attention and speed of processing. With regards to conscious effort, these approaches are rather similar to the way in which we process conventionalized and non-conventionalized metaphors. Conventional metaphors are processed more quickly and easily than non-conventional ones. Hence, the claim that all metaphors are similarly processed may not always be true. Furthermore, an individual’s level of proficiency presumably correlates with speed in language processing. However, if non-conventional metaphor requires a more deliberate path of processing, this thesis assumes that the processing of this type of metaphor will be relatively unaffected by proficiency level, thus causing informants to process them in similar manners. In this thesis, 24 non-native speakers (NNS), categorized into intermediate proficient and advanced proficient, and seven native speakers (NS) were tested with an RT-test on subjective metaphor comprehension. Results were compared using mean response times and standard deviations, as well as looking at correlations and coefficient of variation. The results showed a distinct difference in processing speed with conventional metaphors being processed significantly faster. Moreover, the findings indicate that conventional metaphor processing speed seems to be predicted by proficiency, whilst non-conventional processing speed is not. The RT differences remained relatively consistent in both conventional and non-conventional metaphor processing, but when taking correlations, variance and coefficient of variation into consideration, the findings indicate that these other factors help level out the differences in non-conventional metaphor processing in more subtle ways than simply by RT’s.

This is a study of the broad scope of cognition verbs in Afrikaans. Firstly, the nonmetaphorical cognition verbs [e.g. ken (= know), weet (= know), dink (= think), verstaan (= understand)] are discussed and then the metaphorical cognition verbs which are subcategorized in metaphorical verbs of vision [kyk (= look), sien (= see)] and metaphorical manipulation verbs [vorm (= form), gryp (= grab), voel (= feel), vat (= take) etc.]. The study is embedded in the cognitive linguistic stance of embodiment which inter alia implies that our neurological functioning is based on feeling (which includes our sense of touch), and that the way our bodies are structured also determines the way we express our thoughts. This extensive descriptive study of Afrikaans cognition verbs, metaphorical and nonmetaphorical, indicates that visual lexemes in Afrikaans express subtle abstract thought, while manipulation lexemes express less subtle, yet still abstract result-driven thought. Synthesis is an important factor in this study because the non-metaphorical cognition verbs as well as the metaphorical cognition verbs are linked to the basic cognitive principle of embodiment. Also, the two metaphorical verb types can by seen in synthesis when the stage frame ( = vision) and the workshop frame ( = manipulation) are merged. The synthesis of the stage frame and the workshop frame eventually provides us with another perspective, namely that vision and manipulation (which includes touch and feeling) are in a state of interacting nurturing symbiosis. / Linguistics / D. Litt. et Phil (Linguistics)

We, as authors, have noticed a paradox in today’s society. We often hear inspirational quotes such as “you have to fail in order to reach success” or “you learn from failure”. Thomas Edison himself said “I haven’t failed; I have just identified many ways that donot work”. Yet in society and within many organizations, there is a lack of discussion and acceptance when it comes to mistakes and failures, thus also a lack of the learnings from them. Failure is actually a neglected and feared topic, referred as “the Elephant inthe board room”, where mistakes are manipulated in hope of being forgotten and nevernoticed. Nowadays, we live in a society in which individuals are chasing perfectionism. Therefore, there is a fear of making mistakes which hinders followers to dare and take risk to progress. We believe that employees constantly suffer from this pressure and unhealthy environment within corporations. Therefore, we wished to go beyond this issue as we found ourselves astonished by the large number of quote present out there. In order to explore the concept of failure, we identified two kind of organizations in which the culture of mistakes and failures are different than in corporations. The two fields investigated are the orchestra and football team. Mistakes in these organizationsare not feared rather expected and accepted. We asked ourselves what do these leaders do differently and if managers could learn from the conductors and coaches in order to avoid or prevent. To answer these questions, we analyzed different major componentsof leaders such as their perspective about performances, their role as leaders, the communication and relationship with their followers and last but not the least their perspectives and way of handling mistakes. It appears indeed that organizational leadershave lessons to learn from coaches and conductors regarding the four main area we have analyzed such as considering mistakes as part of the past and source of learning as well as implementing a two-way communication.

No description available.

Microreproduction of original thesis. / Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 1986. / Some digitised pages may appear illegible due to the condition of the original microfiche copy. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: no abstract available / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: geen opsomming

Motivating students is a central challenge for many teachers, particularly in subjects students commonly perceive as “impenetrable,” such as statistics. One line of motivation research by C.S. Dweck (2006) has found that when students believe their intelligence is malleable (i.e., a growth mindset) and that learning is a function of effort, they show greater motivation, accept more learning challenges, and have improved performance outcomes relative to students who believe their intelligence is fixed (e.g., “I’m not a math person”). This dissertation extends research regarding implicit theories of intelligence by examining how metaphors of the growth mindset (e.g., the mind is a muscle) can be integrated as feedback into a computer program to encourage students to implicitly adopt the growth mindset relevant to statistics. The present study manipulated framing conditions with metaphorical, literal, and no feedback about the growth mindset. Results show that framing feedback implicitly in terms of the “mind as muscle” metaphor increased non-math major undergraduates’ willingness to accept learning challenges and their overall score on testing items relevant to statistical literacy, as compared to students who received literal feedback or no feedback about the growth mindset. Also, overall, gender differences were noted, with males accepting more learning challenges, passing on fewer difficult items, and having higher scores on testing items than females. Findings also indicate that participants’ psychological reactance and interest in fitness and muscularity (metaphor resonance) did not meaningfully change participants’ learning outcomes. / text

No description available.

This thesis attempts a paradigmatic shift in the focus of ballad study towards embodiment, moving from ‘representation’ towards ‘experience’ and with an emphasis on ‘process,’ as opposed to ‘product.’ The originality lies in the development of a new approach which explores words, music and embodied aesthetic experience as they come together and create meaning in performance, conceived of as ‘presence’ (Porter 2009). Ideas from philosophy are connected with concepts from ethnomusicology and folklore and brought to bear upon broad issues in the study of expressive culture. While the focus here is on the ballad experience in a Scottish context, ultimately the questions asked attend to dimensions of experience that do not emphasise cultural-boundedness. The emphasis is not on my experience as a fieldworker, nor on fieldwork descriptions, but rather on the development of new theoretical methodologies that can be extended and applied to other cultural forms. To that end, I am little concerned with texts, variants and versions, transcriptions and collections which traditionally constitute the subject matter of ballad studies. What is presented is a convergence of contemporary disciplinary approaches, pushing the boundaries of the existing framework of ballad and folksong studies to include dimensions of cultural experience rarely considered in this field. Working within the wider interpretative framework of hermeneutic phenomenology, theories of embodiment are used as a means to introduce ideas from embodied cognition. The development of ideas is concerned with describing how our embodied experience of the world informs the processes of meaning-making, how human cognitive capacities are at work in the experience of ballad singing and how the structure of the ballad reflects and shapes these capacities. Embodied philosophy and contemporary theories of metaphor are central in this endeavour. Ultimately, this work seeks to find a legitimate way of talking about the ephemeral, intangible yet real quality of embodied aesthetic experience—the shivers and chills of the Maysie—that avoids metaphysical explanations and that makes sense in a secular, humanistic framework. The aim is not to demystify experience in a reductionist sense, but to offer an interpretation that is less about ‘transcendence’ and more about the creative processes present.