中文四字格動物類成語之隱喻運作及教學應用——以十二生肖為例

Abstract

四字格成語是中文特有的語言資產，具豐富的文化內涵，常以隱喻寄託寓意，展現文化與思想的深刻連結。本研究旨在聚焦動物成語之隱喻，藉由分析動物成語歸納動物隱喻，並運用於實際教學，期能結合理論與實務，增進成語教與學之效益。 本研究選擇具代表性的十二生肖成語分析，探究中文四字格動物成語之隱喻，發現動物成語隱喻來源域多為對動物之評價，語義亦以映射對人之評價最多。接著再以分析結果編纂動物成語教材，一共挑選四十八個動物成語，分為隱喻介入教學的實驗組與一般教學法的對照組，於語言中心正式授課。課程為期十週，於第三週到第六週教授動物成語，並以測驗卷驗收學習成效。期末另有個人訪談，調查課堂教學意見與個人學習反思。 測驗題型在不同層面上反映了隱喻介入教學的效益。詞彙知識量表與選詞填空反映出隱喻介入教學的方法能促進記憶存留，然需等到教學後期才能看出成效。改錯測驗結果指出隱喻介入教學能喚起學習者在母語裡已有的思考模式，幫助其在學習中文的動物成語時也能超越字面義判讀成語，甚至牢記句法功能。類化測試的結果則顯示隱喻介入教學對學習者推論陌生成語的能力無顯著助益。學習者在課後訪談亦一致同意，以隱喻帶入教學能活絡課堂氣氛，增加學習趣味。

As a precious language legacy in Chinese, Chinese quadrisyllabic idiomatic expressions are rich in cultural meanings, which are embedded in metaphors. This dissertation aims to analyze and categorize animal metaphors in Chinese idioms, and also to apply the current research findings to teaching Chinese as a second language (TCSL), through which might enhance the effectiveness of CSL teaching and learning. To investigate animal metaphors in Chinese idioms, we selected idioms that contain twelve zodiac animals as representative because of their high frequency in daily life and rich cultural meanings. We found that the major topic in the source domain of animal metaphors concerns the evaluation of the animals and through metaphor, the evaluation of the animals projects to that of human behaviors in the target domain. Based on the analysis, we applied the findings to compile teaching materials. Forty eight twelve-zodiac idioms were selected. These idioms were then used to test two different teaching methods: the metaphor-guided method and the traditional meaning-given method in a single-subject research design. When implementing the metaphor-guided method, the connection between the Source Domain (ANIMAL) and the Target Domain (HUMAN) was presented to students by presenting visual aids of metaphorical mapping and explaining the metaphorical meaning of the zodiac animal in Chinese culture The experiment was implemented from the third week to the sixth week in a ten-week advanced Chinese course in a language center in Northern Taiwan. Tests were given once after the participants learned the idioms of three zodiacs, and there was one final test of all the twelve-zodiac idioms. The test included filling in the blanks, correcting and forming sentences, and generalization test to investigate the vocabulary learning effect and retention of the two different teaching methods. Aside from the pencil-and-paper tests, all learners filled up introspection questionnaires after each lesson and accepted one-on-one interview at the end of the instruction. The results showed that: (1) the metaphor-guided teaching method did enhance the retention; however, the benefits emerged in the late period of teaching. (2) The teaching of metaphor-mapping evoked learners’ metalinguistic awareness, through which they were able to understand the figurative meanings of idioms and use them correctly, although (3) there was no significant difference between the two methods in the performance of generalization test. (4) Finally, according to the interviews, all the learners agreed that the metaphor-guided method brisked up the atmosphere of the idiom class.