Understanding of somatic idioms of preschool children (5 to 6-year-olds) and primary school pupils (fifth- and ninth- graders)

Metafore so del našega vsakdanjega sporazumevanja in v določenih primerih predstavljajo nenadomestljiv način izražanja. Najpogosteje uporabljene metafore so somatski frazemi, saj se ljudje najlažje poistovetimo s svojim telesom. Osnovni namen raziskave je, ugotoviti, ali obstaja razlika v razumevanju somatskih frazemov med predšolskimi otroki (5–6 let) in učenci osnovne šole (5. ter 9. razred) glede na starost, spol in vrsto frazema. Podatki so bili pridobljeni s pomočjo polstrukturiranega intervjuja. V raziskavo je bilo vključenih 8 predšolskih otrok, 8 učencev 5. razreda in 8 učencev 9. razreda. Analiza rezultatov je pokazala, da je razumevanje somatskih frazemov pri učencih odvisna od njihove starosti in vrste frazema. Učenci 9. razreda so v primerjavi s predšolskimi otroki in učenci 5. razreda bolje razumeli somatske frazeme. Med izbranimi somatskimi frazemi pa je učencem največ težav povzročalo razumevanje metaforičnega pomena pregovornih stavčnih frazemov. Raziskava je pokazala, da v razumevanju somatskih frazemov ne obstajajo izrazite razlike glede na spol.Metaphors are important in our everyday communication and in certain cases they represent an irreplaceable way of speaking. As people most easily identify ourselves with our bodies, somatic idioms are the most frequently used metaphors. The main purpose of the study is to find out whether there is a difference in understanding of somatic idioms of preschool children (5 to 6-year-olds) and primary school pupils (fifth- and ninth-graders) considering the age, gender and the type of idioms. The data were gathered with a semi-structured interview. The study included 8 preschool children, 8 fifth-graders and 8 ninth-graders. The analysis of the results showed that children’s understanding of somatic idioms depends on their age and the type of idioms. In comparison to preschool children and fifth-graders, the ninth-graders understood somatic idioms better. Among the chosen somatic idioms, the children had most problems with understanding the metaphorical meaning of proverbs. The study also showed no distinct difference in understanding of somatic idioms considering gender