Metaphorical proverbs in Malay Pantun / Sue Mohd Yusoff

• Main Author: Sue , Mohd Yusoff
• Format: Thesis
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: P Philology. Linguistics
• Online Access: http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/15257/1/Sue_Mohd_Yusoff.pdf; http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/15257/2/Sue_Mohd_Yusoff.pdf; http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/15257/

The two principal aims of this research was to identify (i) the components which constitute the ‘meaning construction’ of Malay metaphorical proverbs in classical Malay pantun, and (ii) what the meanings of Malay metaphorical proverbs reflect about the mind of the Malay who were an agricultural community in early times. This was carried out by analyzing 30, 4-line generic classical Malay pantun with metaphorical proverbs consisting of 5 main themes that is, faith, knowledge, love between a man and woman, human relationships, and social enlightenment. The analysis used the following frameworks: Lakoff and Turner’s ‘Generic is Specific’ Proverb Model (1989), Ahrens’ Conceptual Mapping Model (2002), Sapir-Whorf’s Hypothesis II (Theory of Linguistic Relativism, 1929) and 5 branches of philosophy. Of the 63 metaphors identified, it was found that 61 target domains have relatable qualities to the source domains and are concrete nouns compared to just 2 abstract nouns that turned up in the data. For RQ1, the components that were identified in the metaphorical proverbs that aided in ‘meaning construction’ included connotations couched in symbolic images which gave rise to a message, parallel structures, and one’s schema or personal knowledge. These are summarized and tabled individually in Chapter 4. For RQ2, the findings showed that the language used by the old Malays in their metaphors were shaped by their observations, personal knowledge, or exposure to their daily activities in the natural environment and these functioned as an extension of their thought awareness.