한국어 개념적 은유의 문화상대주의적 특성과 이에 따른 교육 방안

Abstract

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze the face threat posed by Korean metaphors from a cultural relativist perspective and present educational approaches accordingly.
 Methods To achieve research goal, a survey was conducted with a total of 124 participants, including 48 Koreans, 56 Americans, and 20 Chinese individuals, to compare and analyze their perceptions of face threat in Korean metaphors. According to the theory of the great chain of being, we classified Korean metaphorical expressions with a threat to dignity into categories of human, animal, organic, and inanimate objects. Using SPSS version 27, we analyzed the perceptions of respondents from three countries based on their familiarity, power distance, and sex.
 Results According to the analysis, respondents from the three countries generally felt little discomfort when using person-related metaphors. However, they experienced significant face threat when using metaphors related to inanimate objects and organic substances. On the other hand, Korean and Chinese respondents showed a greater awareness of the interpersonal closeness aspect in metaphor usage, while this tendency was less pronounced among American respondents.
 Conclusions Korean, Chinese, and American respondents demonstrate a simultaneous combination of universality and cultural relativism in their perception of face threat in metaphorical expressions, depending on the relationship between the metaphorical expression and the cultural context.