Embodiment of Conceptual Metaphors and Comprehension of Abstract Concepts in 5 to 7 Year Old Persian Speaking Children

Given the significant role of conceptual metaphors in understanding abstract concepts in the children’s development, the present study was conducted for designing and standardization a test of embodied conceptual metaphors in the Persian language. The test administrations will allow us to investigate the process of understanding abstract concepts in normal five-to-seven-year-old children. In the present study, 171 embodied conceptual metaphors were extracted from the Persian dictionaries. The metaphors were related to four sensory-motor organs i.e. ears, eyes, hands, and legs. The researchers attempted to investigate the understanding of abstract concepts by using conceptual metaphors in 30 five-to-seven-year-old children having a normal development. 39 metaphors having more than 30% of correct answers were selected. In the next phase, a test was designed that was composed of two parts (audio and visual) based on these 39 metaphors; the understanding of abstract concepts were investigated in 200 five-to-seven Persian speakers. Based on the mean score acquired from both age groups, given the development process of abstract concepts, it was indicated that in comparison to five-to-six-year-old children, six-to-seven-year-old children showed a better performance for understanding abstract concepts; the difference was significant. Moreover, the findings of the present study indicated that in comparison to the visual test, children had a better performance in responding to the audio test. Moreover, the boys and girls were not significantly different regarding understanding abstract concepts. The findings of the present study can be applied in rehabilitating and treating the disorders related to the understanding of abstract concepts.