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The Use of Animal Metaphors for Humans: A Discourse Analysis of Indian Urdu Speakers’ Daily Interactions

Mohammad Shariq, Ph.D.

Abstract

The creation and comprehension of animal metaphors seem to be automatic cognitive processes that most likely developed with language creation and comprehension. The aims of this study were threefold: (first) was to examine the topic of “PEOPLE ARE ANIMALS” in the context of everyday talks among Indian Urdu speakers from Moradabad city; (second) was to highlight the animal metaphorical expressions used in their conversations; and (third) was to explain how these animal metaphorical expressions take shape into meaningful expressions. Drawing on Semino's (2008) definition of metaphor and the concepts of Conceptual Metaphor Theory proposed by Lakoff & Johnson (1980) and Kövecses (2002), this study used a descriptive qualitative analysis of animal metaphors used in daily Urdu conversations. The findings of the study revealed that the people in Moradabad use a wide range of animal names for human. In this study, 48 different animal metaphors of four categories (mammal-animals, birds, reptiles and arachnids/ insects) were identified. Of these 48 animal names, the names of 28 mammal-animals—the most in number—as well as seven birds, five reptiles, and eight arachnids/ insects were identified. Most of these animal names were used for the people with negative characteristics while very few of them were used for the people with positive ones. The majority of these animal metaphors were used for males rather than females. Finally, the study concluded that the animal metaphors can be utilized to manipulate or convey quickly since they are digested naturally and without conscious thought. Furthermore, these metaphors are culturally loaded and can vary from culture-to-culture.

Keywords:animal names for human, communication, cultural expressions, metaphorical expressions, socio-cultural concept, everyday communication

Introduction

Cambridge English Dictionary defines the term metaphor as "an expression, often found in literature, that describes a person or object by referring to something that is considered to have similar characteristics to that person or object". According to Simpson (2004, p. 41), it is "a process of mapping between two different conceptual domains." People can perceive and comprehend one type of entity in terms of another through the use of metaphorical language. Target categories can be understood in new and frequently illuminating ways by conceptually mapping and selectively transferring features from a certain source domain onto a target domain Haslam et al., (2011). Fadaee (2011) defines metaphor as the Greek word "metaphoria," which means "to carry," is where the word metaphor originates. Metaphor is the comparison of two distinct occurrences that have certain things in common. According to Fatihi (2015), metaphors are used to explain complicated and challenging concepts in terms of simpler and easier ones. According to Duboviciene and Skorupa (2014), metaphor enhances the message's aesthetics and emphasizes the key concept by comparing one thing to another. As Shariq (2020) mentioned that the metaphors are used in expressions in order to create a poetic effect that makes listeners enjoy the expression. Metaphors provide insight into how social identities are formed. Many metaphors are biased in favor of specific social groupings that are viewed as the normal, harming others who do not fit into this group since they are conduits of folk ideas (Rodríguez, 2009).

The ability to convey oneself verbally, in writing, or in discussion (including gossiping and chit-chatting) with others is what most of us think of as communication. Additionally, it represents the sharing of ideas with friends, family, coworkers, superiors, subordinates, and even complete strangers (Shariq, 2013). The use of animal metaphorical expressions for humans is a very common aspect of our daily conversations. These metaphorical expressions define a person's appearance, thinking, activities and behavior. According to Haslam et al., (2011) animal metaphors can convey various meanings, including insults and demonstrations of affection. These animal metaphors occur because of the co-existence of people and animal since the beginning of the earth. As mentioned in Lund et al., (2024) and Hamdan et al., (2023), humans and animals have lived together on the same planet, Earth, for thousands of years or since the beginning of the universe. As a result, humans interacted with animals and used them as (1) pets, like dogs and cats; (2) guards, like German Shepherds; (3) circus performers, like monkeys, dolphins, and bears; (4) subjects for laboratory experiments, like mice and rabbits; and (5) food, among other uses. Because of their coexistence, people began referring to and addressing one another in communications by utilizing animal names and/or characteristics for a variety of purposes, whether they were complimentary or not. Humans frame their location in an evolutionary continuum and their ongoing relationship with the environment using animal analogies. Because they are automatically processed, concentrate on things that we prefer to pay attention to, and draw on the multitude of literary and thematic universals that inform stories, animal metaphors are incredibly effective communication tools (Hart & Long Jr (2011). Fatihi (2015) argued that the animal's negative or positive characteristics can be mapped on to people. He cited the example of 'dog' for the negative characteristics as given in Iqbal's poetry and 'hawk' for the positive characteristics. According to Iori (2023), it is very likely that metaphors that conceptualize people or human activity in terms of lower levels of the chain contain a negative connotation. It is possible to determine which species are most likely to be used as metaphors for human personality and which parts of personality are most likely to be included in animal metaphors by looking into animal metaphors for human personality. At least in folk speech, the lack of zoomorphs can aid in defining those characteristics that are thought to set humans apart from other species (Sommer & Sommer, 2011). This study intends to overcome the lack of comprehensive research that focuses on metaphor used in Urdu daily conversations. By examining animal metaphors used to frame humans in Urdu conversations, this study more precisely examines the use of animal metaphors in Urdu discourses and aims to answer the following questions:
• What animal names are used as metaphorical expressions for humans?
• How these animal metaphorical expressions take shape into meaningful expressions?
• What characteristics of animals are mapped on to the human characteristics?

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Mohammad Shariq, Ph.D.
Department of English Language and Literature
College of Languages and Humanities
Qassim University, KSA
m.aslam@qu.edu.sa
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