Why Figurative Language: Perceived Discourse Goals for Metaphors and Similes by L2 Learners

The goal of this study was to investigate the kinds of discourse goals thatIranian EFL learners perceive as the most probable reasons behind theutterance of figurative language, metaphors and similes, with reference to 4independent variables of Figure Type (Metaphor or Simile), TenorConcreteness (Concrete or Abstract), Context (List Format or Story), andModality (Oral, Written, and Both). The participants were presented with 16sentences, featuring both metaphors and similes, and they were asked to markas many 12 discourse goals as possible they believed to be the reasons fortheir production. The results indicated that most of the participants leanedtowards the choice of Compare Similarities for the similes as the bestcandidate for describing the intention of the writer or the speaker, signifyingthe effect of the independent variable Figure Type. The factor of Contextinfluenced the choice of the discourse goals Provoke Thought, Get Attention,Clarify, and Contrast Differences, while the factor of Modality affected onlyAdd Emphasis. Also, 3 goals of Add Interest, Clarify, and Show PositiveEmotion turned out to have significant interaction with Tenor Concreteness.