Animal Names as Forms of Addressing Metaphors in Bushehri and Shahrekordi Dialects within an Ecolinguistic Approach

Metaphors based on animal names are found in almost all languages and cultures, and thus, they can be considered as one of the linguistic universals. The present study has investigated the metaphorical application of animal names in addressing people as well as the primary concepts of each animal name in Bushehr and Shahr-e Kord of Iran. The analyses were based on the data collected from 200 native informants (100 from each region) through the questionnaires on the forms of address as well as the primary concepts of 70 animals (35 endemics to each region).  Additionally, the morphological structures of the animal names were explored and the terms, phrases, expressions and proverbs related to each animal name were also listed. The findings show that when addressing people, native speakers, from the two areas under study, used their metaphorical interpretations of the animal’s behavior to describe different traits and characteristics of people; some animal names are, therefore, used as address forms in the two regions. This indicates the fact that the human community reflects on the behavior and the attributes of the animals in their surrounding environment.