The Study of Image Schemas in the Proverbs of Qashqai Turkish Dialect

The aim of this research is to explore the common metaphors in the Turkish Qashqai Dialect within the frame work of Cognitive Semantics and based on Evans and Green Schematic Model (2006), in order to express conceptualization of the speakers of various experience during their lives. Proverbs are indicator of though, culture, identity, taste and talent of speakers of language, therefore their preservation, study and investigation in the language studies are of high importance. On the other hand, Image Schemas, provide a link between physical experience and more complex cognitive domains as language. Given that, to the best of our knowledge no research has been done about the function of Image Schema in Turkish Qashqai proverbs, this type of researche is necessary. The present study was done through descriptive–inductive method, and the data were collected based on field study and empirical research. The result of this study showed that the overall schema types specified in Green and Evans Model (2006), including: Space, Containment, Locomotion, Force, Balance,Identity, and Existence, were traced in proverb of Turkish Qashqai Dialect and the most frequently used image schema was Containment and after that Locomotion image schema and the least frequently used was Balance image schema.