It…he [the Moon] didn’t look tasty! Transnational children’s use of metaphors as a transcultural tool to gain symbolic power in family discourse

Zacharias, S. (2022) It…he [the Moon] didn’t look tasty! Transnational children’s use of metaphors as a transcultural tool to gain symbolic power in family discourse. Language and Intercultural Communication, 22(4), pp. 473-486. (doi: 10.1080/14708477.2021.1967967)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to set out to explore how children living in Polish-English transnational families in the UK develop symbolic competence and symbolic power in home settings. By focusing on the children’s use of metaphor in family discourse when talking about the Moon, from a cognitive discursive perspective, this study explores the children’s creative use of language in achieving their social goals. It moves beyond seeing language, cognition and culture as bounded systems but rather powerful meaning-making resources that are part of the children’s complex discourse-worlds. The findings show how transnational families provide children rich opportunities to develop intercultural or ‘transcultural’ competence.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Zacharias, Dr Sally
• Authors: Zacharias, S.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education; College of Social Sciences > School of Education > Culture, Literacies, Inclusion & Pedagogy
• Journal Name: Language and Intercultural Communication
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• ISSN: 1470-8477
• ISSN (Online): 1747-759X
• Published Online: 29 August 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Author(s).
• First Published: First published in Language and Intercultural Communication 22(4): 473-486
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons Licence