Son of pigs, father of dogs: A cross-linguistic exploration of negative animal expressions

A number of different studies has demonstrated that animal expressions, often with metaphors as their basis, are a widespread phenomenon across the world’s languages, and that they can be used to convey a wide variety of positive and negative meanings. This study investigates the negative connotations and metaphorical associations of five animals from a comparative and cross-linguistic perspective, to see if there are noticeable patterns among different languages. The factors influencing the development of metaphors and connotations are also explored. The data was collected from previous publications on the subject and compiled in an overview showing negative animal expressions from 61 languages. The results showed that genealogical relations increase the chances of connotations being shared between languages, and that geography and religion can also be of influence. The amount of internal variation also indicates that there is a degree of arbitrariness with regard to the...Show moreA number of different studies has demonstrated that animal expressions, often with metaphors as their basis, are a widespread phenomenon across the world’s languages, and that they can be used to convey a wide variety of positive and negative meanings. This study investigates the negative connotations and metaphorical associations of five animals from a comparative and cross-linguistic perspective, to see if there are noticeable patterns among different languages. The factors influencing the development of metaphors and connotations are also explored. The data was collected from previous publications on the subject and compiled in an overview showing negative animal expressions from 61 languages. The results showed that genealogical relations increase the chances of connotations being shared between languages, and that geography and religion can also be of influence. The amount of internal variation also indicates that there is a degree of arbitrariness with regard to the development of metaphors.Show less

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Son of pigs, father of dogs: A cross-linguistic exploration of negative animal expressions