Comprehending literally-true versus literally-false proverbs

Abstract

A proverb comprehension task was administered to typically-achieving children and adolescents who were aged 9, 11 and 14 years (n = 31 per group). Two types of unfamiliar concrete proverbs were presented in a multiple-choice format - expressions whose literal meanings could be true in the real world (e.g. The baby has no teeth) and expressions whose literal meanings could not be true (e.g. Every dog is a lion at home). No differences were found in ease of understanding between the two types of proverbs for any age groups. The results are explained in terms of children’s early-emerging ability to think metaphorically and are consistent with the view that figurative language ‘is a direct, automatic and natural reflection of the way people think, reason and imagine’. Implications of the study for designing instructional programmes in proverb comprehension for children and adolescents are discussed.