The Effect of Arabic Language on EFL University Students’ Use of Metaphorical Expressions in Writing

Abstract

Metaphor is an expression that is used to denote an object, not from a literal meaning, but a similar, figurative meaning. It uses symbols in the place of reality, makes writing more interesting and helps readers understand the ideas the author is trying to convey. Metaphor is a means to think about something, find a new meaning for it, and view it from a different perspective. The current study focuses on the role of EFL university students' native language, namely Arabic in shaping the metaphors used in their writing. It endeavours to find out the types and the frequencies of metaphorical expressions used in essay writing by a sample of EFL university Arab students. As such, the study hypothesizes that EFL university students use of metaphorical expressions in writing is affected by their native language, i.e. Arabic, and that the metaphors used by EFL Arab university students fall within the already known and common domains of metaphor use. To validate the preceding hypotheses, a sample of (21) Arab 3 rd year students at the