The prosaics of figurative language in preschool: some observations and suggestions for research

Abstract

In a significant work, Metaphor in educational discourse, Cameron has suggested that we study metaphor as ‘prosaics’ (i.e. as a feature of mundane talk). In this paper, by means of some brief examples, we point to instances of such talk in the setting of preschool. We also discuss opportunities for learning that such talk could offer children, and what the implications for the development of children’s thinking and communication might be. In addition, some research questions concerning the study of children and figurative language are proposed.

Keywords:

• As‐if
• Children
• Figurative language
• Learning
• Preschool

Acknowledgement

The research reported here was financed by the Swedish Research Council.