초록 열기/닫기 버튼
After examining the sign UNDERSTAND in nine different sign languages, Wilcox (2001) concludes that, unlike in spoken languages, the UNDERSTANDING IS GRASPING metaphor is not prevalent in sign languages. The examination reveals that UNDERSTAND signs in those languages do not use grasping handshapes. However, this paper argues that if we do not restrict the observation of the metaphor to the word level, but extend it to the sentential level, the metaphor can be observed frequently. Therefore, this paper investigates the metaphor at the sentential level in Korean Sign Language. The results show that even though the sign UNDERSTAND in Korean Sign Language does not utilize the metaphor UNDERSTANDING IS GRASPING as in American Sign Language, the GRASP sign is very prevalently used in sentences in order to designate the meanings ‘to know’, ‘to recognize’, and ‘to notice’. The results support the claim that the UNDERSTANDING IS GRASPING metaphor is a primary metaphor (Grady 1997) and that primary metaphors are, at least potentially, universal since they closely correlate with experiences shared by all human beings.
