Journals / Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 41 Sayı: 3

A Cross-Linguistic Cognitive Analysis of ‘Nurturing a Potential Betrayer’ Idioms and Implications for Idiom Teaching

“Potansiyel bir haini besleme” anlatan deyimlerin dillerarası bilişsel analizi ve deyim öğretimine etkileri

Pages
628–642
Publication Date
2026-07-31
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Thus, idiom learning becomes an engaging exploration of cross-cultural meaning, based on each idiom’s unique micro-model within the universal macro-model of The Danger of Nurturing a Betrayer.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

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Objective & Hypothesis:This cross-linguistic cognitive study analyses nine “nurturing a potential betrayer” idioms across eight languages—English, Vietnamese, Chinese, French, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, and Turkish—while addressing their pedagogical implications for language teaching and learning.
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Key Findings & Data:Utilizing source domains like SNAKE, BEE, CROW, TIGER, and DOG and the CONTAINER image schema, the nine idioms frame a disappointing betrayal by an intimate as the betrayer’s inherent evil, a violation of reciprocity, or the nurturer’s strategic failure.
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Conclusion & Impact:Thus, idiom learning becomes an engaging exploration of cross-cultural meaning, based on each idiom’s unique micro-model within the universal macro-model of The Danger of Nurturing a Betrayer.
🔬Design:Modeling & Simulation
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:deyim pedagojisi · bilişsel deyim analizi · karşılaştırmalı deyim bilimi

Abstract

This cross-linguistic cognitive study analyses nine “nurturing a potential betrayer” idioms across eight languages—English, Vietnamese, Chinese, French, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, and Turkish—while addressing their pedagogical implications for language teaching and learning. Despite their shared cautionary function, idioms such as English to feed a snake in one’s bosom and Vietnamese nuôi ong tay áo (“to raise bees in one’s sleeve”) reveal unique conceptual metaphors and cultural frames. Utilizing source domains like SNAKE, BEE, CROW, TIGER, and DOG and the CONTAINER image schema, the nine idioms frame a disappointing betrayal by an intimate as the betrayer’s inherent evil, a violation of reciprocity, or the nurturer’s strategic failure. This challenges the notion of cross-linguistic idiomatic synonymy and highlights the risks of conceptual “false equivalents” in equivalence-based pedagogy. To address these issues, our research supports a cognitive-cultural approach for idiom analysis that highlights metaphor, imagery, and cultural contextualization, and proposes various teaching techniques such as visualization, scenario-based discussions, and contrastive mapping to enhance comprehension, retention, and pragmatic competence. Thus, idiom learning becomes an engaging exploration of cross-cultural meaning, based on each idiom’s unique micro-model within the universal macro-model of The Danger of Nurturing a Betrayer.

Özet

Bu diller arası bilişsel çalışma, sekiz dilde (İngilizce, Vietnamca, Çince, Fransızca, İspanyolca, Arapça, Japonca ve Türkçe) “potansiyel bir haini besleme” temalı dokuz deyimi analiz etmekte ve dil öğrenimindeki pedagojik çıkarımlarını ele almaktadır. Ortak uyarıcı işlevlerine rağmen, İngilizce to feed a snake in one’s bosom (koynunda yılan beslemek) ve Vietnamca nuôi ong tay áo (“(elbise) kolunda arı beslemek”) gibi deyimler, özgün kavramsal metaforlar ve kültürel çerçeveler ortaya koymaktadır. YILAN, ARI, KARGA, KAPLAN ve KÖPEK gibi kaynak alanlarını ve hainin içinde beslendiği farklılaşan KAP imge şemasını kullanan bu deyimler, yakınımızdaki bir kişinin ihanetini; ihanet edenin içsel kötülüğü, karşılıklı bağlılık ilkesini ihlali veya haini besleyenin stratejik başarısızlığı olarak çerçevelemektedir. Bu durum, diller arası deyimsel eş anlamlılık nosyonunu sorgulamakta ve eş değerlilik temelli pedagojideki kavramsal ‘yalancı eş değerler’ riskini vurgulamaktadır. Bu sorunları ele almak amacıyla araştırmamız, metafor, imgelem ve kültürel bağlamsallaştırmayı öne çıkaran bilişsel-kültürel bir analiz yöntemini desteklemekte; anlama, akılda tutma ve edimsel yeterliliği geliştirmek için görselleştirme, senaryo temelli tartışmalar ve karşılaştırmalı eşleştirme gibi bir çok öğretim teknikleri önermektedir. Böylece deyim öğrenimi, her bir deyimin özgün mikro-modeline dayanan ve evrensel “Bir Haini Beslemenin Tehlikesi” makro-modeli içinde yer alan, ilgi çekici bir kültürler arası anlam keşfine dönüşmektedir.

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Cite This Article

Adıgüzel, M. F., Demir, Ö. K., Karataş, T. Ö. (2026). A Cross-Linguistic Cognitive Analysis of ‘Nurturing a Potential Betrayer’ Idioms and Implications for Idiom Teaching. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, Cilt: 41 Sayı: 3, 628–642. https://doi.org/10.16986/hunefd.1778071

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